Lumongsod, Mary Nida S.

CE – 3B
Engineering Management TTh 9:20 – 10:20 AM

1. How should Mr. Durant assess the opportunities in various countries around the
world?
Mr. Durant, who is leading Carrefour, should assess various countries' opportunities by first
evaluating their markets. The socio-economic profile, local demands, and a potential location for
a retail shop to rise. Knowing all these would ready Carrefour for the problems that may arrive in
the future if they decide to push through with the expansion in a specific country. Doing this
would also avoid repeating the mistake Carrefour did in France when they chose to lose their
low-cost image that shocked the French market. Next step is to study their competitor in that
country – what are their standing? How can I put myself on par?

2. Should Carrefour adopt Wal-Mart's strategy of "low prices every day"? What
would be the advantage or disadvantage of such strategy?
It is wise for Carrefour to adopt this if and only if they chose to do it for a limited amount of
time; to attract customers and build a foundation in the market and then slowly up their prices in
a way that would not shock the people. In a place where Walmart has already established, an
advantage would be the limited gain in the market entry since people like to try new things – a
new retail store that's not Walmart. In the long run, the disadvantage of the "low prices every
day" is that Carrefour will not be able to match the supply chain strength of Walmart as the latter
is significantly a bigger store than them.

3. How could Carrefour differentiate itself from Wal-Mart?

Since Walmart has the philosophy of "low prices every day", they offer shoppers low prices
than they get elsewhere, this would make Walmart focusing on the lower middle market.
Carrefour should establish their presence in the mid-market or mid-upper market to differentiate.
This would mean that both wouldn't be serving all the same customers. They should offer
products that are appropriate to the market they are trying to serve.

4. Identify cultures in selected countries that need to be considered in order to be

successful?
In Asian countries, such as China and Japan, they are widely known for their traditional arts
and contemporary pop culture – this should be considered when offering products. One must also
understand the individuals' buying behaviors and decision-making in a community. To become a
global firm, ideally, the company should be taking gains of R&D, production, marketing, and
financial advantages in its cost and reputation that are not available purely to domestic
competitors.