Justina Lorico, Brian Jones, Cassandra Brooks, Jerlynne Tan, Emina Ahmetovic, Lucia Radilla, Joshua Kubiske
Justina Lorico, Brian Jones, Cassandra Brooks, Jerlynne Tan, Emina Ahmetovic, Lucia Radilla, Joshua Kubiske
1. Background2. Publics3. Communication strategy4. Image5. Internal Vs External6. Behavior/Action7. SWOT analysis8. Strengths9. Weaknesses/
Recommendations10.Conclusion
Presentation Overview
● Founder: Sam Walton
● Headquarter: Bentonville Arkansas● - “Dime store” began● - 24 stores, 12.7 mil annual sales● - publicly traded company● - reached $1billion in sales● Versions: Walmart, Walmart U.S.,
Walmart International, Sam’s Club
● 11,500 Retail locations in 28 countries
1962
1967
19801971
Background
Primary: ● Employees - 2.1 million employees
○ 1.4 million in the U.S. (1% of U.S. population)● Customers - 260 million - providing low discounted
prices on many products and services. ● Community - they make a big impact on local
communities.○ Walmart Foundation
● Shareholders
PublicsPrimary:
: Covers all constituents● Advertising - $2 billion in fiscal
year 13, 14, 15○ From traditional to social
media● Suppliers - 3,000+ diverse
suppliers● Government - Subsidies
○ Reduced land, job training, sales tax rebates
○ Billions in assistance for low-wage employees
○ $70 million/year for economic development
Publics Cont.
Shadow Constituents:● American Independent
Business Alliance● OUR Walmart
Secondary
● Walmart uses new channels to communicate their mission statement to all constituents.
○ Email, blogs, digital newsrooms, television, podcasts, text messaging,
Internet, voicemail, video, Facebook, and most of all Twitter.
CommunicationStrategy
Walmarts digital communications team set two responsibilities:1. Support the business and communicate the discounted store has
the lowest prices.2. Enhance Walmart’s reputation.
CommunicationStrategy Cont.
Image● World’s largest retailer● Struggle with their image and
reputation● Everyday low prices
○ Conveniency● Employee relations major role
in image● Against unions
○ Low wages○ Poor health benefits
● Scored low on the customer satisfaction index:
● Poor customer service
● Poor quality on products
● Switching practices
Image Cont.
Rude employees
Image of being cheap
Unclean, messy & understocked stores
Negative shopping experience
INTERNAL:- Bad reputation
- Abuse of bargaining power & market control- Pressure countries to condone
environmental degradation and violation of labor laws
Internal vs External.
- 90 reports of bribery in Asia - Spent over $35 million to hire over 300 outside lawyers, accountants, & investigators
Bad Reputation
Bribery & Fraud
Environmental crimes Walmart’s sustainability violation record:Clean Water Act, Clean Air Act, & federal pesticide safety rules, threatening both habitats and public health in local communities.
● 1990 - A factory caught on fire which killed 32 people● 2012 - Killed 111 people● 2010 - Class action law suit: Woman worked seven days a week,
from 7:45am to 10pm, putting chalk marks on pants without a day off for six months.
Internal vs External Cont.Environmental Crimes
Underpaying women● 2013 - 57% Walmart’s U.S workforce● Women are paid $1.16 less per hour
● Salaried positions of $50,000 or over earned $14,500 less than men
● 2.7 Billion Dollar Program that increases the hourly rate ○ Result→ Employees are
more engaged and performing better
● Improved ○ Opportunity○ Company Sustainability
Behavior/action
● local communities● in global disasters● in corporate philanthropy● Walmart has not clarified their
actions regarding unethical business practices
→ Despite their efforts the company image has not been able to shake their overall company image.
Behavior/action Cont.
Improved
Assisted
Conducted
S.w.o.t AnalysisSTRENGTHS
- low prices- large stores- variety of products- large number of locations- high customer loyalty- powerful retail company
WEAKNESSES- customer service- company image- cheap quality products- bad relationships with suppliers- global, but only in a few countries- extremely large inventory
OPPORTUNITIES- more international locations- more loyalty programs- improve employee relations
THREATS- a lot of competitors- rise of e-commerce (Amazon)- political problems
● Biggest strength: customer loyalty- convenience- low prices- variety of products- number of locations
● Size and success of the company- a lot of power in the business
Strengths
Biggest Weakness → ● Being known as “cheap” affects Walmart
○ Disadvantages → barrier when reaching out to suppliers- Unfair deals
● Problems when reaching out to suppliers/vendors
Weaknesses + Recommendations Image/Reputation
Weak relationship/trust
Complications in making decisions
Issues with sticking to the mission statement
Recommendations:● Better relationships with suppliers
○ The company and suppliers are dependent on each other
● Have knowledge about the products from the suppliers● Suppliers should have knowledge of Walmart as a company● Find a better way of contributing to the mission statement
Weaknesses + Recommendations
● Walmart’s poor image is no easy fix and will take years to rebuild
● Customer service starts from within- they must first take care of employee relations and then be able to transfer this to their customers
● They can continue to use Corporate Communications as a major part of their company in order to improve
Conclusion
Thank you