Wal-Mart says it must go upscale

[LynneSin]

Personally, if Wal-Mart wants to figure out why they're losing business maybe they should come to the DU boards and find out why people aren't shopping there anymore. Just cause Wal-Mart wants to carry Organic Food and 400 Count sheets doesn't mean I'm going to suddenly want to go shopping there. All Wal-Mart is doing is trying to put a silk dress on a pig.

http://www.philly.com/mld/philly/business/11811573.htm

Wal-Mart says it must go upscale

By Lauren Coleman-Lochner

BLOOMBERG NEWS

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. needs to attract higher-income consumers with such products as organic food and 400-thread-count sheets to improve sales, company chief executive officer H. Lee Scott said yesterday.

"We have problems to face," Scott told shareholders at Wal-Mart's annual meeting in Fayetteville, Ark. "We will always be committed to our core customers, but there is another customer. When it comes to apparel, they are not shopping with us. They are going somewhere else."

Wal-Mart's lack of fashionable household goods and apparel led to a slowing of same-store sales growth in the last year while rival Target Corp., known for designer goods, posted bigger gains. Same-store sales, a key figure for retailers, measure sales at stores open at least a year.

Wal-Mart's same-store sales "are not what they need to be," company chief financial officer Thomas Schoewe said at yesterday's meeting.

Another challenge is lifting the company's stock price, which has fallen 18 percent since mid-November. Wal-Mart shares fell 87 cents yesterday to close at $47.35 on the New York Stock Exchange.

[ananda]

1. So..

This would be competition for Whole Food? Lol I'll bet.

Sue

[SpiralHawk]

2. He who lives by the sweat shop and crappy merchandise,

shall perish by sweat shop and crappy shit n'stuff.

[Cha]

26. he who gives $3 1/2 million

a year to further fascist causes can get their customers from that gang.

[Nikia]

3. We have noticed this about Walmart

They sell everything except high quality products.

[ebayfool]

36. Yeah, & still won't if they call 400-thread-count sheets high end product.

Hell, even I know ya gotta start at 800-thread-count!

(or so the people I keep house for tell me LOL!)

[Dulcinea]

42. So does that mean they'll charge more for their low-quality crap?

Do they really think the Neiman Marcus & Nordstrom's crowd is going to shop at Walmart for clothing or sheets? What color is the sky in their universe?

Their customer base is probably tired of cheap crap & dirty, cluttered stores, but they'd have to spend real money to correct that, so it won't happen except as a last resort.

[sam sarrha]

4. up scale= higher prices.. lowerwages

[Horse with no Name]

5. They need to look deeper..alot deeper

Perhaps their judgemental pharmacists, sweatshop rates, working welfare employees, and predatory business practices should be looked at rather than assuming that putting some high end merchandise in their store is going to change things.
I find it hair-pulling that the folks that buy blue have made a difference...and they blame it on sheets,lol.
I find it equally as hair-pulling that people are leaving Faux news in droves, yet we (as Dems) do not get the credit.
I don't understand.:shrug:

[Clark2008]

20. Maybe the sheets they need to blame it on are those who

cover white men and crown up into a point.


Just sayin'...

[Horse with no Name]

28. Ding Ding Ding we have a winner!

[housewolf]

6. Walmart heard the news that sales/profits were up for upscale stores

like Nordstrom's and Saks Fifth Avenue, Lands End and that type of store.

Rather than look at the part Walmart has played in widening the gap between the "haves and the haves not" they are preparing to chase the "haves"

Rather than address the issue that their "base" customer has fewer and fewer dollars to spend, they will abandon their base and chase a more exclusive market.

It's it just "the American way"????

[susanna]

12. Interesting take.

If they do go forward with this and abandon their base, they'll put themselves out of business. Not that I'll cry too much over that.

[madeline_con]

15. I say go for it!

We can leave their friggin parking lot to soccer mom SUVs and noenazi rent a cops trolling for somone to harass.

[Clark2008]

21. Hey! I'm a soccer Mom.

I don't have an SUV, however.


