Ending eight consecutive quarters of losses, Wal-Mart is about to announce that customers are returning to the retail giant.
If so, this will be a vindication for Wal-Mart executives who last April put an end to a five year liberal left experiment to inject pricey “green” and politically correct products into the stores.
Out went the low cost jeans. In came holistic and organic foods, environmentally “natural” clothing and so-called fair trade products. Of course all of these products cost more.
And in droves Wal-Mart’s customers fled for the exits.
As I quoted an ex-Wal-Mart executive in a posting last April:
“The basic Wal-Mart customer didn’t leave Wal-Mart. What happened is that Wal-Mart left the customer.”
The genius behind the Wal-Mart “green” makeover was former Al Gore communications director Leslie Dach. He brought in environmentalists, ecologists and liberal economists. They convinced the company to sell according to their preconceived ideas of justice, not to market needs.
The result was a disaster. But last April Wal-Mart changed course and inaugurated a “Back to Basics” campaign. They informed poor and middle class consumers that the affordable stuff like cheap jeans and food were back.
Yesterday Wal-Mart executives told financial analysts the company will break eight consecutive quarters of loss and finally see a rise in same store sales. And this during a recession.
As the Wall Street Journal reported this morning:
Comparable store sales at U.S. Wal-Mart stores have been positive for the past three months, leaving Wal-Mart on track to report an end to its domestic slump .
The three month period perfectly tracks the “Back to Basics” turnabout.
It’s interesting when you listen to the market.
I’d like to believe this story, but I’m having trouble… Most of our everyday purchases are from Walmart. We spend a lot of money – and therefore time – there. We like it, we like it better than the nearby Target.
But neither I nor my wife remember the “holistic and organic foods, environmentally ‘natural’ clothing and so-called fair trade products”. I’m not
denying they were being sold, I’m just saying they didn’t seem to be that pervasive. Now perhaps this is because “our” Walmart is one of the demo/model/test Walmarts that have more products and more variety and are therefore not as representative of regular Walmarts.
Glad they re-discovered their customers, so to speak, but they never lost us.
I shop at Walmart…for the few products not made in China. That narrows it down to landscape plants, organic cotton T-shirts from Nicaragua, and Federal and Winchester ammo. I think self-defense is far greener than the enviro-whacko idiocy which will destroy the economy and ensure a global return to feudalism.
jdm, Check the light bulb aisle. They ditched the globe bulbs for some hideous fluorescent things – to go above vanity mirrors.
Since my wife would have killed me if I brought those things home, I stocked up on the real thing at Home Depot. I’m glad they saw the light – pun intended.
Whenever I use a handbasket at Wl-Mart, the cashiers ask that I put the basket back. This must be a new thing, and no other place I know of does that. I’ll stick with Meijers, their prices are comparable.
Walmart lost money for 8 consecutive quarters ?
believe it. I worked for walmart for 2yrs. That store I was at..was NEVER out of the red the entire time I worked there.
One thing that I’ve noticed about progressives is that if “environmental responsibility” is pitted against “social justice” (i.e. greenies vs. the poor) the greenies win out every time.
If the poor avoid Progressive “social justice,” they’re the winners in the battle with “Green” whether they realize it or not at the time.
I’m going to have to ditto jdm. I never noticed anything particularly different at the SuperWalmart near me. It’s sold basically all the same stuff for the past decade. There are, obviously, things like new lines of clothing by random disney stars and whatnot, but the basics have looked the same as ever. *shrug*
Only part of their fail was the “green” initiative. The other part was deciding that people wanted a more “streamlined” product selection – so they dumped tons of low-selling items. They forgot that today’s market is the market of the long tail, and a good selection is critical for competing against online outlets. The result was you could find a bunch of things you wanted, but there were suddenly gaps in your list when you looked for somewhat more obscure things.
Because Walmart is good for two things: low prices and one-stop shopping – when both those things went away, so did the customers. They have reversed BOTH those trends with their new Back to Basics program and customers came back. Including me. Let’s hope they learned their lesson.
I don’t shop at Wal-Mart anymore because I’ve seen documentaries about how they’ve put long standing companies out of business because Wal-Mart dictates the prices they will pay for products, not allowing the manufacturer to make any profit. And they have a high employee turnover rate in order to avoid paying fair wages. They also are involved in the Solyndra scandal. Beyond that, my local Wal-Mart is empty these days. Usually it’s hard to find a parking space, but recently it’s very quiet. I prefer Target because the store is always neat and clean, and they have fair prices.
Also, Target has coupons online (coupons.target.com) that you can print out and stack with manufacturer coupons. I *heart* Target.
What I’d like Wallmart to do is to lead a demand for a repeal of the Durbin amendment that provoked banks into adding an ATM card user’s fee. It was Wallmart and the retail industry who demanded an end to themselves having to pay a fee, or reduce the fees, despite the fact that ATM purchasing was good for their bottom line — inexplicable greed. They mendaciously disguised it as being “good” for the consumer, which was a lie.
Nothing is ever done for the consumer through legislation It is always about special-interest manipulation hiding behind either “consumers,” “the people,” or “the children.”
How exactly do you draw a connection between Walmart’s new merchandising strategy and the “liberal left experiment” of “green” products? They’re not pulling organics or light bulbs or fair-trade items from the shelves- they’re pulling a diverse assortment of higher-end products and replacing them with cheaper goods. Furthermore, Leslie Dach is still firmly entrenched as a senior executive and is helping direct the new strategy. Walmart has not issued a single statement indicating this change is in any way related to green products. You’re article appears less about the facts behind the move and more about your anti-green opinion.
the green agenda is to take our green and stick it in their pockets while destroying freedom. all totalitarian causes have money and power at the root, with excited lackeys to do the dirty work. the green movement is no different.
One advantage the super Wal-mart had in rural areas was the wide variety of products made it a one stop shopping experience. It’s a big deal to be able to get 95+ percent of the items on your average weekly shopping list at one store when it takes an over an hour just to get into town to shop and gas prices are high. When they eliminated entire departments and cut back on others in favor of more trendy goods I found I sometimes had to drive an extra five miles to the mall on the other side of town just to pick up something as small as a spool of sewing thread or some elastic from a specialty store.
I’ve taken to shopping at Target and K-Mart recently. K-Mart has the clothes my son likes. He outgrows them about the time the cheap stuff wears out. Target has more things my daughter likes. K-Mart has a better selection of shoes and sporting goods than Wal-Mart. Target is spotless and well-organized. I also want to reward Target for using the word “Christmas” again. When Sam Walton was still alive and stocked his stores with American made goods, I prefered Wal-Mart.
Now his stores are run by progressive douchebags. Hello K-Mart.
Living on fixed income of $53.00/day for 2…means Wal-Mart is the store where most savings abound.
Over the past years, in-store purchases have not exceeded $2.79/item (mostly food). Little exists for entertainment, etc. , just basics.
Tight budgets call for tightening of belts. Wal-Mart surely helps. Thank you.
Go figure, You brought in an Al Gore person, learn anything yet?
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