To Acquire or Build Organically, THAT is the Question facing big box retailers today

This will be a Harvard Business Case study in probably the not-so-distant future, given the accelerated speed of business in the i-era. The link to this Wall Street Journal article (https://www.wsj.com/articles/targets-new-online-strategy-less-is-more-1494846001) talks about how Target has had the opportunity to and even explored acquiring other companies to help it accelerate its growth while also keeping up with Walmart as well as just trying to keep the taillights of Amazon in its sights. And yet, unlike Walmart which has gone on a veritable buying binge snapping up eCommerce companies from Moosejaw to ModCloth and made a huge splash in buying Marc Lore's (formerly of Quidsi/diapers.com) Jet.com Target has eschewed buying capabilities and instead focused on its bread & butter, it's stores (http://www.chainstoreage.com/article/target-debuts-0-shopping?tp=i-H55-Q5S-3M4-5Mz5m-1u-14Qs-1c-qsz-5MtPN-tb7Hx&utm_campaign=Daily&utm_source=Experian&utm_medium=email&cid=12900&mid=79359738). It is interesting to note that in the history of tech acquisitions most have been noted as failures. Does Walmart's acquisitions fall into tech acquisitions? Maybe, maybe not. Most tech mergers/acquisitions involve hardware (think HP and Compaq or Alcatel and Lucent or Google and Motorola) or strategy (Aol and TimeWarner, News Corp. and Myspace). It's not a stretch to say it does. But what is Walmart really getting? Customers? Sure. Potentially new tech that can be lifted and shifted to leap-frog the main business from where it is to get ahead of the likes of Walmart? Yep. But one area that is often overlooked in mergers and acquisitions and yet always seems to figure prominently in 20/20 hindsight is how those purchases align with the goal, mission statement or North Star of the acquiring company. Yes, Walmart is said to be keeping these acquisitions siloed and not integrated to help ensure that what made it successful doesn't become tainted or spoiled by corporate infringement. But by doing so does then Walmart derive the benefits it's looking to achieve? By not integrating how do people in Bentonville learn what Moosejaw is doing on the ground? And how do folks from Bentonville go out to learn from the team at Jet.com without them feeling like big brother is coming into to town? Sure there may be processes built or "ways of working" with the goal of enabling that sharing but practically speaking how much of that is going to take place on a daily basis? Does that sharing help accomplish Walmart's ultimate goal not just in making these acquisitions but overall? Having that North Star is critical to the success of a company. And there is a famous case study from not too long ago that provides us with a nice mirror lens to comparing the two strategies of Target and Walmart in GE and Westinghouse. Granted these were industrial behemoths but the lesson is applicable. As you can see in the attached link (http://www.jimcollins.com/article_topics/articles/BHAG.html) Jim Collins outlines beautifully the importance of a company having a North Star. All business decisions whether to acquire a company to the type of marketing to the product offering should pass through the North Star filter. If Walmart has a clear, understandable and easy to remember vision statement then it will avoid the fate of Westinghouse. If not? Well, tune back in about 4 months for the HBS Case study not only on how Amazon and Target left it in the dust but also the failure of not paying attention to History (i.e.: those who don’t pay attention to History are doomed to repeat it).