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KSPR News
August 31st, 2009                     [back to top]   

CoxHealth opened another clinic inside a Springfield Wal-Mart Monday. This one is inside the Independence store.

The clinics are set up to serve as an alternative for people who are sick enough to need care, but aren't sick enough to go to urgent care or the ER.

This is the fourth clinic to open in the Ozarks. The others are in Republic, Ozark, and at Springfield's S. Campbell location.

A recent study compared retail clinics like the ones in Wal-Marts to care you could get at the doctor's office, urgent care centers, and emergency rooms.

It found the Wal-Mart clinics often offered the same quality and sometimes better treatment at a lower price.

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Wal-mart shuts down in New Britain

By AMES CRAVEN,
The BristollPress
August 31st, 2009               [back to top]   

NEW BRITAIN — A small group of angry former employees gathered at the front door of the Walmart on Farmington Avenue during the store’s final hours Monday to assert they were being treated unfairly.

With employment histories going back more than 12 years, the employees said their last days as Walmart associates were scarred by the company’s disrespectful attitude toward them.

“We deserve respect,” said Julia Calderon. “It’s not fair how they are treating us.”

The 69-year-old Calderon said promises made to her by the company of a comparable job proved untrue.

Walmart announced in June that the New Britain store would be closing at the end of August and that employee’s would be offered the opportunity for a comparable job at another location.

According to Calderon, she had been a full-time employee for her dozen years at the store until the company began reducing her weekly hours. Calderon said that after reducing the number of hours she worked, Walmart offered her a job at their Newington store but with only 28 hours each week.

“I can’t live on that,” she said. “What am I going to do?”

John Green, director of Connecticut Working Families, said he hoped shedding light on the company’s practices would force Walmart to do the right thing.

“Is the company going back on their commitment to these employees?” he said.

Other employee’s said their employment had ended but they were leaving without knowing what their severance package would be.

Walmart spokeswoman Daffney Moore said she was unsure why such charges were being leveled against the company and that no employee hours had been reduced.

“We made it a priority to find opportunities for all our New Britain associates to continue their Walmart careers at area locations,” Moore said, adding that any employee who decided not to accept an offer would receive their regular paycheck Tuesday.

Severance packages, however, would be paid sometime within the next 60 days.

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Now coming to new Wal-Mart in North Whitehall....crime?

By Sarah Fulton,
THE MORNING CALL
August 28th, 2009                      [back to top] 

A state trooper fielded questions Tuesday from the North Whitehall Planning Commission and the public about current police coverage in the township and the potential impact of a large commercial center, including a 24-hour Wal-Mart.

Land development plans for the big-box retailer and four smaller sites at the North Whitehall Commercial Center -- proposed to be built in Schnecksville -- are currently under review by the Planning Commission.

Commissioner John Barto III asked if a big-box retailer would affect police service in the township.

Cpl. Jill Mahady said the Bethlehem barracks has recently undertaken coverage of the Airport Center shopping center, which includes Target and other retailers, and troopers have not seen a significant crime increase. However, there has been some retail theft and a number of alarms to respond to.

Barto asked if the Wal-Mart center would stress coverage. Some residents are concerned the store will consume police services needed by the public. Mahady said coverage has not changed as a result of the Airport Center development.

Resident Nancy Bramer said she obtained crime statistic figures for North Whitehall that show incidents increased from 1,701 in 2006 to 2,354 in 2007. Bramer said she also obtained figures for the Trexlertown Wal-Mart that showed 102 incidents in 2006 and 68 incidents in 2007. She asked Mahady if that amount of incidents would have a significant impact on state police coverage in North Whitehall.

"Absolutely, that is significant," Mahady said.

Attorney Erich Schock, who represents Wal-Mart, asked if two calls came in -- one for a home burglary and the other for a retail shoplifting -- would a determination be made.

Mahady said calls are prioritized all the time and it would depend on the circumstances of each situation, for example, whether a suspect was on premises at the home burglary or in custody of retail security.

Currently, one trooper is on patrol in the township from 7 a.m. and 11 p.m. From 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. two cars, each containing two troopers, patrol a zone including North Whitehall, Washington, Allen, East Allen townships and Hanover Township, Lehigh County.

"From the time their shift starts, they're on the road," Mahady said.

Planning commissioners praised the current service provided by the state police. Several members of the nine-person board shared personal stories where troopers had responded within minutes of a call.

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Walmart store refuses to refund recalled product

The Baltimore Sun
August 26th, 2009                     [back to top] 

We told you last week that Walmart recalled 1.5 million Durabrand DVD players sold between January 2006 and July 2009 after several units overheated and some even caused fires. Customers were instructed to take the units back to Walmart for a refund as a result.

Several readers wrote to thank us about the post, including Anne from Manchester. Her DVD player wasn't working well so she was happy to hear the news:

"I have had trouble with mine since shortly after buying it and I tried to take it back to WalMart before, but lost the receipt. When the thing heated up -- the picture would freeze. Thank God I didn't have a fire. WalMart told me they hadn't sold this in over two years, and couldn't take it back because they didn't know how much to refund me since it was out of their system, but now they HAVE TO TAKE IT BACK."

Except, that's not what she said happened when she arrived at the Walmart in Hampstead, with the DVD player in the original box, but without the small plastic plate that covers the batteries in the remote control:

"They said they would not take it back because it was missing a one-inch piece of plastic and one battery which remember was a fire hazard to begin with. I asked if this was Walmart's policy or just this Walmart's policy and they said it was Walmart's policy that all parts, even the batteries, had to be returned or you could not return a recall, even if it is a fire hazard." So, Anne said she took her DVD player home with her and called a district manager to get confirmation of Walmart's policy, and he confirmed what the employee at the store said: that the store needed all parts to process the return. The manager was willing to make an exception for her, just this time.

But fortunately for Anne and the owners of the other 1,499,999 recalled DVD players, that's not the case. I talked with Walmart spokeswoman Melissa O'Brien, who confirmed that customers do not need the receipt, the original packaging or even all the parts to get the refund --- "as long as it is the exact item that is being recalled," she said.

She called the Hampstead store, and the manager there did not recall a situation like the one described here, but said that anyone who had bought the product should definitely bring it in.

With all the recent toy recalls, for example, O'Brien said people received their refunds even if some of the small parts were missing.

Without a receipt, the dollar value refunded will match the current price of the product, O'Brien said. "The remote control should not have mattered," she said.

UPDATED: I changed the headline on Wednesday to reflect the fact that these complaints stem from only one Walmart location. --- lfk.

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Wal-Mart Has Added Companies To Its Prescription-Drug Effort

By Karen Talley,
Dow Jones Newswires
August 26th, 2009                          [back to top] 

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) has expanded its prescription drug program to companies beyond Caterpillar Inc. (CAT), where it has been running a pilot program since September.

The world's biggest retailer has signed other companies to the program, said spokeswoman Christi Gallagher, in the company's first public comment about the expansion.

Wal-Mart declined to name the additions, saying the information was proprietary. Wal-Mart had used Caterpillar as a banner to bring attention to its aspirations to define itself as a supplier of prescription medicine to businesses.

Wal-Mart's comments came Wednesday after Caterpillar said it would be working with Walgreen Co. (WAG) to offer prescription medicines to Caterpillar's 70,000 employees, retirees and their dependants as of Jan. 1, 2010.

Caterpillar also said it was signing a two-year contract with Wal-Mart, effective the same date, to take the program from its pilot stage and continue it.

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Preservationists plea with Walmart CEO

By Clint Schemmer,
Federicksburg.com
August 26th, 2009                    [back to top] 

Heritage groups are taking their battle against a Walmart store at the Wilderness straight to Bentonville, Ark.

The Wilderness Battlefield Coalition is appealing to Walmart Stores Inc. President and CEO Michael Duke.

Leaders of the coalition’s eight member groups wrote a letter to Duke late yesterday saying they remain “gravely concerned” about the retailer’s plans to build a Supercenter in eastern Orange County at the entrance to Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park.

The Orange County Board of Supervisors approved the store site on Tuesday.

Rob Nieweg, director of the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s Southern field office, said the coalition will continue pressing Wal–Mart to protect the Civil War battlefield and the park.

“Wal–Mart is not obligated to build on the approved site simply because Orange County has given them a green light by approving the special-use permit,” Nieweg said late yesterday.

“Big-box construction on this site would harm the battlefield and radically urbanize the gateway to the national park. Ultimately, the fate of this historic place is in Wal–Mart’s hands.”

The coalition said it is not opposed to a Walmart in Orange County--just one at the Wilderness, where generals Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee first met in battle.

The coalition's members include the Central Virginia Battlefields Trust, Civil War Preservation Trust, Friends of Fredericksburg Area Battlefields, Friends of Wilderness Battlefield, National Coalition for History, National Parks Conservation Association, National Trust for Historic Preservation, Piedmont Environmental Council, and Preservation Virginia.

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Wal-Mart's First Guangzhou Outlet Opens In November

ChinaRetailNews.com
August 26th, 2009                    [back to top] 

Retail giant Wal-Mart will open its first outlet in Guangzhou in November 2009.

Located in Guangzhou's Panyu district, the new outlet will be a Sam's Club, with a business area of 12,000 square meters and a total investment of USD30 million. The new store is expected to be completed and opened in November 2009.

At present, employees of this new store are promoting membership cards to the nearby communities, including Country Garden. Unlike Wal-Mart supermarkets, Sam's Club requires a membership card and consumers need to pay for this membership card to enjoy the lower prices of products in Sam's Club. The Guangzhou Sam's Club plans to enroll 90,000 members.

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Officials OK Walmart near Va. battlefield

By STEVE SZKOTAK,
Associated Press
August 25th, 2009                      [back to top] 

Officials in central Virginia approved a Walmart Supercenter early Tuesday near one of the nation's most important Civil War battlefields, a proposal that had stirred opposition by preservationists and hundreds of historians.

The Orange County Board of Supervisors voted 4-1 to grant the special permit to the world's biggest retailer after a majority of more than 100 speakers said they favored bringing the Walmart to Locust Grove, within a cannonball's shot from the Wilderness Battlefield.

Historians and Civil War buffs are fearful the Walmart store will draw traffic and more commerce to an area within the historic boundaries of the Wilderness, where generals Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee first met in battle 145 years ago and where 145,000 Union and Confederate soldiers fought and more than 29,000 were killed or injured. One-fourth of the Wilderness is protected.

But they could not sway supervisors, who said they didn't see the threat.

"I cannot see how there will be any visual impact to the Wilderness Battlefield," Supervisor Chairman Lee Frame said, casting a vote for the special use permit the retailer needs to build. "I think the current proposal ... is the best way to protect the battlefield." The retailer said construction could begin in a year.

Nearly 400 people crowded into Orange County High School to attend the board's hearing. Some came dressed in period costume, including a dead ringer for Lee. Many residents cited three reasons for supporting the Walmart proposal: jobs, tax revenue and a cheap shopping option for the 32,000 residents of this farming community about 60 miles southwest of Washington.

"I know we've been referred to as ignorant shoppers," said Barbara Wigger. "I feel bad about that but I'll live with it. Let us have our Walmart and let us stop the battle."

Speakers who urged the board to reject the special permit said they were not anti-Walmart, but simply worried about the sanctity of the battlefield.

"This is a major battlefield," said Charles Seilheimer Jr. "It may not be Gettysburg but it's pretty close. The Civil War experts say this is part of the battlefield. I believe them." In a state with more key Civil War battlefields than any other, the company's plan to build near the Wilderness had mobilized historians, preservationists and politicians.

Opponents included 253 historians such as David McCullough and James M. McPherson, filmmaker Ken Burns, actor Robert Duvall, Virginia Gov. Timothy M. Kaine, and congressmen from Vermont and Texas, states that lost many men at the Wilderness.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc., which has 8,000 stores worldwide and adds about 240 each year, countered that the site is zoned for commercial use and the store will not be within sight of the battlefield's 2,700 protected acres. The retailer has also said the store will create hundreds of jobs and generate $800,000 in tax revenue for Orange County.

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Ameriwood Recalls Entertainment Stands Sold Exclusively at Walmart Stores Due to Tip-Over Hazard

Press Release
August 25th, 2009                       [back to top] 

The following product safety recall was voluntarily conducted by the firm in cooperation with the CPSC. Consumers should stop using the product immediately unless otherwise instructed.

Name of Product: Your Zone Loft Collection Entertainment Stands

Units: About 195

Manufacturer: Ameriwood Industries, of Wright City, Mo.

Hazard: Warning labels sold with the entertainment stands indicate incorrect size and weight limits for televisions used with the stands. A television that is too heavy or wide for the entertainment stand can make the unit unstable, posing a tip-over hazard to consumers.

Incidents/Injuries: None reported.

Description: This recall involves Your Zone Loft Collection entertainment stands. The stands are intended to be used as gaming centers. The recall includes Autumn Beech YZ084-104-13-19 stands with model number 1156020WY. Model information is printed on the instruction manual.

Sold exclusively at: Walmart stores nationwide from May 2009 through July 2009 for about $100.

Manufactured in: Canada

Remedy: Consumers should immediately check the size and weight of the television used with the entertainment stands. If the television exceeds 50 pounds or does not sit entirely on top of the stand, consumers should immediately remove it from the stand. CRT televisions larger than 20 inches and flat panel televisions larger than 27 inches should not be placed on the stands. Consumers should contact Ameriwood for a replacement warning label.

