Mission Statements
Nordstrom Inc. is an apparel industry in the United States. The business organization offers wide range of private labeled fashion products, apparels, cosmetics, accessories and shoes for men, women, children and adolescents (Nordstrom.com 2019). The business organization services its customers via its retail segments including off-price businesses and full price businesses. Additionally the company also provides service to its online stores and websites such as Nordstrom.com, HauteLook and TrunckClud.com. On the other hand, Walmart Inc. is an American Multinational retail corporation which operates in discount department stores, grocery stores and chain of hypermarkets. Walmart Inc. was founded in the year 1969, and serves its customers since then (Walmart.com. 2019). The purpose of this report is to compare and contrasts the mission statement of the company, the pricing strategies and positioning strategies of the companies, the competitive strategies of the companies and the long term strategies of the companies for its growth and sustainability.
The mission statement of the companies is used as the main aim and purpose of the companies. The vision and mission statement of the companies guides the core operations and activities of the business organization as mentioned by Gibson, (2013). The mission statement of Walmart is to save the money of the people so that they can live better. The mission statement of the company relates to the slogan of the company that is “Save money, Live better” (Walmart.com. 2019). The mission statement and the values of the company is customer oriented. The company aims to save the customer’s money so that they live better. This is one of their competitive strategies. The experience that I had with Walmart completely matches with the expectations. The impression I have of Walmart is to get everything I want at a cheaper price. Therefore, the expectation matches.
On the other hand, the mission statement of Nordstrom is to improve the service provided to the customers and to build trust and confidence among the customers. The core strategy of the company is to provide products of high quality and services to the customers. The founding philosophy of John W. Nordstrom is to offer the customers with best possible service, valuable products and services (Nordstrom.com, 2019). My experience with Nordstrom matches with the expectations, I believe that they truly care for their customers and focus on providing great customer service. This has enhanced my experience. Proving satisfactory customer service is a part of the company’s culture.
The mission statement of both the companies reflects the core business operations of the companies (Corona, 2014). However, according to Greer, Lusch & Vargo, (2016), the mission statement of Walmart contains only self concept components and provides vague information about the company. Although the mission statement of Nordstrom creates strong image in the mind of the customers and sets certain expectations to the business. It is suggested to build customer loyalty among the customers and build competitive advantage.
The strategic positioning of the company is one of the main factors which differentiate one company to another company(Gupta, 2018). It is also considered as the key component of the company’s core strategy which determines the success of the organization.
It is the core strategy of Walmart to offer the products and services at a lower cost to the customers(Gureja, 2013). Hence it is known as the cost leader in the market as compared to the other competitors in the market. The cost leadership strategy implemented by the company has enabled it build an image among its customers. Offering low priced products of high quality to the customers reflects their mission statement. Walmart has earned good reputation due to its efficient customer service and fair employee treatment (KUMAR, & BHARDWAJ, 2018). This helps the company to position itself in the market. However, Walmart fails to offer adequate customer service as compared to Nordstrom (Gibson, 2013).
On the other hand, Nordstrom, position itself in the market as an upscale fashion retailer. Nordstrom is a leader in the customer service. Additionally the company has implemented omni-channel since many years. This enables the sales personnel of the organization to help the customer find the particular product demanded from another store, if not available in the particular store the customer visits(Maponya, 2014). The company has wide range of stores through which it operates; it includes full price stores, off price stores, and online stores. This is their pricing strategy and their positioning strategy.
In order to position itself in the market and differentiate its products and services from its competitors the organizations need to have a unique value in their products and services offered to the customers(Samli, 2015). Both the companies have been able to achieve it, Walmart being cost leader in the market while, Nordstrom focuses on customer service(Lawless, 2013).
The overall competitive strategy of Walmart is its cost leadership strategy. The company has gained its reputation due to its low priced product offerings(Greer, Lusch & Vargo, 2016). In order to maintain its low price in the retail stores, the company maintains high sales and ensures low operating cost. These are some of the competitive strategies of Walmart(Gupta, 2018). The company ensures that the product price offered to the customers is not provided by any of its competitors. Being a global company, it plays wider leadership roles to their customers on social issues. The make an effort to maintain a string culture in its stores. The general strategies of Walmart are same between its online stores and its bricks and mortar stores. In order to face stiff competition in the market, Walmart is providing greater user experience in its online stores and in-store shopping(Maponya, 2014). The brick and mortar is one of the major competitive advantages of the company.
