Tesco takes on US Wal-Mart

Case Contents

1. Introduction - Tesco in US Retail Market
2. Tesco - Company Background and Timeline
3. TESCO at a Glance
4. Localization Strategy - Tesco in South Korea
5. Tesco's Business Strategy in the US - Healthy food, No waiting
6. Store Formats
7. Financial Highlights
8. Related Reading

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Case Abstracts

UK's largest retailer Tesco and one of the top supermarket operators in the world plans to open a thousand-strong chain of discount stores in the US. Tesco plans to invest more than $250m (£120m) [$2.5 billion over the next five years] in its US business launch. This expansion plan and strategy places it directly against competitor retail giant Wal-Mart. Many UK retailers have found it difficult to survive or compete in the US retail market. The US retail market is most competitive in the world, a fact well-known to British retailers Sainsbury's and Marks & Spencer which failed to attract US customers.

Tesco's Business Strategy in the US - Healthy food, No waiting

Fresh & Easy stores

Tesco started operations in the US by opening 15 of its Fresh & Easy stores in Las Vegas, Los Angeles, San Diego and Phoenix. By 2009, Tesco plans to open 200 more outlets to expand the retail network. Tesco’s basic US stores will be similar to European discounters Aldi and Lidl though Tesco stores will be 75% smaller than most American supermarkets. Fresh & Easy stores about 10,000 square feet are one-third the size of a typical supermarket, but four times that of a convenience store. Tesco is adopting a hard-discount model in the US. Tesco's convenience stores modeled on the Tesco Express blueprint target US grocers such as 7-Eleven and locally-run stores.

This case study covers the following issues:
1. Assess Tesco's globalization strategies
2. Examine and analyze the entry and expansion strategies of Tesco in US
3. Study how Tesco localized its retail practices in US
4. Understand Tesco's efforts to integrate its global best practices with local strategies in US

Case Study Keywords:
Tesco, Samsung, Globalization Strategy, Localization Strategy, International Business, International Expansion and Entry Strategies, Retail Store Formats, supermarkets

Wal-Mart in Japan Case Study

Wal-Mart in Japan

The focus of this case study is the hurdles faced by retailing giant Wal-Mart in the Japanese market. In the early 90's, Wal-Mart's decision to globalize is a major focus area.

Issues covered in the case study include: Download Case Study (in PDF format)

• Wal-Mart's entry strategy in Japan
  
• WalMart's best practices in retailing like Every Day Low Prices (EDLP) and Rollback to the Japanese market through its joint venture with Seiyu.
  
• Wal-Mart's problems faced in Japan because of the differences between the operational and cultural environment in its home market and the Japanese market.
  
• Walmarts future prospects and business strategies in Japanese Market.
  

Other management issues covered include:

• The Japanese retailing industry: It's nature and structure and its market size, market scope, and market characteristics.
• How to frame an entry strategy for a global and culturally diverse market.

Business Case study terms:

Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Green Field Operations, Costco Wholesale, Metro, Tesco, Japanese Retail Industry, Ito Yokado , Large Store Law, Every Day Low Prices, Carrefour, Daeiei, America Online Inc., Sam's Clubs

Related Case Study Reading:

1. Can Wal-Mart Woo Japan?, Business Week Online
2. Japan Isn't Buying The Wal-Mart Idea, Business Week Online
3. How Wal-Mart Is Reshaping Packaging?
4. A New Era in Japan's Retailing Market
5. Tesco Enters The Japanese Market
6. Japanese Retail Market Overview
7. Japan Market Research
8. Japan Retail Sector Overview: companies Walmart

Will Wal-Mart be able to sustain its supply chain advantage : Download Case Study on Wal-Mart's Supply Chain Practices in PDF format.

Wal-Mart's Supply Chain Management Practices

Managing the Supply Chain
Wal-Mart has been able to achieve respectable leadership in the retail industry because of its focus on supply chain management. The use of innovative information technology tools had benefited Wal-Mart's supply chain management.

Procurement and Distribution

Logistics Management

Inventory Management

Additional Reading

1. "Cross docking: The move from supply to demand", by Christine Rowat
2. "Cross Docking and Cross Docking Network Design", www.tli.isye.gatech.edu
3. "Warehouse Evolution: High Tech Developments Get Industry Cooking", Plants, sites and parks magazine, www.bizsites.com
4. "Cross-docking in the U.K," Siemens Dematic, www.siemensdematic.com.au, 2001.
5. Cross docking delivers for Retail", www.spscommerce.com
6. "Value Chain Report- Warehouse Management Systems Add Value," www.industryweek.com, www.iwvaluechain.com
7. "Digital Age warehousing," Penton Media, www.industryweek.com
8. "Distribution strategies, Supply Chain analysis at Volkswagen of America," www.eng.auburn.edu
9. "It's not only the retail side, Wal-Mart Distribution", www.Wal-Martwatch.com
10. "Stauffer V Wal-Mart stores, Inc., www.oalj.dol.gov
11. "The Management of Business Logistics: A Supply Chain Prospective," www.house.gov
12. "Thrify Wal-Mart Partner for Flat Rate Rental Plan," Auto Rental News, www.autorentalnews.com
13. "Trans-loading, Cross docking," www.commoditylogistics.com
14. "Wal-Mart.com: The Physical giant goes Virtual," Red Herring Magazine, www.redherring.com
15. "Voluntary retail chains and the threats and opportunities of European Integration," www.snee.org
16. "What is cross docking?, The Warehouse Word, www.colofwhousing.com.au
17. "Wholesale Distribution, Managing complex supply chain requirements in the foodservice industry," wholesaledistribution.services.ibm.com
18. "Supply Chain Management the Wal-Mart Way," Supply Chain and Logistics Journal, www.infochain.org

Wal-Mart and The Salvation Army Partner

Will Wal-Mart be able to sustain its supply chain advantage? Download Case Study on Wal-Mart's Supply Chain Practices in PDF format.