Consumer Contact: For additional information, contact Ameriwood Industries toll-free at (877) 732-8252 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. CT Monday through Friday, or visit the firm’s Web site at www.ameriwood.com

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Wal-Mart extends walk-in bill pay to all U.S. stores

Reuters
August 25th, 2009                       [back to top] 

Wal-Mart Stores Inc (WMT.N) expanded its service that allows shoppers to pay their household bills in person to all its U.S. stores.

The discount retailer, which has been expanding the financial services it offers lower-income shoppers, began offering the service, for which it charges a fee, in some of its stores in February. It is now rolling it out nationwide in all of its Walmart discount stores and Walmart Neighborhood Markets.

Wal-Mart said the walk-in service is geared toward shoppers who do not use checking accounts and often pay bills in cash. Most banks offer online bill payment for free.

Wal-Mart spokeswoman Linda Blakley said it is difficult to tell if the retailer is attracting new shoppers by offering the service because customers pay for bills with cash.

But she said it was designed to fill a need among its existing shoppers. According to research commissioned by Wal-Mart and conducted by Aite Group, paying bills in person is common among a large segment of Americans who make less than $45,000 a year.

The bill payment service is being offered through Fiserv Inc's (FISV.O) CheckFreePay and through MoneyGram (MGI.N).

Customers pay 88 cents for standard bill payment with CheckFreePay, or $1.88 for next-day bill payment. Same-day bill payment through MoneyGram starts at $4.50, Wal-Mart said.

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Wal-Mart Revisits Urban Expansion

By Tom Ryan,
Retail Wire
August 24th, 2009                      [back to top] 

With new formats, its success in food and a buffed-up image, Wal-Mart appears to be making a renewed effort to open stores in major urban markets. Although labor unions remain a huge obstacle, the hunt for savings in the recession may quell some local opposition.

An article last week in the Washington Business Journal indicated Wal-Mart is looking for enough land to accommodate an 80,000- to 100,000-square-foot store in Southeast D.C. for its first in the district. A separate article in Crain's New York in early August found that the retailer was searching for its first store in New York City's five boroughs.

Meanwhile, Wal-Mart was said to be looking to open a half-dozen or more stores in coming years in Chicago after getting rebuffed by city leaders, according to an article earlier this year in The Wall Street Journal. The Chicago stores, according to the article, are expected to serve as an urban model that it could help open up access to other tough-to-crack markets, including New York and Los Angeles.

The moves are apparently part of a longstanding, albeit highly frustrating, strategy to open stores in low-income, urban areas.

When Wal-Mart's first store in the West Side of Chicago was being built in 2006, then CEO Lee Scott announced plans to open 50 stores in areas heavily populated by minorities and in need of jobs and tax revenue. That led to some stores on the outskirts of cities but also many frustrated attempts to land inner city locations. After getting continually rebuffed in New York City, Mr. Scott said in 2007, "I don't care if we are ever here." It still operates only one store in Chicago.

But Crain's New York implied that Wal-Mart may benefit from its efforts in recent years to improve its image around the environment and employee health care.

The discount formula and broader food offerings is also said to make it more appealing in today's climate. Wal-Mart has also been opening multi-story stores to fit into more congested areas as well as smaller supercenters to bring food savings to tighter markets. Conventional discount stores in Bloomington, IN, and White Plains, NY, are adding fresh food to their mix.

"We're working toward a format that's more efficient and a smaller prototype," Wal-Mart spokesperson Amy Wyatt-Moore, told the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal. "It's about utilizing and reusing our existing footprint to be able to deliver a Supercenter experience for customers in urban markets without adding any square footage."

Nonetheless, Wal-Mart will face fierce opposition from organized labor.

"While Wal-Mart claims to have improved corporate practices, these efforts appear to be little more than window dressing," said New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn in a statement released to Crain's. "Until they make actual changes, providing a living wage and ending the practice of preying on small businesses, I will block any attempt to locate in the five boroughs."

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Final Walmart hearing set for Monday in Orange County

By ZACHARY REID ,
Richmond Times-Dispatch
August 23rd, 2009                                   [back to top] 

The Orange County Board of Supervisors will hold its final public hearing on a proposed Walmart tomorrow at 6 p.m. in the auditorium of the county high school.

The board probably will decide on an application for a special-use permit to allow construction of the 138,000-squarefoot store, though a vote could be pushed back to Tuesday if the hearing goes late.

"I don't think anyone wants to extend this any more than it needs to be," said District 2 Supervisor Zack Burkett.

He said he expects about 60 speakers.

"I'd like a repeat of [Thursday] night," he said, referring to Thursday's Planning Commission hearing, during which 33 people spoke. That well-mannered affair lasted less than two hours before the commissioners began debating whether to vote.

An earlier public hearing had 80 speakers.

The commission, minus two members, did vote, splitting 4-4 on a request to grant a special-use permit for the store. The group had earlier approved the application on a 5-4 vote, but that vote was vacated when it was discovered that the meeting was held without proper public notice. Its recommendations, though, are nonbinding, so the latest vote was not a deal-killer.

The Board of Supervisors has the power to grant or deny such permits.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. wants to build a store near the intersection of state Routes 3 and 20 in eastern Orange County. The site is across the street from a sign welcoming visitors to the Wilderness, a Civil War battlefield where Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee and Union Gen. Ulysses S. Grant squared off for the first time near the end of the war.

Their decisions precipitated two days of fighting that left more than 25,000 men dead or wounded.

There's some debate about the actual store site, with some historians and preservationists arguing that it was part of the battlefield. Others say it wasn't.

The area has been zoned for commercial development since the 1970s, and there is already a scattering of stores there. But the size of the Walmart exceeds the maximum allowed, so a special-use permit is necessary.

If approved, the store could be open within a year, a Wal-Mart lawyer said.

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The high price of shopping at Wal-Mart

By Catherine Fuller,
The Examiner
August 22nd, 2009                    [back to top] 

Everyday in towns and cities all over America people have made a lifestyle of shopping at Wal-Mart, it is convenient and affordable, but are you really saving money and if so at what cost. Many people are under the impression that building a Wal-Mart brings jobs to town and saves consumers’ money but the long term effect appears to be business closures, job losses, as well as a change in the overall wage that American’s earn and the price they pay for goods. • According to MSN, reports show that when Wal-Mart comes to town, there is an initial rise in jobs as the company hirers contractors to build the facility and about 300 workers to run the store, but what actually happens over time is that the local residents shift their purchases from the local hardware and groceries to Wal-Mart, eventually forcing these businesses to close. • This shift in shopping habits essentially causes job losses over time and those low competitive prices that Wal-Mart offered at first are no longer needed; they gradually begin to increase. Try to compare local prices at Wal-Marts across the state of Arizona and you will find that the website will give you a message telling you that “prices vary by location.” • Wal-Mart’s mission is to lower prices by 5% every year, so if a supplier, local or not, cannot lower their price then they are forced out of business. Wal-Mart cuts their contract and closes them down, causing yet more job losses. • Wal-Mart does not stop with forcing the local businesses to close, it continues to cut costs, shipping jobs and production oversees, suppliers cut manufacturing costs and produce a cheaper product. Sometimes this means the product may not last as long; sometimes it means the product becomes unsafe. Wal-Mart cut jobs and quality in one fail swoop when they decided to eliminate their local butchers; moving meat packing to a central location and exposing it to ethanol. Many consumers have now come to believe that they cannot afford to shop anywhere else but Wal-Mart, giving the chain the ability to bully the local farmer, shape the economy to fit their philosophy, and control the American public. In a price comparison of Wal-Mart and Target, Wal-Mart did win by a little over $5; however there are several alternate retailers that are both convenient and affordable. • Amazon .com often offers high priced goods at 50% to 90% discounts and what is even better most retailers on Amazon are small businesses. Watch for a 5 star rating and take the time to shop around the site. The website gets more and more convenient to use as it remembers your mailing address and what goods you like to purchase. • Shop at your local grocery store before it is gone, patronize Bookman’s or Half Price Books and save upwards of 75%. • Shop your local thrift store, Salvation Army and Goodwill, it may not be new but you will help someone in need, save money as well as preserve the environment. Find a local farmer’s market, ask them to deliver. • Although Costco is also a large chain store, they are not seeking to take advantage of the American worker. Wal-Mart pays most of their workforce just above minimum wage putting them well below the poverty line for a family of 4, while Costco workers live generously above that same poverty line.

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Wal-Mart eyes change in how it buys produce

By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI,
Capitol Press
August 21st, 2009                              [back to top]

The nation's largest retailer is rumored to be stoking increased price competition among packers in Washington's apple industry, potentially foreshadowing a new buying strategy for other perishable crops. Wal-Mart is rumored to be doubling the number of its approved apple vendors in the state, from five to 10, and may try to establish a bidding system in which farmers can also directly compete for the retailer's business. "It's definitely a sea-change," said Keith Matthews, executive director of the Yakima Valley Growers-Shippers Association. Wal-Mart has not made any official announcements about its apple procurement strategy, and did not return calls for comment from Capital Press. Several apple marketers in the state, including Chelan Fresh, Stemilt and Domex, refused to comment. A packing industry website, Perishable Pundit, reported on Aug. 13 that Wal-Mart's change in apple procurement is part of a looming shift in how the company sources perishables from around the globe. The Packer, a trade industry publication, reported Aug. 17 that Wal-Mart is planning to open a buying office in Yakima, Wash. If the rumored procurement system turns out to be a reality, the industry reaction is likely to be split, said Matthews. Producers who don't currently sell to Wal-Mart may see it as a benefit, while those who already work with the retailer would likely view it negatively, he said. Farmers hoping to win some of Wal-Mart's business may get more than they bargained for, Matthews said. The retailer is very demanding of its vendors, so farmers and packers may submit price bids which won't justify all the extra work they'll end up doing, he said. If Wal-Mart were to compete directly with packers for apple supplies, the strategy may backfire for the company as well, said Desmond O'Rourke, CEO of Belrose Inc., an apple market analysis firm. "You can't learn that industry overnight," he said. Packers regularly interact with farmers, advising them how to adjust production practices to meet market needs, O'Rourke said. The industry is constantly updating technology, and generally requires a lot of on-the-job expertise, he said. However, Wal-Mart has the money to hire experts and buy the best equipment or simply take over an existing packing company, O'Rourke said. But taking such a drastic step -- especially if the strategy expands to other perishable commodities -- may not end up saving money, he said. "There's not an easy way to cut marketing margins," O'Rourke said. Traditionally, Wal-Mart has established relationships with vendors for a longer period of time and expected them to be very involved with the product replenishment process to specific distribution centers, said Bruce Peterson of the Peterson Insights consultancy firm. "It was a very interactive relationship," he said. As a former vice president of perishable procurement with Wal-Mart, Peterson had first-hand experience with the process. Peterson said he left the company in 2007, and stressed that his comments about its rumored change in strategy are speculative. Given the scale of Wal-Mart's purchasing power, however, it seems likely that a shift in the company's procurement system would eventually affect other crops, he said. "I can't conceive Wal-Mart just wanting to buy Washington apples and nothing else," he said. Under the Wal-Mart's traditional procurement model, a lot of the work done by packers was invisible to the company, he said. Vendors would go out of their way to make the system run smoothly, which may change if Wal-Mart begins buying directly, Peterson said. "You're going to have to do that yourself," he said. "Maybe Wal-Mart feels they can do that internally less expensively." Under a bid system where Wal-Mart would frequently change suppliers based on who offers the lowest price, the procurement process would be unpredictable for suppliers, said Matthews. That would hinder their ability to ship the right perishable commodities to Wal-Mart stores at just the right time, probably leading to supply interruptions and an overall lower level of service, he said. "Real potential negatives all fall toward Wal-Mart," Matthews said.

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Wal-Mart on the prowl for a D.C. site

By Jonathan O'Connell,
Washington Business Journal
August 21st, 2009                                          [back to top]

Wal-Mart Stores Inc., long interested in opening a store in the District, has stepped up its efforts in recent months and is moving aggressively to work out a deal, according to local developers.

The company appears to be zeroing in on land along Howard Road Southeast, next to Poplar Point. Developer Jeff Epperson, president of Urban-City Ventures LLC, said he is in ongoing discussions with the chain about opening its first D.C. store there.

“I know they’re toying with it. I think they want to get into urban markets, is what they tell me,” said Epperson, who purchased the land along with partner Richard Powell beginning in 2001. “It’s really just a matter of putting a 10 pound bag into a 5 pound box.”

The country’s largest retailer has quietly been reaching out to developers since the May convention of the International Council of Shopping Centers. Wal-Mart is searching for enough land to accommodate an 80,000- to 100,000-square-foot store, hoping to take advantage of cheaper land during the downturn.

“There is nothing to report yet,” said the company’s broker, John Meyer of KLNB Retail. Wal-Mart officials could not be reached for comment. (Editor's note: A spokesman for Wal-Mart commented on the company's potential move to D.C. after this story went to press. See the Breaking Ground blog for comments.)

Epperson’s site, Poplar Point Place, adjoins the 110-acre mixed-use riverfront project that D.C. is planning at Poplar Point, and could bear 2.4 million square feet of development by right, or more than 3 million square feet with zoning changes.