Competitive Strategies
On the other hand, the customer focus of Nordstrom has enabled the company to have gained much reputation (Walker, Curren & Kiesler, 2013). The company focuses on customer experience design as key differentiation strategy. The core belief of the company is it’s the customer will pay more for high valued products and services. The unique customer experience design is the key competitive strategy in the retail stores. However, the company has been undergoing digital transformation for a fresh approach to customer experience(Spector, 2017). The company has an innovative approach to data and creates personalized experiences. The company has expanded its online offerings which enhances customer experience (Corona, 2014). The company emphasizes on omni channel strategy. The main purpose is to resonate with young customers. This strategy helps the company to face stiff competition in the market.
The long term strategy of Nordstrom is to reach the goal of 6billion online customers in the online stores by the year 2020(Greer, Lusch & Vargo, 2016). Nordstrom plans to increase rewards and store cards in the retail stores. It plans to expand its business organization and take the business operations into more global levels. The company has been continuing its investment in its growth and expansion (Gureja, 2013). The ultimate goal of the company is to increase its market share. Advancements in technology and big data are an opportunity for the organization to expand its business. There is an increase trend in online shopping. Therefore, it is opportunity for the company to enhance its online stores and increase its sales to attain long term goals in terms of sales and expansion (Spector, 2017). However, factors such as failure to innovate and increase in competition are factors which threats business growth and expansion and affect sustainability.
The long term goal of Walmart is to enhance its sustainability in its operations and value chains (Samli, 2015). It aims to provide better facilities to the customers in the long term and increase sustainability in the organization. The advancement of technology, increase in the trend of online shopping and convenience shopping is an opportunity for the company to grow and expand(Brown & Dant, 2014). The company has been planning to provide same day delivery to the customers. However, inability to offer high quality service to the customers, change in the consumer tastes and preference can affect growth and sustainability (Maponya, 2014).
Conclusion
Therefore, from the above analysis, it can be concluded that both Walmart and Nordstrom has an effective marketing strategies to gain competitive advantage in the market. The mission statement of both the companies reflects the core activities and operations of the organizations. However, the mission statement of Walmart provides vague information as compared to the mission statement of Nordstrom. It has been identified that Walmart focuses on the cost leadership strategy which on the other hand, Nordstrom focuses on customer service as reflects in their mission’s statement. Both the companies have an effective positioning and pricing strategy. However, the pricing strategy of Walmart is effective as compared to Nordstrom. Nordstrom focuses on customer service which is their competitive advantage. The cost leadership strategy is one of Walmart’s competitive advantages. The long term strategies for growth and expansion have been identified for both the companies.
References
Brown, J. R., & Dant, R. P. (2014). The role of e-commerce in multi-channel marketing strategy. In Handbook of Strategic E-Business Management (pp. 467-487). Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg.
Corona, R. (2014). A comparative analysis of major US retailers based on enterprise marketing efficiency. Global Journal of Business Research, 8(4), 25.
Gibson, P. (2013). The world of customer service. Cengage Learning.
Greer, C. R., Lusch, R. F., & Vargo, S. L. (2016). A service perspective. Organizational dynamics, 1(45), 28-38.
Gupta, A. K. (2018). Walmart: a roadmap for globalisation. The Business & Management Collection.
Gureja, G. K. (2013). Organisational Schizophrenia: Impact on Customer Service Quality. SAGE Publications India.
KUMAR, N., & BHARDWAJ, S. (2018). Amazon and Walmart on collision course.
Lawless, J. (2013). Sustainable Fashion at Nordstrom.
Maponya, K. R. (2014). Store managers’ perception of the new Walmart/Massmart price promotion strategy (Doctoral dissertation, University of Johannesburg).
Samli, A. C. (2015). Retail Marketing Strategy Development. In Coping with Retail Giants (pp. 17-25). Palgrave Macmillan, New York.
Spector, R. (2017). The Nordstrom Way to Customer Experience Excellence: Creating a Values-driven Service Culture. John Wiley & Sons.
Walker, K. L., Curren, M. T., & Kiesler, T. (2013). A retail center facing change: Using data to determine marketing strategy. Marketing Education Review, 23(3), 287-296.
Walmart.com. (2019). Retrieved 10 October 2019, from https://www.walmart.com/
Nordstrom.com (2019). Retrieved 10 October 2019, from https://nordstromcompanyanalysis.weebly.com/vission-and-mission.htm
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