Wal-Mart

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Wal-Mart

Wal-Mart started out as a five and dime store by Sam Walton back in the 1950’s in Rogers, Arkansas. From those humble beginnings, Wal-Mart is now the world’s largest corporation passing the likes of U.S. Steel & GM with over $256 Billion in sales for one year announced at an annual stockholders meeting. What makes Wal-Mart so successful? The rise of technology and the explosion of the global economy, coupled with the effort of keeping prices as low as possible has propelled the conglomerate into becoming the world leader in logistics. They were one of the first to understand the power of the barcode. They also shifted the industry from ‘Push’ to ‘Pull’ production, meaning retailers would decide what and how much a manufacturer should produce. Due to the power possessed by Wal-Mart, other companies and suppliers have set up satellite offices around their corporate headquarters in Bentonville, Arkansas.

Rubbermaid, stationed in Wooster, Ohio, wasn’t well known until their variety of products donned the shelves of Wal-Mart. In 1994, they were voted as the most admired company in America for its quality due largely to its partnership with Wal-Mart. Raw materials among other materials of production increased for Rubbermaid which meant a price increase to all of its retailers. Wal-Mart wouldn’t accept the price increase and subsequently dropped a number of Rubbermaid products, which began the decline for the company. Newell, a rival, bought out Rubbermaid for...

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