Seriously, I was looking for a product for a sales promotion the other day and the Party City didn't have what I was looking for, so I asked who might have it. They said, "Wal-Mart." I snarled my nose and said, "I don't shop at Wal-Mart," and they looked at me like I was insane.

This boycott may be working in most places, but, obviously, it still has a long way to go in others.

[Fla Dem]

55. Name change to Walman-Martcus won't change their corporate

policy of raping the middle and lower income population.:thumbsdown:

[WildClarySage]

7. They can upscale themselves all they want. I ain't shopping there.

Overpricing cheap crap doesn't make it less crappy.

[Bluebear]

8. Grand. Brie-flavored beef jerky, here we come. nt

[annabanana]

16. giggle

Chateau Neuf du Crap

[blue neen]

9. These Wal-Mart bigwigs are in denial.

They can't look at themselves and see that THEY are actually the problem. They have a slave mentality when it comes to their workers,
and they assume their customers are stupid.

Some of the consumers in this country are a lot smarter than Wal-Mart gives them credit for!

[NNguyenMD]

10. treating your employees with respect and giving them a decent wage works

to really well at Wegmans. Even though you end up paying more for food compared to the deep discount grovery store on the other side of town, the majority of shoppers still prefer going there because the service is good, the workers upbeat, and the store doesn't look like a swap meet cluttered with cheap crap.

[eleny]

11. They need to make a start like this

Reach around back with both hands
Grip a cheek with each hand
Count to three
Pull their collective Walton head out of their Walton ass

[noel711]

13. Upscale?

Wal-Mart and Upscale in the same sentence is an oxymoron.

[Fla Dem]

50. Exactly, no way those rich repugs are going to want to rub elbows

with common people. Can you just picture some snotty, well heeled repug stepford wife standing in a check out line with everyday Wal-Fart shoppers??

Ain't gonna happen.

:think: :crazy: :think: :crazy:

[napi21]

14. Several weeks ago, I heard that WM has employee turnover of 55,000

people each MONTH! Less than 1% of those are for new stores! A consumer advocate talk show host named Clark Howard had this tid bit on his show. He said WM made a corporate decision that it was in their best interest to pay low wages, little to no health ins. options, and just keep hiring new people.

Clark said, at some point, WM will have to decide if this was the right decision or not. I'm thinking that decision time is comming pretty close!

[madeline_con]

17. Drugs plague

our local Wally World (new in Cocoa, FL). Hubby went to get something from the deli one night, and had to recruit a bakery employee to slice some meat for him. She told him all the deli people had o be let go, they all flunked their drug tests. :rofl:

[napi21]

19. Betcha they weren't employed more than a month...if that!

WM has 1,200,000 employees in the US. At 55,000 new hires each month, that means they have a 50% turnover each year! That is simply astonishing!

I worked for a big retailer, and they were spastic if they had a 5% turnover.

That's why you can't find anyone in the stores who knows what they're doing!

It'll come back to bite them in the a**, and I have a feeling, it's going to be pretty soon!

[Melynn]

27. Sooner or later, WMT is going to run out of people to hire

WMT is a study in business management stupidity.

[napi21]

29. Sure would think so! At 600,000 a year, everyone will have worked

there at some point!

I grew up in Pgh. Pa. and we used to joke that everybody worked at Islays at least once in their life. Islays I think is gone now. Maybe we can say that about WM someday!

[SoCalDem]

18. Nope.. all they need to do is go back to what they were when they started

They started out as a glorified 5 & dime, a small town store. They tried to eat the elephant all in a few bites, and now they have indigestion.:)

[alarimer]

22. You can put lipstick on a pig and call it Monique

but it's still a hog.

[cmd]

56. My post was going to say prom dress

but it means the same either way. Walmart will never be able to upscale its greed.

[WildClarySage]

23. On reflection, I wonder if this isn't a warning that they will

soon be upping their prices. Since they have, in many towns, driven out their competition, they're saying that they're raising their prices to be a more upscale business, as if we wouldn't notice the sheer greed behind the increases.

[Gormy Cuss]

24. Monopolies can do that.

There is no way WalMart can target 'upscale' customers with the crap they sell in the ugly warehouse caverns of disorganized merchandise they have now. I think you've nailed it. Prices raised, nothing else improved.

