Marketing Management: The Big Picture

chapter two

THE BUSINESS OBJECTIVE

“Oh, the many talents that remain undiscovered out there, and the many neglected intellects and unappreciated skills.”

Don Quixote, p. 769

After studying this chapter you should be able to:

1. List the business objective decisions
2. Describe the concept of Fundamental Entity: Who are we?
3. Identify the advantages and disadvantages of different branding strategies
4. Define the core competence: What do we do best?
5. Define the core business: What business are we in?
6. Define business goals: Where are we going?
7. Integrate the Business Objective decisions with other Big Picture decisions

Walmart's International Expansion

Chinese Walmart: Walmart has adapted its merchandising to accommodate Chinese consumer demands and its stores now sell live fish and bull frogs, among other things.

The giant U.S. discount retailer Walmart launched an international expansion plan in the 1990s, first going to Mexico and then opening its first Chinese store in Shenzhen in 1996 and in Germany in 1998. The discount retail chain was hoping to replicate its low-margin large-volume business model, so successful in the United States, in both Germany and China. However, the company quickly ran into major problems.

In the United States, Walmart is famously antilabor union. However, in both Germany and China, governments mandate labor union representation for workers. The company acquiesced ...