Wal-Mart Corps was at the top of Fortune Global 500 in 2019 with revenues of over US$500billion. Its success is truly remarkable considering its humble beginning only two generationsago. Wal-Mart has drawn admirations and despise from the entire socioeconomic and geographicspectra. In our assignment, however, we want to examine one of the most important contributingfactors to Wal-Mart’s success, i.e., its location strategy in the context of range-threshold andcentral place. The assignment is divided into two parts:Location and Expansion Strategies of Wal-Mart: Applying Concepts of Retail Geography toUnderstanding the Success of Wal-Mart Inc. 1. Please read the following three articles: Graff, Thomas O and Dub Ashton. “Spatial Diffusion of Wal-Mart: Contagious andReverse Hierarchical Elements.” Professional Geographer, Vol. 46 (Feb ’94) Issue 1:pp. 19-30. Graff, Thomas O. “The Locations of Wal-Mart and Kmart Supercenters: ContrastingCorporate Strategies.” Professional Geographer, Vol. 50 (Feb ’98) Issue 1: pp. 46-57. Graff, Thomas O. “Unequal Competition among Chains of Supercenters: Kmart, Target,and Wal-Mart.” The Professional Geographer, 58 (1) 2006: 54-64.2. Then, write a report discussing the following questions:(1) What are the major differences of location/expansion strategies between Wal-Mart and other(discount) retail chains?(2) Why is Wal-Mart’s strategy more successful? Try to use the concepts that we have beencovering, i.e., types and mechanisms of diffusion, the range-threshold and the central place.Spatial diffusion of retail firms: Contagious diffusion incorporating with some hierarchicalelements; WM – Hierarchical diffusion, warehouse/distribution center first (why?) Three distinctphases of expansion: what are they? Why is it important to identify them temporally (bytimeline) and spatially (geographically)? What is the importance of WM supercenters in thecontext of central place hierarchies. What is a niche market? How did Wal-Mart find and seizeits niche market?II. The Local and Global Impact of the Wal-Mart PhenomenonGlean over articles also posted on iLearn and evaluate the following:(1) Impact on local communities: socioeconomic and cultural impact;(2) Impact on developing countries: Fordist mass consumption, accommodating and facilitatingthe coming of age?(3) Impact on our way of life: Daily routines, economic competitiveness and monopoly, resourceand environment.