I have shopped in three different stores in three different states and only because I was tagging along. Two of the three times I wanted to go screaming out of the place. Give me K-mart or the Dollar Store over Walmart, and Target if I have the choice.

[kweerwolf]

25. An upscale Wal-Mart?

Is Tommy Hilfiger coming out with a line of designer overalls? Will they carry Prada workboots?

Inquiring minds want to know!

[Bouncy Ball]

30. Guess what?

I'm STILL not going to shop at Satan's Five and Dime.

EVER.

[Catt03]

31. Maybe Ms. Walton will shop there

..it's "upscale". She certianly knows how to spend money.

'The daughter of the founder of Wal-Mart, Alice Walton, bought "Kindred Spirits" this month reportedly for at least $35 million, the highest price ever paid for a painting by an American artist -- though, since it was bought at a "silent auction" at Sotheby's, the parties involved are denying the public even the right to be told what the precise purchase price was, much less have any say in the disposition of what we previously were told was a public treasure."

http://www.gothamgazette.com/article/arts/20050524/1/1425

[NMMNG]

32. Oh please!

Upscale goods aren't what they need to bolster their image.

What they need to do, among other things, is:

Pay their employees a living wage and let them unionize if they choose
Give their employees adequate health insurance
Get off the moral high horse about birth control (while still selling guns and bullets)
Stop selling crappy merchandise made by third-world sweatshop labor

[DenaliDemocrat]

33. Gee, could it be

that a lot of people won't shop there because you pay your employees so shitty 2/3rds of them have to be on state assistnace?


WALMART is boycotted in my family...period!!

[Solly Mack]

34. Wal-Marts in Germany have coffee pots costing euro 600,00

That's not a typo...that's 600 (hundred) euros.

Just how upscale do the Wal-Marts in America plan to go?

[anarchy1999]

35. I did not read through this thread but I have one thing to say:

Screw you Wal-Mart and your UpScale ambitions. We've not crossed your door in many years and there is nothing that you as a corporation, a business that will persuade us to cross through your door or buy from you until you change your ugly ways.

The founder of this empire did not hold the views that are in operation now. Remember back to when it was buy American. What a joke and a laugh.

[warrens]

37. I've covered Wal-Mart since the 1980s

They do this every five years or so, try to upgrade, particularly apparel and home furnishings. They run around talking with designers, and trying to get fashion on the cheap. They're just incapable of not beating up suppliers, and in the fashion world, that doesn't work. So they find someone to knock off real fashions, and it looks exactly what it is, a cheap knockoff. The core customer is not interested, and frankly, if you're not already shopping Wal-Mart, you're probably not going to start.

Target forges alliances with really creative people, finds a way to offer their products at a reasonable price, then stays the course.

It's going to be a happy day when I type the words, "Wal-Mart today filed for protection under the Federal Bankruptcy code..."

[Awsi Dooger]

38. Wal-Mart must be in trouble regarding apparel

My mother visited a few weeks ago. She is retired and elderly and for some reason is now obsessed with her appearance. Mom insisted on Wal-Mart to buy some cream for her foot. But naturally she rushed straight to the women's clothing department. Twenty minutes later it was literally the first time in 5 years I've seen her exit a store after examining their clothing and not buy anything. "They don't have anything nice," she said matter of factly. We went to something called Dress Barn and she bought 6 items.

[Nikia]

58. I think that I bought one tee short there

Even when we used to shop at Walmart frequently (well relatively). What we bought there was stuff like soap, shampoo, OTC drugs, notebook paper, soda, garbage bags, and snacks. These were the same things that we could also buy at grocery and drug stores, but averaged cheaper at Walmart. We never went there to shop for clothes, shoes, sheets, or other items where quality counts. In most cases you can buy quality items at department stores for the same price when they are on sale.

[anarchy1999]

39. We never cross through their door and we aren't about to start now!

Take your "UpScale" WalMart and shove it as far up as you can go! Sorry, we just feel that way about WallyWorld.

We can not and will not buy a single thing from them. Period.

