Wal-Mart brews its own coffee

Posted Apr 1st 2008 9:20AM by Douglas McIntyre
Filed under: Launches, Industry, Consumer Experience, Competitive Strategy, Wal-Mart (WMT), Starbucks (SBUX)

Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) is rolling out its own brands of "green" coffee. The coffee is organic and comes from "carbon neutral" planters. According to Reuters: "This month, the world's largest retailer will begin selling six coffees under the Sam's Choice brand in all of its U.S. stores."

The news is probably not so hot for in-store brands like Maxwell House, Folgers, Chock full o'Nuts and Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX). Wal-Mart likely doesn't care. If it is an important outlet for these brands, there is not much they can do about it but suffer.

Wal-Mart is a curious retailer. Most of its shoppers are low income. They probably care much more about price than they do about where the coffee is grown and how. The move may be good PR for Wal-Mart and give it that "warm and fuzzy" felling with the press. its shoppers probably won't notice at all. Unless it is cheaper than what they can get now.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.

Tags: inthenews, SBUX, starbucks, wal-mart, WMT