But Epperson said he still needs part of the city’s land on Poplar Point to accommodate Wal-Mart’s needs. Furthermore, he said, the chain does not expect to pay top dollar for the land because of the foot traffic and tax revenue that its stores bring to an area.

“To accommodate any big box there would require a public-private venture,” he said.

That may be a deal breaker. A spokesman for Mayor Adrian Fenty’s economic development office, Sean Madigan, said any assistance for Wal-Mart is off the table.

“Over the last couple of years we’ve had numerous discussions about [Epperson’s] plans for his site next to Poplar Point,” Madigan said and added: “We’re not entertaining any subsidies to bring Wal-Mart to the city for any site.”

For the chain, opening a store in east D.C. would fit its strategy to locate in low-income, urban areas.

In 2006, while Wal-Mart’s store in the West Side of Chicago was being built, CEO Lee Scott announced plans to open 50 stores in areas heavily populated by minorities and in need of jobs and tax revenue. That led Wal-Mart to open its first store inside the Beltway in March 2007, in Landover Hills.

“Wal-Mart has never been afraid to invest in communities that are overlooked by other retailers,” Scott said in a statement at the time. “Where those businesses see difficulty, we see opportunity.”

Company representatives have met with D.C. officials for years, going back to the first term of Mayor Anthony Williams. In late 2006, the Bentonville, Ark., company became a member of the D.C. Chamber of Commerce.

After the company was rebuffed in New York City, a spokesman told Crain’s New York Business Aug. 9 that Wal-Mart was conducting a citywide search in New York for a store and focusing on outer neighborhoods, saying “Wal-Mart, for sure, is a very different company than we were five years ago.”

If Epperson can’t get Wal-Mart, there are other opportunities in the city such as Washington Gateway, the 42-acre Fort Lincoln project once planned as home to Costco, Target, Shoppers Food Warehouse and Staples. Trammell Crow Co. and Fort Lincoln Realty own the project, after The Peterson Cos. pulled out in 2007.

Wal-Mart is one of several big-box stores that Gary Rappaport, CEO of The Rappaport Cos., says have expressed interest in Skyland, the Southeast D.C. shopping center he has long planned to overhaul with William C. Smith & Co. but which is mired in an eminent domain battle.

“Many of the larger big boxes have been interested in the site over the years, and it comes to be a decision based on who is ready to step up at the right time,” Rappaport said.

But with Wal-Mart, timing and cost numbers are only part of the battle. Even with District residents looking for low-cost options, Wal-Mart would likely spark concern from labor leaders.

“What they’ve done in different places where they know they’re going to be controversial, is they’ve played hide the ball and not ever mention, until they absolutely have to, their existence in a particular development or a particular location,” said Mark Federici, of United Food and Commercial Workers Local 400, Mid-Atlantic Region.

Federici said the clout of being in the nation’s capital is not lost on the chain: “Because of the nature of Washington, D.C., everything’s political.”

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Walmart recalls 1.5 mln DVD players on fire risk

By Wallace Witkowski,
Market Watch
August 20th, 2009                             [back to top]

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT 50.73, -0.51, -0.10%) said Thursday it is recalling 1.5 million DVD players sold at its stores because of a possible fire hazard. The Chinese-made Durabrand DVD players, sold from January 2006 through July 2009 for about $29, can overheat and start a fire, Wal-Mart said. The retailer has received 12 reports of DVD players overheating, with five DVD players starting fires. No injuries were reported.

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Walmart enters mail order prescription drug business

By OWEN MORITZ ,
New York Daily News
August 19th, 2009                          [back to top]

Walmart has entered the mail order prescription drug business in a big way.

The retail giant is offering 90-day supplies of 300 different prescription drugs - all generics - for just $10.

Even though there are no Wal-Marts in the five boroughs, the program is open to New Yorkers, and residents in a total of 22 states, officials said Tuesday.

The nation's biggest retailer introduced affordable prescriptions three years ago when it began a $4 monthly fee for some generics medications.

Other retailers and super market chains followed suit - but it's unclear whether they will match the new three-month deal.

Walmart execs annpounced the plan as Congress continues to debate President Obama's call for national healthcare reform.

Besides the 300 generic prescriptions for $10 each, the retailer said its free mail delivery system also provides access to more than 3,000 other affordable brand and generic prescriptions.

"Americans deserve access to quality, affordable health care and medications, yet some families today aren't filling prescritpions because of high costs or lack of health insurance," said Dr. John Agwunobi, senior vice president and president of Walmart';s health and wellness division.

For more info, go online to www.walmart.com/pharmacy.

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/money/2009/08/19/2009-08-19_walmart_enters_mail_order_prescription_drug_business_.html#ixzz0PUItuGQi

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Walmart Mail Delivery Prescription Program Broadens Access to Affordable Prescriptions in 22 States and Washington D.C.

PRnewswire.com
August 18th, 2009                             [back to top]

Retailer offers a 90-day prescription supply for $10 via free mail delivery across Midwest and Northeast

Following a successful May pilot launch in Michigan, Walmart (NYSE: WMT) announced today that throughout states in the Midwest and Northeast, it is offering its most recent program to drive costs out of health care: a 90-day supply of approximately 300 generic prescriptions, each for $10* via free mail delivery. From rural communities like Aroostook County, Maine, and Devils Lake, North Dakota, to metro cities such as New York City and Washington, D.C., residents in 22 states and the District will be able to take advantage of this affordable pharmacy program from Walmart by calling 1-800-2REFILL. Additionally, Walmart's free mail delivery program has no gimmicks, no memberships and no enrollment fees. This announcement signals Walmart's commitment to help customers save money on prescriptions regardless of whether or not they live close to a Walmart pharmacy location.

"Americans deserve access to quality, affordable health care and medications, yet some families today aren't filling prescriptions because of high costs or lack of health insurance," said Dr. John Agwunobi, senior vice president and president of Walmart's health and wellness division. "Walmart strives to find innovative new pharmacy solutions that better serve all of our customers' needs, which is why we're so excited to offer this program to even more Americans. With this program, we're able to provide our customers in every rural town or big city across the Midwest and Northeast with more affordable prescription medicines through a convenient, free mail delivery system."

Residents in these states are able to take advantage of this offering:

- Connecticut - Delaware - Illinois - Indiana - Iowa - Kentucky - Maine - Maryland - Massachusetts - Minnesota - New Hampshire - New Jersey - New York - North Dakota** - Ohio - Pennsylvania - Rhode Island - Tennessee - Vermont - Virginia - Washington DC - West Virginia - Wisconsin

In addition to approximately 300 generic prescriptions for $10 each, Walmart's free mail delivery program provides access to more than 3,000 other affordable brand and generic prescriptions, making it convenient for customers to fill all their prescriptions via one simple and affordable program, especially if they don't live near a Walmart store or Sam's Club pharmacy.

This latest initiative builds on the successful $4 prescription program which to date has saved customers more than $2 billion on their prescriptions since it begin in September 2006. The company expects this savings number to continue to grow with the addition of this program.

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Wal-Mart to offer "Hard Candy" to woo high-end shoppers

By Chavon Sutton
and Nicole Maestri,
Reuters
August 18th, 2009                           [back to top]

Wal-Mart Stores Inc is rolling out a new line of cosmetics by Hard Candy, hoping to dazzle shoppers with glitter eye shadow and volumizing mascara by a brand that is sold at more upscale retailers, like Sephora.

At a launch event held on Tuesday in the penthouse suite of Manhattan's trendy Bryant Park Hotel, Wal-Mart showcased the line, which will be introduced in 3,000 of its U.S. stores in September. It will be rolled out internationally next spring.

The new line is being made specifically for Wal-Mart.

The cosmetics will range in price from $5 to $10, or $6.40 on average, and are designed to appeal to 18- to 35-year-old women who are looking to have fun with their makeup.

"The more bells and whistles, the more excited our customer will be," said Carmen Bauza, vice president of beauty for Wal-Mart.

APPEALING TO HIGHER INCOME SHOPPERS

Wal-Mart has said it is attracting higher-income shoppers to its stores as recession pressures household budgets and consumers adopt a frugal mind-set.

But investors have questioned its ability to keep those shoppers once the economy improves and customers have more money to spend. Wal-Mart has been adamant that it will retain those new shoppers and plans to do so by introducing new product lines, like Hard Candy.

"New, higher spenders have found Wal-Mart," Bauza said.

At the event in Manhattan, editors from Glamour and ELLE magazines browsed the line, and attendees were able to sample the products, like gold lipstick and bright green eyeliner.

This is not Wal-Mart's first fashion foray. In 2005, it tried to compete with smaller rival Target Corp by placing ads in Vogue and hosting a show in Times Square during New York Fashion Week.

It downplayed its discount roots, and stocked its stores with more upscale merchandise, like high thread count sheets and skinny jeans, hoping to mimic the success Target found selling cheap-chic merchandise.

But the efforts backfired with its core lower-income shoppers, who wanted basic goods at discount prices, and the retailer admitted it moved too far, too fast.

As the recession changes the face of Wal-Mart's shoppers it is revamping its merchandise selection. It has been expanding its selection of name brand electronics, and now sells an exclusive line of clothing by Miley Cyrus & Max Azria.

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Maybe We Should Let Walmart Run Health Care

By Mike Huckabee ,
Fox News
August 17th, 2009                               [back to top]

Last week, President Obama said I didn't have to worry about a government health care plan putting private carriers out of business and said that FedEx and UPS -- both private companies -- were profitable and the Post Office wasn't.

Doesn't that seem like a good reason to not let government take over health care? And don't take my word for it — take a look at what the Daily show's Jon Stewart had to say:

(BEGIN 'THE DAILY SHOW' VIDEO CLIP)

JON STEWART, HOST: Isn't there a simple way to explain to the people that government programs can work pretty well, yet not threaten the solvency of private companies that they are competing against?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: People say, well, how can a private company compete against the government? If you think about it, UPS and FedEx are doing just fine. Right? No, they are. It's the Post Office that's always having problems.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STEWART: Really not a good lede for government-run health care. Next time I would try something like: The Post Office is great, but that doesn't mean there isn't room for FedEx and UPS.

Of course, I'm not the most gifted orator of our times.

(END 'THE DAILY SHOW' VIDEO CLIP)

When Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast back in 2005, the government couldn't get people off their roofs or the interstate bridges for over four days or even get a bottle of water to them. And they want me to trust them to take over my health care?

While the government was struggling to get organized, a private company, Walmart was getting supplies to the victims and delivering equipment to the scene. That's when it hit me: Maybe we should let Walmart run health care. They are still showing a profit, even in the recession, while the government is racking up trillions in debt and little to show for it.

Walmart's pretty good at keeping prices low, but giving consumers what they want and then standing behind what they sell. If the lines get long, they open up more lines to keep customers from waiting.

So, what about letting Walmart fix health care instead of believing Washington will do it? Short lines, low prices, wide variety of services, outlets available almost everywhere and mostly open 24 hours a day. I admit, it might be a bit unsettling to hear a store announcement that when Dr. Jones is finished assisting a customer with a hammer purchase in hardware, he's needed to perform a tracheotomy in aisle 4 -- but health care would certainly be accessible and affordable.

I love Walmart and they are headquartered in my home state, but I'm not really suggesting that they ought to run the entire health care industry. But if it were between Walmart and Washington, I'd pick Walmart. I know I've gotten a lot better bargains for my money there, and if I don't like something, I can take it back for a full refund. I'd sure like a money-back guarantee for my tax dollars from the government, but that's not happening.

Until the government demonstrates they can deliver water bottles to stranded people, I don't think I want them deciding how to deliver babies.

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Kiss to release new album at Wal-Mart, Sam's Club

Associated Press
August 17th, 2009                             [back to top]

NEW YORK — Wal-Mart is being embraced with a Kiss.

The veteran heavy metal group, Kiss, is joining a growing list of classic acts putting out new music through the world's largest retailer.

"Sonic Boom" is due to be released only at Wal-Mart and Sam's Club on Oct. 6. It will include a CD of the band's first new music in 11 years, re-recorded versions of famous Kiss hits and a live DVD.

Other classic acts that have chosen to release albums through Wal-Mart include the Eagles, AC/DC and Foreigner.

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Walmart, CVS, Best Buy Ditch Glenn Beck (Plus Five More Companies)

By James Rucker,
The Huffington Post
August 17th, 2009                           [back to top]

Big news today. We've confirmed that eight more major advertisers have pulled their support from Glenn Beck's show -- Wal-Mart, Best Buy, CVS, Travelocity, Allergan (maker of Restasis), Ally Bank, Broadview Security, and Re-Bath.

Overall, twenty advertisers have now ended their support of Beck. We're going to keep the pressure on Beck's remaining advertisers this week, and we'll let you know how you can help.

From the press release we're sending right now:

Eight more Glenn Beck advertisers, including Wal-Mart -- the world's largest retailer -- have confirmed to ColorOfChange.org that they pulled their ads from the controversial Fox News Channel broadcaster's eponymous show. Allergan (maker of Restasis), Ally Bank (a unit of GMAC Financial Services), Best Buy, Broadview Security, CVS, Re-Bath, Travelocity and Wal-Mart join the dozen other companies who previously distanced themselves from Beck.

