Abstract

By successfully adopting a cost leadership strategy over the decades, Wal-Mart has emerged as the largest company (in terms of revenues) in the world. The case examines in-depth the key elements of the cost leadership strategy followed by Wal-Mart. It discusses how the cost leadership strategy generated above-average returns for the company and acted as a defense against competition in the industry. Finally, the case discusses the plans and challenges faced by Wal-Mart in early 2004.

Learning Objectives

The case is structured to achieve the following Learning Objectives:

• Cost leadership strategy applied by a retailer to gain competitive advantage.

Keywords

Cost leadership strategy, decades, Wal-Mart, in-depth, key elements, cost leadership strategy, Wal-Mart, above-average, returns, defense, competition, plans, challenges