Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.'s (NYSE:WMT) "behind closed doors" meetings with its store managers and industry analysts last week was probably meant to be a "no holds barred" session" where the world's largest retailer tries to gain a foothold into the best operating strategy it can with lessons from past failures along with store-level and industry feedback.One of the most talked-about subjects, most likely, as this recent meeting was how to attack red-hot competitor Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT), who is undoubtedly taking pieces of marketshare away from stodgy Wal-Mart. There are issues of merchandise presentation, name brands, perceived quality (notice I didn't say (real quality"), and even corporate image. I'll bet these were talked about heavily last week.
If not, Wal-Mart is barking up the wrong forest of trees in part (or in whole). Is Wal-Mart really going to struggle in 2007 to re-capture marketshare from hipper, faster rivals and can it re-brand itself from the image it has with customers right now? If you ask me, the re-imaging part is going to require an effort of Herculean proportions, and Wal-Mart has the money and talent to do it.
But does it have the desire to execute?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
2-05-2007 @ 6:21PM
Mike said...
I think you have the wrong idea about these meetings. Imagine a convention center with an actual Wal-Mart set up inside -- aisles and all. 7000 managers walking around sampling the wares from hundreds of suppliers in a big "pep rally" type environment. Meetings going on at a half-dozen bleachers set up throughout the building...the Wal-Mart cheer loudly shouted over and over again.
It's an amazing thing to see. Hard not be excited.
2-05-2007 @ 7:29PM
Jack Schneider said...
If these meetings are so great what happen the last five years anybody notice the stock price? Industry analysts are just that, if they knew what they were doing, they own there own stores. It is like teaching business in college if they knew what they doing they would be running a business not teaching it. The store managers are motivated by there own greed And leave the most important people out the CSM {Customer serve representative]and department leads These are the associates that work with the customers 24/7. When Sam Walton was alive an visited his stores he would talk to associates at the bottem of the totem pole Is time to read his book again you cannot knock his success.
2-06-2007 @ 2:39PM
Mark said...
Do you know anyone who wouldn't be seen dead in a Wal-Mart? Probably. Do you know anyone who wouldn't be seen dead in a Target? Probably not. Wal-Mart's only hope to fight Target is to rebrand...I mean eliminate the Wal-Mart brand. But they won't do it. Long TGT.