Twenty companies have pulled their ads from Beck's show in just the last two weeks. The moves come after the Fox News host called President Obama a "racist" who "has a deep-seated hatred for white people" during an appearance on Fox & Friends. Previous companies who pulled their ads include ConAgra, GEICO, Lawyers.com, Men's Wearhouse, Procter & Gamble, Progressive Insurance, RadioShack, Roche, SC Johnson, Sanofi-Aventis, Sargento, and State Farm Insurance.

"We are heartened to see so many corporate citizens step up in support of our campaign against Glenn Beck," said James Rucker, executive director of ColorOfChange.org. "Their action sends a clear a message to Glenn Beck: Broadcasters shouldn't abuse the privilege they enjoy by spewing dangerous and racially charged hate language over the air. No matter their political affiliation, hate language doesn't belong in our national dialogue."

"Walmart [sic] today confirmed the retailer pulled ads from the Glenn Beck show on August 3rd," said David Tovar, a spokesperson for Wal-Mart, in an email to ColorOfChange.org.

"While advertising on Fox is part of our communication plan, we had not requested time on Glenn Beck's show specifically," said Carolyn Castel, Vice President of Corporate Communications for CVS Caremark, in an email to ColorOfChange.org. "We have instructed our advertising agency to inform Fox to ensure Glenn Beck's program is not part of our advertising plan."

"Our position is simple," Castel continued. "We support vigorous debate, especially around policy issues that affect millions of Americans, but we expect it to be informed, inclusive and respectful, in keeping with our company's core values and commitment to diversity."

In an email exchange with ColorOfChange.org, Lisa Svac Hawks, Director of Public Relations for Best Buy, stated that any advertisements for Best Buy that were placed on Glenn Beck's show were done so in error. Svac Hawks pledged that Best Buy will correct any mistakes made.

"We did not specifically place our ad on the show," said Amanda Borichevsky, a spokesperson for Travelocity in an email to ColorOfChange.org. "We buy ads in bulk and then they are placed somewhat randomly. However, we have now specifically asked that our ads do not appear during this show."

"We reviewed our commercial schedule, and based on your feedback, we've put any programming featuring Glenn Beck on our "do not air" list," said Aziz Mottiwala, Senior Marketing Manager for Allergan, in an email to ColorOfChange.org. "This means that you will no longer see any Restasis ads during programming featuring Glenn Beck. Thanks again for bringing this to our attention."

"Ally advertises on a broad spectrum of programs to reach our potential customers," said a Customer Care Representative for Ally Bank. "Our advertising is not an endorsement of editorial content on any program. We have ceased to advertise on the Glenn Beck program."

In a phone conversation with Dwayne Sigler, Senior Vice President of Marketing for Broadview Security Systems, Sigler told ColorOfChange.org that Broadview's advertising is bought based on network, not particular programs, but that "given the considerations, we have requested of Fox News not to include us in the rotation that would have our commercials running on Glenn Beck's show."

"...We are no longer airing our commercials on the Glenn Beck Show..." said Mary Beth Mayer, spokesperson for Re-Bath, in a phone message to ColorOfChange.org.

As the list of advertisers who don't want themselves associated with Beck continues to grow, our campaign is also getting major media attention, which helps send a strong message to Fox and to Beck's remaining advertisers. Last week, our campaign was mentioned in several media and advertising industry publications, on MSNBC, in the New York Times, and by Stephen Colbert.

Thanks to everyone who has stepped up and joined this campaign (there are more than 145,000 of you now) -- this wouldn't be possible without your voice. What we've achieved so far is incredible -- it's rare for a campaign directed at a TV show's advertisers to be this successful.

But we won't stop here. We're going to continue reaching out to Beck's remaining advertisers, and we'll keep you informed on how you can help us escalate the pressure.

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Wal-Mart Settles ERISA Case for $5M

By Rebecca Moore,
Plan Adviser
August 17th, 2009                           [back to top]

The suit alleges Wal-Mart and other defendants breached their fiduciary duties under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) by failing to make promised employer contributions to participant accounts of the Wal-Mart Profit Sharing and 401(k) Plan and/or the Wal-Mart Puerto Rico Profit Sharing and 401(k) Plan.

The law firms of Berger & Montague, P.C., Keller Rohrback, LLP, and Ann Miller, LLC, announced that the settlement for King v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (the King Case), will provide $5 million in cash, after payment of such attorney's fees and costs and such incentive payment to plaintiffs as the court may allow, to a class of hourly employees who were participants or beneficiaries of the plans at any time from February 1, 1997, through May 26, 2009.

The King Case stems from a number of pending class actions in which current or former Wal-Mart employees allege that Wal-Mart engaged in wage and hour violations, including improper "wage shaving" practices (see “Wal-Mart Hammers Out Sweeping Wage and Hour Suits Settlement”). The plans generally provide that Wal-Mart will pay, as employer contributions, a particular percentage of wages paid to hourly workers, and the King Case asserts that, with respect to the plans, Wal-Mart was required to make employer contributions for the wage amounts that Wal-Mart should have paid, but did not pay, according to the claims advanced in the Wage Litigation.

The defendants deny all allegations of wrongdoing and contend they have substantial defenses in this lawsuit but are entering into the King settlement for the purpose of avoiding the expense and uncertainty of litigation, the law firms said.

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Wal-Mart thrives by cutting product lines

The Peninsula
August 16th, 2009                               [back to top]

LONDON: Wal-Mart is having a good recession. The world’s biggest retailer surprised Wall Street last week with robust quarterly profits but its success has come at a heavy price for suppliers, rooted as it is in a ruthless efficiency drive, dubbed Project Impact, that has sent out shock waves from its HQ in Bentonville, Arkansas.

The retailer’s battle plan for the recession has been to dramatically change its housekeeping rules, cutting the number of its product lines by as much as 15%, according to some estimates. Wal-Mart is effectively devoting more shelf space to best-selling products and reducing, or even removing, those that don’t shift as fast.

This rationalisation has lead to hand-wringing among Wal-Mart’s supplier base as its huge scale - global sales of $401bn last year, $302bn in America - means a Wal-Mart order often makes up a large percentage of a supplier company’s turnover. Pet litter firm Oil Dry Corp saw its stock plunge more than 20 percent in a day when it announced it had lost its contract.

After 20 years of expansion that has seen Wal-Mart’s US empire exceed 3,000 outlets, it has applied the brakes to concentrate on improving sales at existing stores. “Reducing inventory is a way of cutting costs,” says Planet Retail analyst Bryan Roberts. “It is taking cost and complexity out of the business. It is also gets brands to compete more aggressively.”

On Thursday, Wal-Mart said like-for-like sales at its supercentres had fallen by 1.5 percent in the three months to 31 July. But Wal-Mart chief executive Mike Duke said profits were flat at $4.3bn, thanks in part to a strong performance from its UK subsidiary Asda, which took market share with like-for-like sales growth of 7.2 percent in the period. Duke said the company expected trading conditions to remain challenging, adding: “We are accelerating our focus on reducing expenses and improving productivity in all of our operations.”

Since the start of the downturn, Wal-Mart has sought to position itself as a consumer champion, highlighting its value credentials in its advertising and using the line “saving people money so they can live better”. It is also sprucing up stores to appeal to middle-class shoppers who previously shunned them. Duke said the strategy was working, with refurbished outlets “attracting new customers and keeping the loyalty of the millions who shop with us”.

Wal-Mart’s supercentres are typically around four times the size of a British supermarket and, at the outset, stocked more than 100,000 products. But research found that customers spent just 20 minutes in store, so the firm analysed sales data to come up with the “optimal” product selection. That has shifted the balance in favour of the largest consumer goods companies that are already huge Wal-Mart suppliers: it accounts for 15 percent of Procter & Gamble’s sales, and 20 percent and 34 percent of Kellogg’s and Del Monte’s business respectively. P&G has long been a proponent of the less-is-more approach - less of rival brands and more of its own arsenal, which ranges from Pampers to Olay.

In the UK, Asda has been operating its own version of Project Impact, actually called “Less is More”, with a 30 percent reduction in product lines. Its chief merchandising officer, Darren Blackhurst, told the Grocer magazine that some suppliers had been against the move but had benefited from more sales in areas where products had been thinned out. “Our job is to provide the right range for customers,” said Blackhurst. “Does that create tensions? Yes, but it enables us to get lower prices on core essentials and grow local ranges.”

Asda said customer feedback had been positive. The retailer has made much of its links to local suppliers and insists they have not been frozen out. “If customers want local produce and brands, there is space in store for them,” said a spokesman.

Wal-Mart asks suppliers to help fund advertising campaigns featuring their products, which the company says is industry practice. However, recent trade press reports suggest it is now looking for a percentage of a company’s advertising spend relative to its sales through their stores, which is causing consternation. “Wal-Mart has been brutally honest with suppliers about the number of products it wants,” continues Roberts. “The implication for vendors is that those who choose not to contribute more to Wal-Mart’s marketing efforts might find themselves off the shelf.” There are also concerns this will affect product development. Church & Dwight, which makes Arm & Hammer detergents and Aim toothpaste, has halved the number of items it plans to launch this year. At the moment, in Wal-Mart’s eyes, less is more and it will be up to consumers and suppliers to decide whether they feel the same way.

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Sticker Shock: Walmart’s labeling scheme will be costly, but will it be effective? Two views

Climate Progress
August 16th, 2009                               [back to top]

Addressing climate change and other environmental issues requires real action at the facility and process level – just creating product labels may not be effective

Walmart’s product environmental labeling aspirations went public in the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal last month and sent ripples of fear and excitement considerably more widely. Excitement for software and service vendors who anticipate a lucrative business supporting Walmart’s product labeling program. Fear for its 100,000 suppliers who will be required to generate the detailed data needed for Walmart’s environmental labels. Walmart will soon be sending an initial survey to all its suppliers with questions regarding their sustainability practices.

Walmart plans to develop labels based on a standardized index of the environmental impact of every product on its shelves. This ambitious project demands that Walmart’s suppliers develop accurate and defendable estimates at the SKU level of the greenhouse gas emissions, water consumption, air pollution, and other measures for all the inputs required to source, manufacture and ship their goods. Walmart’s Chief Merchandising Officer John Fleming made clear that it would require participation from suppliers across the board.

In designing environmental initiatives, there is a need to pragmatically consider what’s achievable, what’s desirable, and what is likely to actually make a difference to the environment. Rushing to force a product labeling agenda too quickly will result in a lack of standards and expectations, and potentially lead to disappointing outcomes and a great deal of consumer confusion.

Transformation from the Grinch to the Gentle Green Giant

Walmart’s sustainability program has been transformational for the organization and delivered huge cost savings and performance improvements. It has created a virtual love affair with previously adversarial environmental lobby groups and a new relationship with the customer. Their programs have been holistically implemented across the global organization. Best practices in logistics, refrigeration, lighting, energy efficiency and packaging have prompted many to consider the Arkansas Grocer’s transformation to be the model of successful corporate sustainable transformation. Walmart’s vast supplier network and huge scale, approaching 8% of US retail sales, means that it has the power to change industry norms and practices not just in retail but also upstream in the value chain, in consumer goods industries.

But even the largest retailer in the world can stick their neck out too far in the confusing and complex world of product labeling. It’s great that Walmart is thinking ambitiously and comprehensively about environmental information, but I forecast that it will ultimately be unpopular and unsuccessful if pursued at a store-wide SKU level as currently planned.

Sacked (and Stacked) in the In(store) Zone

Here are some key issues that deserve evaluation prior to the implementation of product labeling.

Who has their eye on compliance costs?

Pepsico UK told us last year that the cost of carbon footprinting their highly publicized Walkers potato crisps (chips for Americans!) was well in excess of $40,000 and took more than four years to complete – for one SKU. Moving forward they are anticipating costs on the order of $10,000 to $12,000 per SKU. At 20,000 to 25,000 SKUs per typical supermarket that’s a $250M task just for carbon – and Wal-Mart Supercenters carry over 100,000 SKU’s.

What about the full product life cycle beyond the manufacturers control?

The full environmental impact of goods is frequently strongly influenced by consumer actions. More than half of the embodied carbon within an Apple MacBook Air for example is associated with downstream energy usage and disposal. The carbon footprint of Proctor and Gamble’s cold water tide can be reduced by a third if used at 30°C instead of 40°C, and reduced by a further third if used in France where low carbon nuclear electricity dominates grid supply. Should the labeling be based on cradle-to-gate versus cradle-to-cradle lifecycles? How will they change as consumers adapt their behavior with new environmental awareness?

Who will be able to judge environmental claims and performance?

An environmental label is not directly comparable to a nutritional label. A challenge to the accuracy of a nutritional claim can be readily verified via laboratory analysis of the contents concerned. There is no scope for direct back-calculation and tracking of carbon or environmental information once labeled and on the shelf. And the labels are trying to hit a moving target, because environmental impacts change as companies adjust their sourcing and processes. Manufacturing supply chains are dynamic and evolving systems whose impact or footprint cannot be quantified in a singular value.

Lets not forget the consumer.

Most of the more recent European research in this area indicates that significant (c. 44%) and increasing numbers of consumers would switch to greener products even if they carry a higher price tag. At the same time, 78% of consumers indicated an awareness of carbon labeling but only 20% saw it as a positive development – it is hard to make the case that this issue is being driven by pull from end customers. Most report confusion in their attempts to interpret carbon labels at the granulated product level; green branding seem to be more of a market force at the company level – like the Body Shop, Wholefoods, Apple and Dell.

