Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT) said yesterday that it would be changing the logo at its U.S. locations by this fall. The current logo, which is simply the company's name with red lines above and below it, has been in use since 1992.

Wal-Mart continues to integrate the slogan "Save Money. Live Better" into everything it does. That saying is the retailer's current tagline, and even the announcement of the logo change mentions this: "This logo update is simply a reflection of the refreshed image of our stores and our renewed sense of purpose of helping people save money so they can live better." If that isn't a pre-scripted message from the corporate underbelly, I don't know what is.

It appears that the hyphen will be going away in the company's name-based logo. The hyphen was replaced a long time ago by the star anyway, so it's a moot point. According to rumors reported by the WSJ, the new logo will show the retailer's name in white letters on an orange background, followed by a small starburst. I guess orange is less confrontational than blue? Anyway, the image makeover of the retailer's logo comes at a good time. Sometimes breaking the mold and starting over can implant a new image in the mind of the consumer, and if all that is required is a logo change (and the millions of changes on signage it will require), so be it.