Multi-channelization and the survival of the retail industry
– In today's commerce, omnichannel presence, known as omni-channel, is becoming a business strategy, which in many cases will determine the fate of a business. . Walmart's story is a concrete example of diversifying sales channels to improve competitiveness and keep market share.
In fact, omnichannel operations are placed in different places in the overall business strategy of each retailer, and it may take years for people to realize that position is really effective. results, either making the business ahead, or falling behind.
Dealing with the "whirlwind" of e-commerce
In 2008, Walmart Account Management had sales of $405 billion, mostly from low-priced items sold in 4,000 stores and supermarkets across the United States. At the same time, Amazon entered the stage of starting to develop an online sales system with a few product lines such as books, video games, mobile phones, .. and only achieved sales of 20 billion dollars. at the end of the fourth quarter of 2008. At that time, online shopping only accounted for about 4% of retail sales in the US.
Walmart chooses multi-channelization to increase its competitiveness in the face of Amazon's expansion. Illustration: Bloomberg
More than 10 years later, in May 2019, in the list of 2,000 largest companies in the world named "Global 2000" published by Forbes magazine, Amazon jumped to 28th position, up 25 places compared to the previous year. before; while Walmart dropped 5 places to 29th. This means that Amazon has just usurped Walmart to become the largest retailer on the planet.
What's going on with this largest supermarket chain in America? In fact, Walmart's sales are not low. For the 2018 fiscal year, Walmart is still reporting close to $520 billion. However, the company's profit margin is very "thin" due to high operating costs. Thus, although Walmart's quarterly revenue is often twice that of Amazon's, investors still estimate that Walmart's market value is only a quarter of the more than $1 trillion market value of rival Amazon
.
Although officially relegated to Amazon, in recent press statements, Walmart CEO Doug McMillon is still quite optimistic about the company's future with new growth strategies. When gradually realizing changes in consumer trends, Walmart admits that they must change if they want to survive in the long run.
The path of change that Walmart Listing chooses is the omni-channel seller model, which means that together with the existing supermarket system, it will invest in developing an online business platform, which is "the land of land." ” that Amazon is occupying. Specifically, what is Walmart doing to realize this strategy and can the supermarket chain, with a history of nearly 60 years, find its footing in the retail market?
Since its founding, Walmart has dominated the retail market by possessing low-priced products, which are especially loved by suburban and rural consumers with middle or lower middle income. However, when developing an online sales platform, Walmart determined to expand the potential customer group, reaching the group of consumers with a higher standard of living in urban areas.
To solve this problem, in the past two years, Walmart has continuously purchased online retailers with high-end product lines, including fashion brand ModCloth, outdoor retailer Moosejaw or Moosejaw. ShoeBuy shoe store. Products of these brands, are at prices and quality that are completely different from the goods that Walmart stores and supermarkets are consuming.
Not only aiming for higher-end products, Walmart Account Management also diversified its products. In early 2019, the company launched its own line of home furniture products called MoDRN. Walmart is gradually breaking away from the old image of a supermarket chain that sells low-priced consumer goods to become an omnichannel retailer with a wide range of products, at a variety of price points, from medium to high. high-class.