In the late 20th century, Wal-Mart completely flipped around United States business standards, shifting the power from the manufacturers, where it had been for around a century, to the retailer. They used the rise of information technology and a rapid expansion in global economy around the 1990s to make this change. They were one of the first big one-stop shops and offered lower prices than individual retailers could, therefore putting many small, specialized businesses out of business. Their whole philosophy is based around making profits on low prices, high volume, and high turnover. This was originally Sam Walton’s formula when he created a five-and-dime store in Arkansas that eventually led to the rise of Wal-Mart. They were one of the…show more content… In 1994, with the help of their product being sold at Wal-Mart, they were voted the nation’s most admired company. However, as soon as the cost of resin, a part of the plastic production process, rose significantly, Rubbermaid was in a lot of trouble. Wal-Mart completely refused to raise the prices of Rubbermaid products in accordance with their requests, leading Rubbermaid to pull all their products from Wal-Mart’s shelves. By 1999, Rubbermaid sold out to one of their major competitors. This story is particularly significant because it shows how much control big-box retailers have over the fate of their suppliers. Before Wal-Mart, no retailer had the ability to put a manufacturer essentially out of…show more content… These are extremely low prices that Wal-Mart displays at the entrance to a section and that they focus the majority of their advertising on. These displays plant the idea that everything in that section is a good value, which in turn leads customers to buy more expensive items thinking that that’s the cheapest they’ll find them. There is a ton of planning put into these opening price points, using data from current and past sales patterns among other aspects to make the price happen. Beyond this opening price point item, though, the products are usually more expensive at Wal-Mart than at other stores in the area.
In the 1980s, Wal-Mart put a huge focus on their “buy American” slogan, which focused around the idea that the shoppers were buying from American companies. However, this slogan was never entirely truthful, as in the 1970s and 1980s Sam Walton spent quite a bit of time finding cheap Asian products that would sell in America. In the mid 1990s, Wal-Mart made its primary focus providing cheap products, leading them to turn to importing products from Asia, as labor in Asia is cheaper than labor in America. These imports therefore have a high profit margin and allow Wal-Mart to be as successful as it is