Question: Wal- Mart, the discount merchandiser, began by putting large stores in small Sunbelt towns that its competitors had neglected. The company then wrapped its stores in concentric rings around regional distribution canters.
1. What was Wal- Mart's original strategy for creating value?
2. How sustainable is the company's competitive advantage?
3. How is growth in its markets likely to affect Wal- Mart's strategy?
4. More recently, Wal- Mart has invested huge sums of money in a telecommunications system that links its stores together and accumulates information instantaneously on store- by- store sales of each item in stock. How might this investment create a competitive advantage for Wal- Mart?