This might be a simple case of not sticking with what you do well.
A senior marketing executive hired by Wal-Mart to help sell more high-end products has left the company after less than a year on the job, the world's largest retailer said...
It's kind of a corporate "Peter principle".
In a nutshell, the Peter Principle says that a person in an organization will rise to their level of incompetence. As a person moves up they eventually get put in a position past their level of competence. Maybe this is what happened to Wal-Mart.
Wal-Mart last year launched an effort to rekindle slowing sales by offering more fashionable apparel, including its women's Metro 7 line, as well as organic food and flashier electronics. It also began remodeling stores to make shopping more enjoyable with wider aisles, faux wood floors, less clutter and cleaner bathrooms.
Outside of the cleaner bathroom thing (a no-brainer no matter type of merchandise you stock), all of this was new for Wal-Mart's core consumers. And apparantly it just didn't fly.
...sales at stores opened at least one year, a key measure of retail performance also called same-store sales, have stalled. They were nearly flat in October and negative in November for the first time in a decade, and Wal-Mart expects zero to 1 percent growth in December.
Significant moves were made, including dropping the ad agencies that helped make and promote Wal-Mart's image. A gamble that didn't pay off.
(Senior vice president of marketing communications Julie Roehm)'s departure comes after Chief Executive Lee Scott told analysts in October the retailer had gone too far in pushing trendier merchandise and would refocus on promoting low prices.
Low prices are what made them, and what consumers expect. Maybe the higher-end items just confused people. The old adage, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." obviously comes to mind here.
Somehow, though, I think Wal-Mart will be ok. Offering low prices on prescription drugs might be good for what ails them. Hey, low priced items at Wal-Mart. I think it could work.
Sales at stores opened at least one year, a key measure of retail performance also called same-store sales, have stalled. They were nearly flat in October and negative in November for the first time in a decade, and Wal-Mart expects zero to 1 percent growth in December.
Posted by: drugs discussion article | October 2, 2007 8:23 AM | Permalink to Comment