Data Mining in Product Cycle Prediction of Company Mergers

Abstract

The dynamic nature of business marketing in various parts of the world and industries is associated with a quest to achieve or attain and retain competitive advantages. With such advantages coming in the form of increased product user bases, a majority of the firms have ended up embracing business internationalization to stretch beyond local and regional borders within which they are based. With these efforts associated with improved company performances, Wal-Mart has been unexceptional. The effort to retain a competitive advantage and superior brand image across the world has been evidenced by its recent merger with Massmart, a South African company that owns brands such as Builder’s Warehouse, Makro, and Game. It is also worth highlighting that Massmart is South Africa’s second largest distributor of consumer goods and remains the largest retailer dealing in basic foods, liquor and home improvement equipment, and general merchandise. This paper examines the merger between Wal-Mart and Massmart, focusing on issues such as the international market analysis of the retail industry, aspects of product category and demand size, and competition analysis. In so doing, resultant recommendations might give an insight into current trends in business marketing strategies that embrace mergers, as well as lay an opportunity for improvement in the Walmart-Massmart merger and others at the intra-industry and inter-industry level.