Case Study Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 4

Case Study - Essay Example Starting with the establishment of the first store in 1962 in Rogers, Arkansas, Sam Walton together with his brother had managed to grow the firm to 32 stores spread across four states by 1969, when Wal-Mart Stores, Inc was incorporated, and subsequently to 330 stores spread across 11 states by 1980, culminating in 1,402 Wal-Mart Stores and 123 Sam’s Wholesale Club outlets covering 29 states by Jan 1990 with Sales of over $25.8 billion. In fact, back in 1977, Forbes magazine had ranked Wal-Mart first in the discount retailing industry based on parameters such as return on equity, return on capital, sales growth, and earnings growth. To understand the reasons behind such phenomenal performance it will be prudent to look at some financial performance parameters of Wal-Mart and its competitors, and then to look at how competitive forces act in this industry using Porter’s Five forces model. b) During the same period, the performance figures of other major competitors as given in Exhibit 5 of the case show that Sears and Kmart had recorded an average annual sales growth rate of just 7.8% and 7.9% respectively, while Target had recorded 12.9%. This indicates that Wal-Mart was way ahead of competition in sales growth. c) Wal-Mart also ensured that this sales growth was accompanied by excellent returns to stockholders by maintaining the profitability despite such growth in sales. Thus net earnings increased from $0.55 billion in 1981 to $1.90 billion in 1990, with EPS growing from $0.11 million to $1.90 million d) On this count again Wal-Mart was way above competitors clocking an average growth rate of 30.3% on Return on Equity (ROE), and 32.9% on EPS as against Sears (11.1%; 8.0%), Kmart (13.5%; 12.6%), and Target (15.2%; 14%). e) Wal-Mart had also managed its working capital very well with a current ratio ranging from a low of 1.66 to a high of 2.07 during this decade, primarily through excellent management of inventories, achieving an

Buyer behaviour- how buyer Behaviour Is Used In the Context of Essay

Buyer behaviour- how buyer Behaviour Is Used In the Context of Marketing - Essay Example Also gives the reader an insight about the influence of buyer behaviour on the development of Nestle MilkPak’s marketing mix within the packaged milk industry; it shows how the product, price, placement, and promotion of the product have been altered to best fit the consumers’ choice and also encourage positive buyer behaviour, which in turn induces consumer loyalty and attracts more consumers. In addition to this, the report also discusses the different marketing communication channels and how they are being used by the company to influence the consumer decision-making  process with regard to the consumer decision-making model, the technique that has been applied by the company and how it influences the purchase of their product.   Aims and Objectives: Following are the aims and objectives of the report: To understand the importance of buyer behaviour in the Packaged Milk Industry, specifically for Nestle MilkPak with regard to market segmentation, target market as well as product positioning. The influence of buyer behaviour on the development of Nestle MilkPak`s marketing mix within the packaged milk industry i.e. ... applied by the company and how it influences the purchase of their product.   Nestle The Company: In 1866, Henri Nestle founded the Nestle Company in Vevey, Switzerland and its headquarters are still based there to date. Its factories and operations are spread all over the world, with approximately 280,000 global employees. Its sales for 2010 were almost CHF 110 bn. Nestle is one of the top Nutrition, Health and Wellness companies in the world, pursuing the mission of "Good Food, Good Life". The company aims towards providing its consumers with tasty and nutritious food in a wide range of food and beverage categories. (Nestle.com 2011) Nestle MilkPak: MilkPak by Nestle is well known for its nutritious value and uncontaminated natural taste. It has added nutritious value of Iron, Vitamin C and Vitamin A, which is very beneficial for the health of the entire family. MilkPak is harmonized UHT milk that benefits from NESTLE’s expertise and is brimming with healthiness, wellness and nutrition. A single glass of MilkPak fulfils 20% Iron, 41% Calcium, 18% Vitamin A and 20% Vitamin C of an individuals’ daily requirement, as stated by Nutritional Reference Values, CODEX Alimentarius. (Nestle.pk 2007) Milk, as well as dairy products,  contain a vast quantity of nutrients and provide a shortcut of the supplying of these nutrients to the diet within moderately few calories. (The Dairy Council 2011) Milk is an important source of nutrition and its hygienic quality is important from public health point of view. (K. Muhammad, I. Altaf, A. Hanif, A. A. Anjum* and M. Y. Tipu 2009) Market Segmentation: Market segmentation can be divided into two broad categories, namely descriptive and behavioural. The descriptive market segmentation is done on the basis of descriptive