Order Number |
3521251242 |
Type of Project |
ESSAY |
Writer Level |
PHD VERIFIED |
Format |
APA |
Academic Sources |
10 |
Page Count |
3-12 PAGES |
Japan is the world’s largest retail market outside the United States. In 2002, Wal-Mart entered Japan by purchasing a 37% stake in Seiyu Department Store, Japan’s largest retailer, which was in a difficult situation at the time. Wal-Mart undertook a comprehensive transformation of the Seiyu Department Store so that it could not be considered in terms of store appearance, shelf layout, or product content. It feels a lot like an American supermarket. However, the operating conditions of the chain stores under Seiyu Department Store have been poor. There are three main factors for the failure of Wal-Mart’s operations in Japan. First, simply copy the American business model.
The practice of Japanese local retail stores to discount different products, in turn, is more attractive than Wal-Mart’s “everyday low prices”. And because Japanese suppliers are extremely strong, Wal-Mart wants to adopt the American model, and the strategy of obtaining discounts from suppliers to reduce costs will not work. Second, Wal-Mart ignores the characteristics of the Japanese market and consumer habits. Japanese companies are pursuing the ultimate in product quality. The most expensive products in Japan are Japanese products, and the cheapest ones are foreign products. Finally, Wal-Mart underestimates the difficulty of developing the Japanese market. Although the huge Japanese retail market is very attractive, due to the relative maturity of the local retail industry and the strict restrictions of the legal system, the business space is very limited, and it is indeed difficult for foreign retail companies to make a difference in Japan.