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