Jeffery Whippo Talks about the Failures Kmart Witnessed During Its Battle with Wal-Mart
Jeffery Whippo Says That CEO Arrogance May Have Made a Bigger Difference than Strategy during the Kmart vs. Wal-Mart Battle
Well-known business professional Jeffery Whippo believes that a lot of the failures that Kmart witnessed during its battle with Wal-Mart were due to the attitude of their CEO, Joseph Antonini.
He describes how Antonini, having climbed through the Kmart ranks to his position of CEO felt that he had all of the answers.
The CEO made it a point to not hire from outside of Kmart for management level positions because he did not want anyone coming into the company and challenging his decisions.
Here’s What Happened When the Battle between Kmart and Wal-Mart Was in Full Force
Jeffery Whippo elaborates that when the battle between Kmart and WalMart was in full force, Antonini narrow-mindedly looked only to his strengths, which were marketing and merchandising, and focused predominantly in only these two areas in terms of strategy.
In contrast, Sam Walton surrounded himself with people that were “smarter” than him and looked to them for suggestions.
Jeffery suggests that while Kmart focused on marketing, Wal-Mart focused on operations.
Walton invested millions of dollars in computer systems to link the stores to headquarters which allowed Wal-Mart to quickly restock shelves.
The Different Approaches of the CEO’s of Kmart and Wal-Mart
According to Jeff Whippo, early on in the battle between Kmart and WalMart, the latter focused on controlling costs through the innovations of their supply chain.
Moreover, while Kmart’s CEO, Mr. Antonini, chose to follow the classic textbook approach to marketing and merchandising, Mr. Walton looked to focus on process and organizational practice.
Wal-Mart Focused On What Customers Want and That Is Low Prices ď‚ą
Additionally, Jeff Whippo indicates that while Kmart focused on private labels, Walmart focused on what the customer is asking for, and that is low prices.
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Customers know that they will save money by shopping at Wal-Mart and that is a key differentiator when looking at competitive differentiators of Kmart and Wal-Mart.
Thank You Jeffery Whippo