What should be the functional unit for analyzing corporate environmental performance?

With limited budgets should firms spend much or all of it cataloguing and labeling performance on a product by product basis or actually invest in doing something about it? Manufacturers pursuing ongoing process and production improvement can rightly expect that the benefit over time will reach throughout the supply chain and through multiple SKUs. So should we not be tracking, evaluating and benchmarking corporations at the corporate, or at least, facility level? We think so.

At AMR Research we have been analyzing the increasing environmental agenda in manufacturing for some time. Picking a small subset of SKUs to deep dive into full life cycle impact assessment has merit and will deliver knowledge for process improvement. Labeling of all SKU’s is overkill, however. The compliance costs associated with the exercise have been mentioned above. Pepsico were able to reduce energy use (and potential emissions) by more than 11% based on the knowledge they gained in the footprinting exercise. The actions taken by Pepsico depended on this detailed and rigorous knowledge, not a simplified aggregate environmental rating. Moreover, this knowledge can be rolled out where applicable throughout their snack food lines without subjecting each SKU to the same detailed and rigorous analysis.

Forcing portfolio-wide cataloguing at the SKU level may well siphon funding away from reinvestment in efficient technologies and processes. As energy price volatility continues to increase and continuous improvement forces year-on-year searches for waste and resource reduction, we can reasonably assume that all SKUs under some company or process or production line will over time benefit from the process improvement and investment. In any case, labels at the SKU level require estimating and allocating company and facility level environmental impacts, generating data that are not always useful for management trying to reduce these impacts.

Falling Off the Shoulders of Giants – the Future of Environmental Information Should be Where it can be Accurately and Effectively Traced at the Corporate Level

Environmentally responsible products are produced by environmentally responsible organizations. Green brands reside at the corporate level, and only rarely with specific products. Walmart’s decision to drive its supply chains to environmental labels at the SKU level is beyond the level of production utility, of achievable accuracy given limited resources, and of utility to consumers – green or otherwise. What is key for the future is the collection of accurate and transparent environmental information that is not just meaningful for consumers but helps management to take the necessary action.

The smallprint of the Walmart program, which has been less widely circulated, plots a 5+ year course for a green index which migrates from a supplier-based evaluation to a product-based one. There is much merit in pursuing environmental performance at the supplier level. Walmart, like all successful corporations in the newly emerging economy, will wish to do business wherever possible with like-minded, sustainable and environmentally cognizant organizations. They and their supply chain partners should converge on an appropriate and rationally-based level of environmental information – fixed at the corporate and plant level to ensure transparency and ongoing environmental and sustainable performance. SKU-based commitments promise to deliver high compliance costs, out of scope and inaccurate data, and market confusion.

[JR: The second perspective is from the CAP, with a post titled "The Meaning of Eco-Labels."]

Everything we buy has a life story. Our stuff is extracted from the earth, molded into shape, shipped across the world, used, and thrown away. Each step in this process has an environmental impact, whether it’s using natural resources to make the products or emitting pollution by transporting them. Businesses may be responsible for this impact by bringing products to consumers, but it’s consumers that ultimately drive the process. A lack of awareness about these hidden costs, and of useful information at the point of purchase, prevents consumers from becoming agents of sustainability.

Eco-labeling informs consumers about a product’s environmental footprint. In essence, it empowers them to vote with their dollar—rewarding companies that reduce their impact and pushing the rest to do the same. Eco-labels have to the potential to drive innovation in the products we buy and in the processes that make them if they’re properly designed and widely adopted.

So far, most eco-labeling efforts have relied on voluntary certification of particular products. Examples include EnergyStar for electronics, the Forest Stewardship Council for wood, and USDA organic for produce.

But the labels are gaining stream, encompassing ever more products and environmental impacts. Last year, international retailer Tesco slapped carbon emission labels on some of its products. The British government is considering a green labeling system for all the country’s food. And Japan has already started moving in this direction.

An ideal eco-label should convey all of the environmental and social impacts of a product across its entire lifecycle—from extraction and manufacturing to transportation, use, and disposal. These impacts should include greenhouse gas emissions, pollution, ocean acidification, ozone layer depletion, eutrophication (an increase in chemical nutrients in an ecosystem), habitat destruction, desertification, land use, and resource depletion. Design is key—to be effective, the label must be informative and intuitive enough to guide good choices without confusing shoppers.

Of course, labels require data, and data demands a lot of painstaking research. At present, most companies simply don’t know the environmental footprint of their products. Lifecycle assessments can be difficult to apply to goods with long supply chains, whose constituent parts may be manufactured by a dozen suppliers in as many countries.

Walmart, in an attempt to burnish its green image, recently announced an ambitious plan to develop a comprehensive sustainability index to measure the lifecycle environmental impacts of every product it sells. This could be a game changer.

The index is intended to stimulate a “race to the top” by helping consumers make informed decisions and cut through false eco-labeling, assisting Walmart to choose between suppliers, and even enabling manufacturers to identify areas for improvement.

A comprehensive sustainability index for all of Walmart’s products is still years away, however. So far, the company is sending out a 15-question survey to each of its 60,000 suppliers. The questions, which cover four areas—climate and energy, natural resources, material efficiency, and people and communities—refer to the company but not its products.

Eventually, every one of those manufacturers will have to dig its way back through its supply chain and measure the environmental impacts of its production processes and distribution systems.

Once the index gets off the ground, Walmart plans to turn it over to a nonprofit. The company partnered with universities and even competing retailers and set up a consortium to establish the tricky scientific standards needed to measure the sustainability of its consumer products. This is a gargantuan project that few other companies could take on, and Walmart is serious enough to make it open source. These steps signal that the company is in it for the long haul, despite the legitimate concerns of many environmentalists.

The world’s biggest retailer sells so many products that if these standards are indeed made “credible, transparent, and user-friendly” as Walmart hopes, and if other major retailers adopt them, it may usher in universal eco-labeling. This would go a long way to remaking the way we make things.

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Frisco part of recurring Wal-Mart opposition

By ED HOUSEWRIGHT,
Dallas Morning News
August 15th, 2009                                  [back to top]

Collin County folks love Wal-Mart. Collin County folks hate Wal-Mart.

Both statements are true.

The Frisco City Council recently approved a new Wal-Mart Supercenter, the town's second, after an emotional public hearing. It will join the five Wal-Marts in Plano, the three in McKinney and the one each in Frisco, Murphy and Wylie.

Scores of homeowners near the Preston Road site urged the council to turn away the world's largest retailer. The 24-hour store would increase traffic, noise and crime, while lowering property values, they predicted.

It's a recurring story for Wal-Mart: The company announces a new store, residents protest, council members approve it, store opens, shoppers descend.

Does a Wal-Mart really wreck a neighborhood?

The Wal-Mart at the Dallas North Tollway and Park Boulevard in Plano is one of the area's newest and most hotly contested stores.

Five years ago, opponents voiced the same fears as those expressed in Frisco. They threatened a recall of the mayor and two council members after the city approved the store.

Patricia Templeton, the leader of the opposition, called the Good Neighbor Coalition, could not be reached for comment. But Padraig O'Suilleabhain, president of the Stone Lake Estates Homeowners Association, offered this assessment: "I know some neighbors would still prefer Wal-Mart had not moved in. But it has not turned out to be as bad as feared."

Traffic has increased on Parkwood Boulevard, the closest residential street to the store, O'Suilleabhain said. But he doesn't blame Wal-Mart. Nor does he think it has affected crime.

"Some of our residents have voiced suspicion of a link between this store and petty crime in the area," he said. "But crime has waxed and waned over the years, and I do not believe it has worsened due to Wal-Mart."

Opposition to Wal-Mart takes several forms. In some parts of the country, people fear the giant stores, with their vast offerings and low prices, will drive out local merchants.

In Collin County, fears center on neighborhood impact. Will a new Wal-Mart be a noisy nuisance that causes traffic congestion and lowers property values?

The new Wal-Mart site in Frisco is at the northwest corner of Preston Road and Hickory Street. While Preston is a busy thoroughfare, Hickory is a two-lane road that winds past homes, apartments and an elementary school.

Many residents who spoke at the Frisco City Council meeting on Aug. 4 said big-box retailers should be restricted to major intersections. After a four-hour public hearing, the council voted 5-0 to permit the Wal-Mart.

Still, opponents may not give up. Their Web site, www.friscofirst.org, says they're considering legal action to block the store.

"Many of us left the chambers very disappointed," it says.

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Wal-Mart Adds to Lobbying Ranks

By Carrie Levine,
The Blog of Legal Times
August 14th, 2009                                   [back to top]

Wal-Mart is beefing up its already healthy lobbying ranks with a team from Bryan Cave, according to a lobbying registration the firm filed this week. The Bryan Cave team includes senior policy adviser David Russell, a former chief of staff to ex-Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska); senior policy adviser Jennifer Stewart, who worked for Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.); and former aides to Rep. Eric Cantor (R-Va.) and Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.), both Republican whips.

Broderick Johnson, a partner at Bryan Cave, said that the firm will lobby mostly on health care and energy issues, and that Wal-Mart is an existing client of the law firm.

Wal-Mart spent nearly $2.6 million lobbying in the second quarter of 2009. About $340,000 went to seven outside lobbying firms, including the Podesta Group, Patton Boggs, and Miller & Chevalier.

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Wal-Mart Adds a PC Trio to the Sale Rack

By Stephen Williams,
New York Times
August 14th, 2009                          [back to top]

Ratcheting up its computer promotions as school days approach, Wal-Mart is planning to offer an all-purpose laptop with some fairly impressive specs for less than $350 during a sale to start this Sunday.

The 17-inch Toshiba Satellite L355-S7915 PC, powered by an Intel Celeron 900 processor, is a highly rated notebook (four stars from Laptop magazine) and the screen size itself makes it more attractive. At the price of a netbook computer, the Satellite makes sense as a full-functioned notebook as long as you don’t have to tote it around (naked, it weighs seven pounds).

While consumers can cheer this choice, the point here is that Wal-Mart wants to be a player in computers. Last month, the retailer made noise when it began selling a Compaq laptop for $298.

The same caveat that applied then hold true now: supplies are limited.

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Thin-Minty Gate pits Wal-Mart against Girl Scouts

By Joseph Logan,
Examiner.com
August 13th, 2009                               [back to top]

In business as in life, reputation matters. So do intentions and appearances.

A little over a week ago, my friend CV Harquail took Wal-Mart to task for allegedly knocking off Girl Scout cookies:

Wal-mart has fake Girl Scout cookies in ‘beta’ distribution, on their way to a national rollout. Because the cookies are ‘reasonable facsimiles’ of the authentic Girl Scout cookies (I sampled them myself at BlogHer ‘09 last week) and are being sold at an everyday low price, these cookies are poised to snatch cookie sales right out of the hands of the Girl Scouts themselves.

The post set off a firestorm in the comments and in the national media and blogs, prompting responses from FoxNews and Wal-Mart itself. Harquail received praise and criticism on her blog, which she deftly parlayed into an opportunity to address the modern corporation's role in the social media conversation:

What I do know is that no one from Wal-mart has actively participated in a two-way, interactive conversation with me and/or (from what I can tell) with other people writing about the story.

That’s disappointing, because if Wal-mart did join the conversation, in a public and transparent way, we would feel like Wal-mart was learning. And, we would be more willing to reconsider our assessment of who Wal-mart is and is trying to be as an organization.

Today, Bob Sutton, author of The No A**hole Rule, weighed in on "Thin-Minty Gate":

My experience with Wal-Mart is that these are good people who mean well, they are extremely competent, but sometimes are blinded by their culture -- this appears to be a case where they suffered from a severe knowing-doing gap that could have been averted by simply asking a few objective outsiders to react to what they were doing. But asking others for honest feedback and listening to them is something that we human-beings often fail to do, despite the best of intentions.

As tempests and teapots go, this is a pretty frothy one. To Harquail's point, I don't think anyone knows what goes on behind the closed doors of Bentonville, Arkansas. To Sutton's point, greater exposure and need for community engagement requires a finer attentiveness to public perception. I rarely assume bad intentions on the part of any organization until I receive evidence to the contrary, but Wal-Mart bears a greater burden than most in managing its image. One would hope that all parties find a way to take something positive from Thin-Minty Gate.

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CoxHealth to open its 4th Clinic at Wal-Mart

News-Leader.com
August 13th, 2009                           [back to top]

CoxHealth will open a fourth Clinic at Wal-M art on Aug. 31 at the Wal-Mart supercenter at 2021 E. Independence St., Cox announced Wednesday. Advertisement

The clinic will offer fast, low-cost access to basic health care services available at all other locations, and will be the second location in Springfield. All the clinics are also available for sports physicals as families prepare for the fall sports season.

The clinics serve as an alternative for people at least 18 months old who are sick enough to need care, but aren't sick enough to need the level of care available in an emergency department or urgent care clinic.

The clinics offer upfront pricing and prompt access to acute and preventive care for common health ailments treatable without urgent or emergency care, including sore throats, sinus infections, upper respiratory infections, earaches, bladder infections, insect bites and stings, cholesterol screening, blood sugar testing, vaccinations, drug screening and routine physicals.

The clinics offer walk-in service seven days a week and evening hours.