[Piperay]

40. They will drop their lower income customers

so fast if they think they can get higher income people in, yeah they will be real loyal to their customer base.:sarcasm:

[pinniped]

41. Most of their customers probably prefer 50-thread-count sheets.

Even if these chumps carry my favorite clothing brand, Ralph Lauren/ Polo, I'm still not giving them a single dime. They can go to hell.

Why would someone want to buy upscale offerings at a dump? Who wants to buy these so-called upscale 400-thread-count sheets while smelling the putrid odor of their in house McDonalds? An upscale shopping experience ...NOT!

[flygal]

44. Oh the McDonalds odor!!

Forgot about that lovely experience. :puke:

[bleedingheart]

43. Wal Mart and Upscale in the same sentence sounds wrong...

bwwahahahahahah

[greymattermom]

45. checkout

At the walmart in my area you have to scan everything yourself while a guy in a glass booth watches. Upscale customers won't want to do that.

[Gin]

46. Higher end means higher profits for these theives...all the stuff still

made in China at slave labor wages, and sold here for top dollar. Just another way to make more money.

[sbj405]

47. They clearly don't understand that the differnce between them and Target

is more than merchandise.

The entire shopping experience is much more enjoyable at Target. From the cleanliness of the stores to the friendliness of the staff. Probably because they treat their employees better. When will WM figure this out?

[Tsiyu]

48. High end customers want

personal service, a pleasant atmosphere and merchandise few can afford (that's what makes the purchase "worth it." It's only "elite" if everyone else can't buy it, D'OH!).

But then, maybe the Republirich plan on sending their slave-wage-paid hired help to shop for them, so service and atmosphere won't matter.

In that case, we're still left with merchandise. How many high end manufacturers will want to deal with WalMart's "buyers" when they've been negotiating with real buyers? How many will want their products associated with WalMart?

Unless they plan on exploiting the high end manufacturer who is about to go under, why would they expect anyone in that sector to woo WalMart or to be charmed into dealing with them?

But then, who knew * would steal 2 elections, so what the hell do I know? Put me down as another who doesn't shop there, at least.

[newportdadde]

49. Walmarts problems aren't sheet counts, its lack of consumer buying power.

Look around you at the price of milk, gas just a few years ago to now. Look at housing, gas or the ridiculous cost of healthcare.

The American consumer at all levels is getting squezzed as prices increase and wages do not rise to meet that increase. You will see the same occuring more and more in the future. This is what happens when you sell out your blue collar working base and erode your white collar base as well.

Did these big corporations really think they could cut cut cut forever and it not have some impact?

[brokensymmetry]

51. I think you've got it.

The low end consumer is being squeezed hard - by gasoline prices, health care, food, what-have-you. So Walmart wants to abandon them and get into a more affluent market.

As for me, Walmart can go to blazes. I do not like them.

[all.of.me]

52. LOL!! i cracked up when i read the subject line of your post!

that is hysterical! good luck to them. you can change your name, but you can't change your fame.

[BlueIris]

53. Good luck with the "upscale," Misogyny, Inc.

Of course, since, for that company's there's nowhere to go BUT up, uh...maybe it can improve.

[OrlandoGator]

54. Upscale Wal-Mart = Less barefoot children running around.

Oh, and maybe it also means not restocking the store during peak shopping hours.

[Neshanic]

57. My fashionista niece says Target is the cool place, Walmart, no.

It seems tha Target has hit a very nice stride in attracting the huge group of people that want stylish and reasonably priced items. She and her friends see Walmart as a place they would never be cught in.

The commercials are very good and the people they are going after are not Walmart shoppers, and are now eating into Walmart's share.

For good reason, the very few times I have been in a Walmart, the buildings are spectacular in ugliness, filthy, items flung everywhere, and the lines out of a what seems to be 100 lanes, five are open.

I shop at Target only and Costco. Target stores here without exception are gleaming clean, bright, and very nice, with reasonable prices for things like detergent. My niece and her friends go for the lamps, bric-a-brac, and that stuff.

Any person who goes to a Walmart and a Target in the same day would see the difference. Walmart, always the filthiest...always.