Wal-Mart has 37 in-store clinics in 10 states.

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A new fight at Civil War site

By Faye Fiore,
Los Angeles Times
August 13th, 2009                       [back to top]

One hundred and forty-five years after Gen. Ulysses S. Grant first fought Gen. Robert E. Lee, another conflict is brewing on the Wilderness Battlefield: whether to let Wal-Mart build a superstore where 29,000 soldiers were wounded or killed.

To stand on the battlefield at the foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains in rural central Virginia is to go back in time. It looks almost as it did on May 5, 1864, when 160,000 troops clashed over two bloody days -- a tangle of woods that trapped men in brutal, hand-to-hand combat and gave the field its name. The farmhouse that served as a Confederate hospital stands restored. Lt. Gen. Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson's amputated arm is buried at the battlefield.

Across the street is where Wal-Mart wants to build its big-box store, about a quarter mile from the part of the battlefield that is today a national park.

Some famous names have lined up in opposition: Actor Robert Duvall, a self-described descendant of Lee; the state's Democratic governor and its top Republican lawmaker; 253 historians and several preservation groups.

They say they have nothing against another Wal-Mart (there are already four in a 20-mile radius), just not one so close to a national shrine.

In a letter rallying his troops, O. James Lighthizer, president of the Civil War Preservation Trust, envisioned "cars full of people who probably could not care less that one of history's most monumental battles was fought there" and "an explosion of sprawl that could engulf the existing battlefield."

But some would welcome a little sprawl. Orange County, where the battlefield sits southwest of Washington, is a sleepy piece of countryside with one high school, a couple of wineries, some cattle ranches, a bunch of sheep, a handful of restaurants and not very many jobs.

Agriculture is the biggest industry. Low-income work supplements farming -- like the farmer's wife who drives a school bus.

Unemployment has shot from 3% to 8%, and Wal-Mart is promising 300 more jobs in a county of 35,000 people. It is all but certain that more businesses will follow.

"I hope one of those would be a good restaurant. There's not a steakhouse in the county. No Red Lobster. You have to go to Fredericksburg or Culpeper for that," said Zack Burkett, 69, a member of the Orange County Board of Supervisors that is to decide Wal-Mart's fate Aug. 24. He says board members are leaning yes.

"Telling private business what they can and can't do doesn't work very well. It's called fascism. I looked it up in my old Funk and Wagnalls," he said.

But if there is an issue as emotional as the ailing economy in Virginia, it's the Civil War.

The county planning commission endorsed the project in May with 200 mostly unhappy people in attendance; Alexander Hays IV -- descendant of Union Gen. Alexander Hays, killed at Wilderness -- came all the way from Ohio.

Rep. Peter Welch, a Vermont Democrat and Wal-Mart foe, flew in recently to remind folks that the deadliest day in his state's history took place in their backyard. He read a letter written by a private with Vermont's 3rd Brigade: "Most of my friends lay dead or wounded, scattered in the field somewhere."

Scenes like that are common in Virginia, site of more major Civil War battles than any other state.

As suburbs sprawl out to meet the countryside, battlefields once considered remote are prime targets for developers. More than 40% of the hallowed ground has been paved over in Virginia; about 13% is protected, according to the National Park Service. Much of the rest is in private hands.

Efforts to save the surviving land have met mixed results.

In 1994, the Walt Disney Co. met a public backlash so fierce it dropped its plan to build a historical theme park near Manassas, Va. An effort to build a Formula One racetrack at Brandy Station, Va., site of the war's biggest cavalry fight, was defeated in 2005. And a proposed gambling casino for Gettysburg, Pa., was beaten back in 2006.

But at Salem Church near Chancellorsville, Va., an 800-acre battlefield has been reduced to 2 acres by strip malls and asphalt.

A corporate spokesman said Wal-Mart was trying to cooperate, toning down the parking lot lights and erecting a more fitting stone sign instead of the usual giant pole. Alternative locations farther from the battlefield were offered; the company says they're too small.

"There's a void," Wal-Mart spokesman Keith Morris said. "People tell us they can't buy general necessities and back-to-school items inside the county."

The land is zoned commercial, and if Wal-Mart doesn't go in something else will, Burkett said. "If some guy wants to build a porno shop, if it's under 60,000 feet, we can't say no."

Preservationists warn the county is overlooking the financial value of a battlefield frozen in time. Civil War tourism is big business in Virginia; visitors spend on average $71 a day.

They come to stand where the soldiers stood, to imagine the smell of gunpowder, the blast of cannon fire, the clack of bayonets, the morning-after cries of the wounded. In a setting so pristine, it isn't hard.

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Walmart's flat profit beats estimates, shares up

By Nicole Maestri,
Reuters
August 13th, 2009                      [back to top] 

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Walmart Stores Inc posted better-than-expected quarterly earnings on Thursday as a clampdown on inventory offset falling sales, and the company forecast a full-year profit that could beat Wall Street estimates, sending its shares up 1.7 percent.

The world's biggest retailer, which now describes itself as "Walmart", said the hold-down on inventory helped it protect margins and avoid costly markdowns as cautious shoppers stuck to buying necessities like food.

The company's better-than-expected profit more than outweighed its weaker-than-planned sales given the tough economy, said Peter Benedict, analyst at Robert W. Baird & Co.

"All these other stocks have had such big runs, it's time for Walmart to play some catch up," he said of the stock's rise.

Net income fell slightly to $3.44 billion from $3.45 billion but earnings per share rose to 88 cents from 87 cents, as the company had fewer outstanding shares in the latest quarter. Analysts, on average, were expecting earnings of 85 cents per share, according to Reuters Estimates.

Total sales fell 1.4 percent to $100.08 billion, pressured by a stronger U.S. dollar, which cut the dollar-value of sales made outside the United States. Sales rose 2.7 percent to $104.28 billion on a constant currency basis.

The results came out on the same day as a U.S. government report showing that sales at retailers fell unexpectedly in July. Other data showed the number of workers filing new claims for jobless benefits rose in the latest week.

"Short term, we believe the economy will continue to be challenging," said CEO Mike Duke on a recorded call. "We are accelerating our focus on reducing expenses and improving productivity in all of our operations."

SLIPPING SALES

The retailer said sales at U.S. stores open at least a year -- a key gauge known as same-store sales -- fell 1.2 percent. Wall Street, on average, expected a gain of 0.85 percent.

In May, the company said it would stop posting sales on a monthly basis, leaving analysts to guess how it fared in the quarter compared with last year when it was helped by rising food and fuel prices and consumers spending tax rebate checks.

Vice Chairman Eduardo Castro-Wright said on a recorded call that the company had underestimated how much of a boost it got from shoppers spending tax rebate cash in its stores a year ago. He also said sales were hurt by falling food prices.

Chief Financial Officer Tom Schoewe told reporters that consumers were under significant pressure, preferring to pay for purchases with cash or debit cards instead credit.

Walmart is also seeing a bump in sales at the start of the month when consumers receive government aid such as food stamps, he said.

Sales at Walmart's U.S. stores rose 0.3 percent in the second quarter to $64.21 billion, while they fell 3.2 percent to $11.91 billion in Sam's Club warehouse locations. Walmart shares were up 79 cents to $51.30 in premarket on Thursday.

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Wal-Mart Remodels to Retain Customers

By Steven Russolillo,
Wall Street Journal
August 13th, 2009                              [back to top]

Wal-Mart still faces several challenges of retaining customers, Barron’s Bob O’Brien writes.

It’s planning an “ambitious store remodeling initiative, coupled with an effort to spruce up its merchandising,” he says. But “it’s got to be able to execute on the former without blowing up its balance sheet, while doing the latter in an environment in which it’s been conscientiously winnowing its product inventory.”

WMT is planning on remodeling 600 stores that’ll make its merchandise more visible and appealing, all while reducing inventory and keeping costs down. “In short, brain surgery it ain’t. But challenging it is,” O’Brien says.

Wal-Mart was recently up 2.4% at $51.71.

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Wal-Mart Reports Same Store Sales Down in Second Quarter

By Lana F. Flowers,
NWA Online
August 13th, 2009                               [back to top]

SPRINGDALE — A "new frugal" mentality lowered Wal-Mart Stores Inc.'s second quarter sales. The retailer reported $100 billion in sales for the second quarter of fiscal year 2010, a 1.4 percent decline from the $101.5 billion in the second quarter last year.

"There's a 'new normal' now where people are saving more, consuming less, and being more frugal and thoughtful in their purchases," said Mike Duke, Wal-Mart president and chief executive officer, in a recorded earnings call. Download the transcript here.

However, excluding fluctuations from foreign currency exchange rates brought the Bentonville-based retailer's sales up to $104.2 billion in the second quarter.

Stockholders earned 88 cents per share, an increase of 2 cents per share from the 86 cents per share earned in the second quarter last year.

"Our earnings exceeded consensus estimates and were at the top of our guidance," Duke said.

Still, the retailer known for low prices wasn't immune from the continuing recession. Duke noted in a recorded earnings call that Wal-Mart consumers "continue to face a difficult global economy, having to do more with less." *

Retail analyst Patricia Edwards of Storehouse Partners in Bellevue, Wash., said Wal-Mart's sales figures reflect recent price deflation. Items from meat and dairy to plastics to nuts have fallen in price since the second quarter last year, Edwards said.

That means the consumer paid less but Wal-Mart in turn sold the items for less than the same time last year, Edwards said.

Wal-Mart now will "accelerate our focus on reducing expenses," Duke said in the earnings release.

He said in the recorded call that Wal-Mart leadership teams "are focused on improving productivity and efficiency in all operations, and widening the gap with our competitors."

Retail analysts expected even Wal-Mart would have tough comparisons this year to the second quarter last year, when consumers still had stimulus checks to spend and the recession was in its early stages.

"It has been clear that most companies would see their worst comparisons in the second calendar quarter or soon thereafter, depending on the degree to which the businesses were exposed to food (where comparisons are expected to trough in the third quarter) or gasoline, where numbers should begin improving about now, because they compare against last year's July-October gas price collapse," said Edward Weller, managing director of ThinkEquity LLC in San Francisco.

Combined, Walmart U.S. and Sam's Club same store sales were down 1.2 percent in the second quarter, compared with a 4.3 percent increase in the second quarter last year. Same store sales measure traffic at stores open at least one year and is the benchmark in retailing. Customers could flock to a new store out of curiosity, then return to former shopping habits once the novelty is gone.

The same store sales for both Walmart and Sam's Club remained down in the second quarter when adding fuel sales.

That was in line with expectations from Edwards, who owns Wal-Mart stock and manages the stock in clients' portfolios. She said Wal-Mart is improving its merchandise mix and stores look attractive after Project Impact remodelings, where center aisles are cleared and shelf heights are reduced so customers can see merchandise and shop better. Wal-Mart is continuing its Project Impact to remodel stores across the United States.

Wal-Mart has three divisions and broke down its quarterly sales:

• The Walmart U.S. division, which includes Supercenters, Neighborhood Markets and discount stores, reported $64.2 billion in sales for the second quarter ended July 31. That's up 0.3 percent from the $63.9 billion in sales in the second quarter last year.

"Consumers were more selective in discretionary spending during the second quarter than earlier this year," said Eduardo Castro-Wright, Wal-Mart vice chairman, in the recorded earnings call.

"We believe we underestimated the benefit on comps that our stores received from last year's second quarter stimulus checks," Castro-Wright said.

The Walmart U.S. division reported $125.5 billion in sales for the six months ended July 31, a 2 percent increase from the $122.98 billion in sales reported in the first six months of fiscal year 2009.

Wal-Mart's same store sales, excluding fuel sales, also were down in the second quarter, by 1.5 percent in the U.S. division. That's compared with a same store sales increase of 4.4 percent in the second quarter last year.

The Walmart same store sales were below company expectations, Duke said in the recorded call.

Edwards said most other retailers' sales are down, and by double digits, so Wal-Mart is "doing better than everybody else, but it's still not fabulous. There is room for improvement."

• Sam's Club reported $11.9 billion in second quarter sales, a 3.2 percent decline from the $12.3 billion in sales for the second quarter last year.

Sam's Club reported $22.87 billion in sales for the six months ended July 31, a decline of 2.4 percent from the $23.42 billion in sales for the first six months last year.

Sam's Club same store sales were up 0.6 percent in the second quarter, excluding fuel sales, compared with a 4.1 percent same store sales increase in the second quarter last year.

Customers bought produce, meat, dairy and electronics, but passed on furniture, mattresses, jewelry and major appliances, said Brian Cornell, Sam's Club president, in a recorded earnings call.

• Wal-Mart's International division reported $23.96 billion in sales for the second quarter, a decline of 5.1 percent from the $25.25 billion in sales for the same quarter last year.

The International division reported $45.22 billion in sales for the six months ended July 31, a drop of 8 percent from the $49.18 billion in the same six months last year.

However, Wal-Mart reported that the effect of currency exchange rates reduced second quarter sales by $4.2 billion. If currency rates remained constant, International sales increased 11.5 percent in the second quarter to $28.16 billion, the earnings release stated.

U.S. companies convert sales in other countries into U.S. dollars for earnings reports. Currency exchange rates can make strong sales in another country look weak if the U.S. dollar is strong. Conversely, weak sales look strong if the dollar is weak.

The retailer expects Walmart U.S. third quarter same store sales to be flat to a 2 percent increase and Sam's Club same store sales to be up 1 percent, flat or down 1 percent.

Shares of Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) closed Thursday, at $51.68, up $1.17. The share price ranged from a $63.85 high to a $46.25 low in the past 52 weeks.

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Miramar residents relish beating Wal-Mart

By DIANA MOSKOVITZ,
Miami Herald
August 13th, 2009                              [back to top]

Looking to build yet another 220,000-square-foot supercenter, Wal-Mart set its sights on 29 acres at Flamingo Road and Miramar Parkway. In 2005, it acquired the property for $10 million.

But then Miramar's Monarch Lakes residents raised a storm, worried about traffic and congestion for an already bustling hub. The city commission, surprisingly to some, voted the project down -- leading to a Wal-Mart lawsuit to overturn the vote.

But now the deal is officially dead. A judge has denied Wal-Mart's appeal, and the company is listing the land, which has been upgraded since the purchase, for $19.6 million.

``Our plans to build the store were not approved,'' spokeswoman Michelle Belaire said, ``therefore, we can't go build our store.''

Residents, backed by a high-powered Miami law firm, savor the win.

``We had our own army. Each neighborhood had a leader -- they were like neighborhood captains, and they had people beneath them,'' said organizer Carl Lanke. ``We organized pretty much as you do on a political campaign.''

The Miramar controversy arose at a time when Wal-Mart was pushing for several Broward stores. One store planned for Davie is caught up in a federal lawsuit. Another was eyed as part of a town center-style development in North Lauderdale, but the downtown project died.

Miramar's battle began in 2005, when residents learned that Wal-Mart had proposed a 24-hour supercenter next door to Monarch Lakes, a sprawling community of pastel-colored homes and Spanish-tile roofs.

OUTRAGE

Protests from homeowners followed. Community meetings swelled, and activists blasted e-mail updates. A banner sign in front of the community announced, ``SAY NO TO WAL-MART!''

They would need more than signs to win, squaring off against a retail giant that has 18 Wal-Marts and two Sam's Clubs in Broward County, plus several more within driving distance in North Miami-Dade County.

City staff members issued an analysis that said the supercenter met Miramar's development rules and appeared consistent with its long-term development plan.

WAL-MART'S EFFORTS

Wal-Mart launched an advertising campaign. The glossy, color fliers showed pictures of happy children and a senior couple embracing, and portrayed the promise of a stronger tax base.

Wal-Mart still needed commissioners to approve a zoning change. Because property owners have certain constitutional rights in Florida, city leaders needed reasons and evidence to support a no vote -- or risk having a court overrule them.

Monarch Lakes hired its own attorney: Santiago Echemendia, an experienced land-use lawyer with the high-profile Miami firm Tew Cardenas.

`FATALLY FLAWED'

The night of the final vote, Sept. 7, 2005, hundreds packed City Hall, many clad in anti-Wal-Mart T-shirts and carrying signs. The hearing stretched past midnight.

Wal-Mart paraded in experts who testified that the store wouldn't bring traffic to a failing level. Instead, they said the project would fit within the city's development guidelines.

Then Echemendia brought in speakers. One, planner Mark Alvarez, said the supercenter conflicted with Miramar's long-term development map. While the map showed retail in that area, it meant multiple kinds of trades, clustered to reduce driving -- not one megastore, Alvarez said. The second, transportation engineer Richard Garcia, said Wal-Mart would create far worse traffic than the company's analysis suggested. He called the plan ``fatally flawed.''

The night ended with Miramar commissioners voting 4-1 to deny the zoning change, with the majority deciding that a supercenter wasn't meant for that location.

Commissioner Winston Barnes was the lone vote of support for Wal-Mart. Before the vote, he alluded to concerns that the issue would be decided in court, according to minutes of the hearing.

Residents celebrated. Wal-Mart appealed in court.

THE APPEAL

The petition, filed in Broward Circuit Court, claimed that Miramar commissioners failed to ``apply the correct law'' during the hearing. Petitions from Echemendia and city attorney Jamie Cole responded that commissioners had acted on solid evidence.

Wal-Mart also took issue with Commissioner John Moore's vote because he had already voted against the project as a member of the Planning and Zoning board. Cole argued that Wal-Mart's wide margin of defeat made that issue irrelevant.

`INFLEXIBILITY'

Broward Circuit Court Judge Robert Carney denied Wal-Mart's request for an appeal. His ruling gave no reason, only saying it was based on arguments heard.

``I think it goes back to, at least in my perspective, an inflexibility on Wal-Mart at the time. And therefore the neighbors having to stand firm on what their concerns were,'' Echemendia said.

In April 2008, the case officially closed.

WHAT'S NEXT?

The land sat empty, leaving Monarch Lakes homeowners to guess what would happen next.

They got their answer a few months ago: The property became listed with a real-estate agent. A for-sale sign now sits on the land, which has been cleared and demucked with impact fees paid, the listing said.

Monarch Lakes resident meetings have gotten smaller. But the most ardent activists say they stand ready for the next battle, should it come.

``You're always apprehensive in the back of your mind,'' said Lanke, who went on to briefly serve on the commission, ``not knowing what will go in there.''

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Best Buy downgraded by Goldman on fears of Wal-Mart competition

By Brian White,
Bloggingstocks.com
August 12th, 2009                                   [back to top]

Best Buy, Inc. (NYSE: BBY) shares were downgraded by Goldman Sachs from Buy to Neutral this week. Analyst Matthew Fassler indicated that Best Buy would continue to see increased pressure from online retailers, as well as mass discounters like Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT), which continues to upgrade its consumer electronics assortment and brand selection.

On the Wal-Mart front, the largest retailer in the world still is vastly inferior to Best Buy in terms of brand selection, assortment and even pricing -- so Fassler may be calling this a little too early. In the flat-panel television and PC categories, for example, Best Buy continually outshines Wal-Mart in just about every way from this writer's chair. Perhaps Wal-Mart will get better. Target Corp. (NYSE: TGT), on the other hand, is nowhere close to either Best Buy or Wal-Mart.

Consumers continue to purchase more and more online every year, so this competition may intensify. But Best Buy already has a sizable internet presence. While slower in-store traffic could hurt the retailer's music CDs and DVD sales -- and video games -- it is already addressing this problem with some initiatives.

One area that has placed Best Buy on top of the consumer electronics world is its ability to be proactive, so from here the stock detriment seems to be overblown. Sales in the year 2011 may tell another story, but it's a safe investment for the next 18 months if you're not looking long-term.

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Orange Wal-Mart hearing set for Aug. 24

Star Exponent
August 11th, 2009                        [back to top]

The public hearing on the Wilderness Wal-Mart that was cut short July 30 has been rescheduled for 6 p.m. Aug. 24 in the Orange County High School.

The hearing will deal with Wal-Mart’s special-use permit for a 138,000-square-foot supercenter it plans to build on a Route 3 site near the intersection with Route 20.

It also lies near the Wilderness Battlefield.

The new public hearing became necessary after county officials realized an Orange County Review error in the advertisement of a public notice. Instead of the required two-week public hearing ad leading up to the July 30 meeting, the Review only ran the ad for one week.

Because of the error, acting county administrator Julie Jordan canceled the hearing only a few hours before it was set to start, “out of an abundance of caution.”

Commissioners originally held their hearing on the Wal-Mart proposal May 21. Then, they heard from Wal-Mart planners about features of the proposed store.

According to Wal-Mart attorney Tom Kleine, the project’s unique design represented sensitivity to nearby historic features, like the battlefield.

Kleine also said Wal-Mart’s plans to make road improvements along Route 3, including installation of additional turn lanes to improve traffic flow.

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Apple App Store to be bigger than Wal-mart?

By David Morgenstern,
ZDnet
August 10th, 2009                                 [back to top]

A developer of mobile application deployment and analytic tools says project starts for the iPhone show no sign of slowing. According to its figures, Apple’s App Store could have more than 100K titles by the end of the year, putting it into Wal-Mart territory.

The data comes from a post in Flurry Inc.’s blog by Peter Farago, the company’s vice president of marketing. Flurry makes a platform of analytics, deployment and monetization tools for mobile developers. The company said that Flurry Analytics is often integrated early into the development cycle, perhaps 6 months before the app ships.

Farago compared its New Project Starts statistic to new starts in the real estate market. He said it provides a reliable indicator for the strength of the application pipeline heading to market.

… Specifically, it measures 3rd party developer support for the App Store, a key to Apple’s iPhone strategy, and support which has been increasingly sought after by companies like Google, RIM and Palm.

Over the last six months, the number of available applications in the App Store has more than doubled, from 25,000 applications in January to over 65,000 in July, which equates to 14% month-over-month growth. Flurry’s month-over-month rate for New Project Starts has been holding steady at 30% for the last several months. Assuming that roughly half of those new project starts are for new applications, the pipeline to the App Store shows no signs of slowing.

Farago said at this 15 percent rate, the App Store shelves will carry more than 100K apps by the end of the year, which is more than the “world’s largest retailer, Wal-Mart, which merchandises about 100,000 items per store.”

There are a couple of other interesting graphs in the report: the first shows the rapid growth of app starts for Google’s Android OS.

Check out: Microsoft pitches Windows Mobile to iPhone developers

Another chart tracked the eBooks category. In July, Flurry counted 3 million “active user sessions” for eBooks. While the Kindle is the leader, the iPhone/iPod Touch platform is a direct competitor, he said.

… According to Apptism, an App Store tracking service, eBooks represents the second largest application category in the App Store with 14% share, only behind Games, which comes in at 19%.

With Amazon investing heavily in Kindle, iPhone has quickly emerged as a direct competitor in the eBooks category, further demonstrating the impressive reach of Apple across all digital media.

Meanwhile, expect more of these stats: Motally on Monday announced the launch of its iPhone and RIM Blackberry analytics service.

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Wal-Mart product purge sets worrying trend for suppliers

By Jonathan Birchall,
Financial Times
August 10th, 2009                            [back to top]

Clorox, the US household products company, admitted last week that its sales plans for a new venture into laundry detergents had suffered an unexpected setback.

Don Knauss, chief executive, told investors that a decision by Wal-Mart, the largest US retailer, not to stock the new Green Works brand detergent at its US stores had taken Clorox by surprise.

"To be straightforward, it was not in our plan and, obviously, we would love to get distribution there as soon as we can," he said, as his new detergent became the highest profile victim yet of shifts underway at Wal-Mart that are shaking up the consumer goods industry.

"Any time the elephant moves, people react," says Pat Conroy, head of Deloitte & Touche's US consumer products practice. In a reversal of American mass retailers' traditional urge to provide one-stop access to all available products, Wal-Mart is cutting back on the number of products it sells, allocating the most shelf space to its best selling lines and reducing, or even removing, those that do not sell so well, using a formula it calls "win, play, show".

Wal-Mart hopes as a result to increase its sales per square foot, while reducing inventory and cutting labour costs by reducing stocking time at its stores, the largest of which cover 220,000sq ft and stock more than 100,000 separate products.

JPMorgan's retail analysts estimate that the cutbacks could reduce the number of lines the retailer carries by 15 per cent.

The rationalisation effort has become increasingly important for the retailer. After the expansion of its store network in the last two decades, it has slowed new store openings, increasing the pressure to seek higher returns from sales at its existing stores, which number more than 3,000.

Other US retailers are taking similar steps. Walgreens, which operates more than 4,000 drugstores, is reducing the average number of items a store carries from 20,000 to about 17,500. Kroger and Stop & Shop, both leading supermarket groups, are cutting back on items, using data on shopper preferences acquired through loyalty cards.

In Europe, space limitations have always put more pressure on retailers to be selective in the products they put on their shelves. A typical UK supermarket, for instance, has about a quarter of the 40,000 to 50,000 stock-keeping units of one of Kroger's 40,000-50,000sq ft supermarkets, which carry perhaps two leading brands and the retailer's private label version.

For consumer goods companies, the move benefits the strongest existing national brands. Irene Rosenfeld, chief executive of Kraft, the largest US food group, says that brands such as Oreo's cookies and Oscar Meyer meats could gain from Wal-Mart's move.

"We have such strong market share positions in our categories we're well positioned to benefit from the initiative . . . I believe it will continue to be of benefit to us."

Bob McDonald, chief executive of Procter & Gamble, also says the efficiency moves help the company's leading brands such as Tide detergent, even if smaller less successful brands or products can get moved out.

"We typically get more shelf space . . . If we lose on an efficient assortment new set, we'll go back and work on it and improve the brand," he told investors.

But the cutbacks are likely to add to the traditional strains between retailers and suppliers, particularly as the retailers follow Europe in creating space for new private-label products that now compete with the national brands.

"If retailers can get some of that shelf space freed up, it gives them more space for their private label product," says Mr Conroy.

At Clorox, Mr Knauss and his executives have also tried to put a brave face on the situation, saying they were still expecting a healthy launch for the product with other retailers.

Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2009.

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Sam's Tests a Big-Box Bodega

By Miguel Bustillo,
Wall Street Journal
August 10th, 2009                            [back to top]

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is experimenting with a new Latino-themed warehouse store as it hunts for U.S. growth, despite a mixed history at ethnic forays by other retailers.

The Más Club, which opened in Houston on Thursday, aims to satisfy the yearnings of recent immigrants for the familiar foods of home -- in American-style bulk sizes. The Sam's Club spinoff is part of a broader effort by the retailer to target the nation's fast-growing Latino population with dedicated stores.

Butcher Marco Antonio Rios handed chicken to Eris Contreras at Mas, a new box store launched by Wal-Mart, targeted at Latino shoppers.

It also comes as Wal-Mart aims to reinvigorate revenue gains at its Sam's Club warehouse stores. Its share of Wal-Mart's $401 billion in sales has slipped since 2005 to 11.7% from 13.3% as international revenue has jumped to 24.6%, from 18.7% over the same period.

The Bentonville, Ark., retailer is also testing a service-heavy Sam's Club that caters exclusively to small businesses while also targeting Latinos with a new food store called Supermercado de Walmart.

Some attempts by mainstream American food sellers to open Latino-themed stores ultimately fizzled, including a pioneering effort two decades ago by Safeway Inc.'s Vons supermarkets in Southern California called Tianguis, a Mexican name for a street market.

Grocery experts warned that Wal-Mart faces stiff competition from small bodegas and mid-sized grocery chains, such as Texas's Fiesta Mart Inc., in what is already a crowded market.

"The question becomes, what can Wal-Mart offer that is not already being offered by a friendly face?" said Bob Reynolds, a former Safeway executive and food industry consultant.

Wal-Mart, the largest retailer by revenue in Mexico, says it is feeling out the Más concept (the name means 'more'), and may end up using it mainly as a laboratory on how to tailor existing Sam's Club stores to local tastes.

"There is an opportunity for Sam's Club to expand its membership base through Más Club," said Kenny Folk, Sam's Club senior vice president of new business development. "We expect Más Club to evolve as we get to know our members better. They will help us decide how fast and how far this format goes."

For a $30 fee, less than the $40 for a basic Sam's Club membership, customers get a Mexican take on warehouse-style food shopping, with a tortilla bakery, 20 varieties of fresh-made Mexican pastries, a butcher shop slicing custom cuts of pork, and ethnic delicacies such as cow tongues. That's far more fresh food than at Sam's Club, which mostly offers frozen and pre-packaged items.

The Más Club atmosphere is as much Mexican bodega as warehouse megastore. The store's bright orange, green and red signs are in Spanish, with English subtitles. The store includes health-clinic and money-transfer businesses that lease space from Wal-Mart.

But it has fewer electronics and home appliances than Sam's Club. Aisles are filled with soccer jerseys of Club Deportivo Guadalajara of Mexico, and FC Barcelona of Spain, as well as soda and candy from Femsa SA and Chupaletas SA.

"I'm not sure it is better than Fiesta yet, but I think Fiesta is going to have some competition," said 29-year-old Eris Contreras as she bought marinated chicken from the butcher shop .

Others were more enthusiastic. "We really do find a lot of different stuff here that we've had family in Mexico ship us in the past," said Ariana Zamorra, 22. Her 54-year-old mother, Eva, chimed in that the bilingual signs made her comfortable.

While regional grocery chains such as Publix Super Markets Inc. and H.E. Butt Grocery Co. have also launched formats aimed at Latino shoppers in recent years, others have tailored existing stores with ethnic merchandise and Spanish-language signs.

That is the strategy at Winn-Dixie Stores Inc., which operates more than 500 grocery stores in the Southeast U.S. It added bilingual signs and merchandise in heavily Latino neighborhoods to match the Cuban, Central American or Mexican immigrant identity of shoppers.

"We decided to go down the path of one-store format, Winn-Dixie, because it allows us to operate more effectively," said Dan Portnoy, chief merchandising officer for Winn-Dixie. "In the Miami area, we already have a strong brand."

Más Club also features an attached warehouse where small business owners can purchase about 500 of the store's 3,000 items by the pallet -- an attempt by Wal-Mart to lure mom-and-pop merchants away from the smaller wholesalers that now supply them.

Whether that takes root will depend on people like Jose Galvan, the owner of a Mexican bakery called Dos Naciones. As he chatted up the clerk at the J&A Regio Distributors, a seller of Mexican food items minutes from Más Club, Mr. Galvan said he already shops at Sam's Club, flashing his membership card.

But, he adds, "I don't think [Más Club] can match the relationships I can build with places like this."

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A Visit to India's First Wal-Mart (a.k.a. Best Price)

By MADHUR SINGH,
Time
August 9th, 2009                                  [back to top]

Amritsar lives in many centuries at once. This holiest city of the Sikhs is home to their most revered shrine, the mystical and awe-inspiring Golden Temple, where nihangs - members of an armed Sikh order - live on in traditions dating back centuries, sporting distinctive electric blue tunics and a panoply of weapons, even speaking a unique martial dialect of the Punjabi language. Other parts of this prosperous merchant city wears Levi's, hanging out at cafes or following the latest diet fad or carrying the latest iPod. And since May this year, Amritsar has also been home to India's first Wal-Mart.

Located on the Grand Trunk Road, the sub-continent's lifeline dating back to the 16th century, the store is a good half hour's drive out of the city but has been attracting a steady, if small, stream of customers and wide-eyed spectators since its launch on May 30. At 50,000 square feet, it is almost tiny by U.S. standards, and there are fewer than 50 vehicles in the parking lot outside - mostly passenger cars, a handful of small commercial vehicles, SUVs and some motorbikes. A blue-turbaned, elderly Sikh with a flowing white beard kick-starts his scooter while balancing a small knapsack of shopping on the seat behind him. (Read about Wal-Mart's big plans for getting even bigger.)

It is a very different Wal-Mart; in fact, it's not a Wal-Mart at all. It is called Best Price Modern Wholesale, in collaboration with Wal-Mart's Indian partner Bharti Enterprises, in order to get around the country's rigid foreign investment restrictions. Members of the store have to be in business in order to do transactions in wholesale, but their families get cards that allow them to buy at retail prices. All sales are in cash. (How Wal-Mart overcame India's tough business restrictions.)

One advantage of being in Amritsar is that almost everyone in the business-oriented town is a merchant. Furthermore, the cash-and-carry format allows Bharti and Wal-Mart to co-opt a part of the competition - the mom-and-pop, or kiryana, stores - by turning them into customers. In fact, there's a section within the Best Price store called a "model store" where kiryana shop-owners are taught how to arrange goods in their store and to optimize inventories to maximize profits.

One of the regulars at Best Price is Rohit Kalia, 29, a restaurateur, who is filling an already-overflowing trolley with a 5-kg pack of paneer - the Indian vegetarian's favorite cottage cheese - and 12 tins of baby corn. Kalia says he visits every second day for supplies since he gets many things cheaper here. "This store has certainly expanded my range of choice," he says, "But it's just one more store where I buy supplies from. I still get better prices and more convenience shopping at my usual suppliers'." He is cut short by a commotion - the appearance of a forklift has created a stir. Children are gazing, enchanted, while adults look on with barely-concealed curiosity. The store staff quickly rush in to cordon off the aisles that are being restocked, and gradually, it's back to business as usual.

It may take a while, however, to convince the locals to change their shopping habits. "I'll come here only once in a while," says Dalvinderjit Kaur, a housewife, whose son is filling out a form to get membership at Best Price. "I have shopped at the same kiryana shop for 18 years." There are many reasons customers like Kaur prefer their kiryana shops: they deliver for free, even for small orders; they allow regular customers credit; and they are close-by and personal. "He knows us so well," she says, "When my daughter went to America to study, he called to ask, 'Madam, is your daughter not home? You haven't been ordering cheese singles!' If I run out of shampoo, or detergent, I can just phone him and he'll send a boy with the stuff, free of charge."

Best Price has tried to match this but customers have to pay for home delivery. It has also tied up with Kotak Mahindra Bank to offer "business cards" with which customers can shop on credit for 14 days. Kalia, the restaurateur, laughs at this: "In a country where half the economy is a black economy, how do they expect a shopkeeper to give checks and put all transactions on record?"

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Can Wal-Mart Be Sustainable?

The New York Times
August 7th, 2009                                 [back to top]

Recently, Wal-Mart has been rolling out plans for what it calls a sustainability index — a measure of how green the products it sells really are. It is asking each of its suppliers, an enormous list of businesses, 15 questions about the life of their products from manufacturing through disposal: questions about greenhouse gas emissions, social responsibility, waste reduction initiatives and water use.

It is a sound idea. And probably a very good marketing tool. Given Wal-Mart’s huge purchasing power, if it is done right it could promote both much-needed transparency and more environmentally sensitive practices.

Wal-Mart has already created a Sustainability Index Consortium, which will include environmental groups and other nonprofits, universities and businesses. The consortium will create the criteria for the index, and will share with Wal-Mart the task of building a product-by-product database measuring the environmental impact of each product’s life cycle.

Wal-Mart seems aware that the success of its effort to reveal the environmental transparency of its suppliers will depend on the transparency of its own efforts — including the degree to which it collaborates with critics.

The company plans to do more with the index than simply using it to guide its own purchases from suppliers. This database could inform consumers as well. To that end, Wal-Mart hopes to put a readable version of it in every aisle so that consumers can gauge the environmental impact of their purchases.

Wal-Mart has done consistently well by selling at low prices. Historically, however, cheap goods have often reflected careless and unsustainable environmental practices — clear-cutting entire forests, for instance, which is cheaper than selective logging. If Wal-Mart successfully combines cut-rate prices with high-class environmental stewardship, other businesses should follow.

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Wal-Mart fight pits jobless vs. small business

By MARY MITCHELL,
Chicago Sun-Times
August 4th, 2009                                  [back to top]

In many areas starved for retail businesses, welcoming a Wal-Mart would be a no-brainer.

But Ald. Howard Brookins (21st) is having one heck of a time persuading his colleagues on the South Side to support his efforts to bring a Wal-Mart to 83rd and Stewart.

Indeed, Brookins was a freshman alderman when he first proposed giving Wal-Mart entry into the urban market.

Five years later, Wal-Mart is still trying to get past the Chicago Federation of Labor and some aldermen in surrounding wards who oppose the retail giant.

A parliamentary procedure that shifted the measure from one City Council committee to another has guaranteed that the controversial issue won't come up again until October -- after Mayor Daley gets word on his Olympic bid.

Daley, who vetoed the City Council's "big box ordinance," that was passed to block a Wal-Mart from going up on the West Side, has stayed out of this fight.

That's left black aldermen, ministers, and community activists to slug it out.

"I am frustrated for the community," Brookins told me.

"If it is a recession for the majority community, it has been a depression for the communities of color for a long while," he said. Enough hurt to go around

You don't have to quote statistics to understand that Chicago's South Side is hurting.

In many areas, the business district still consists of ramshackle stores and fast-food restaurants.

I'm not blaming aldermen for being unable to attract large retail businesses to predominantly black areas.

The shame is on the retailers that have red-lined black communities.

But the loss of business meant the loss of jobs.

"We know from reports in the African-American community that we are talking about 20 percent unemployment, and it is an equally high number for Hispanics," Brookins said.

"There are no manufacturing or good- paying jobs coming to the 'hood," Brookins said.

The question is how do black aldermen justify turning down 500 jobs and a major construction project when there's nothing else on the horizon?

Ald. Freddrenna Lyle (6th) is one of the aldermen opposing Brookins' bid.

She says her reasons are steeped in "protectionism."

"There are two big concerns. When Wal-Mart comes into a rural area, Wal-Mart killed all the business in their area. In urban areas, you lose retail sales revenue in the surrounding area," Lyle said.

"Because there is a finite amount of money in every community, if you have a change in the spending pattern and take on a new player, that means the other players are going to suffer," she said.

In other words, Lyle is worried about what will become of the predominantly black-owned businesses that sell some of the items Wal-Mart will stock.

Lyle also does not believe that a Wal-Mart would attract additional businesses.

"If we are struggling now, it will only get worse," she said.

"Young people don't have the loyalty to keep these small businesses going. I don't want to be the one to hit the nail," Lyle said.

Maybe the aldermen who oppose Wal-Mart will live long enough to see a return to the days when black businesses were thriving along 47th, 63rd, 79th and 87th streets.

But time doesn't stand still, and people are desperate for jobs.

Because Brookins is the alderman, it ought to be his call, and his colleagues should have his back on this. Will labor return the favor?

Also, it is ironic that while labor unions are opposing Wal-Mart, these organizations have a long tradition of failing to recruit and train blacks to fill high-paying union jobs.

Really, just check out any construction site.

Usually, a person of color or a woman is holding up the "Stop/Slow" sign while the white worker is operating the machinery.

"I would hope that my colleagues would see the light and that they would get on board," Brookins said.

"I clearly have a plan to employ 500 permanent people and hundreds of construction union jobs on the site," he argued.

"If they have a plan to employ people in those numbers, then put it on the table. If not, then get out of the way of the community."

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Mom Accuses Walmart of Going After Girl Scouts

By Jack Neff,
AdAge.com
August 3rd, 2009                         [back to top]

Walmart, which has been going after a lot of brands lately with the restage and expansion of its Great Value private label, now appears to be taking on the Girl Scouts.

On her Authentic Organizations blog, C.V. Harquail takes Earth's largest retailer to task over the apparent expansion of Great Value onto Girl Scout turf.

"Just when you think your opinion about Walmart might be changing ... just when you think that maybe, just maybe, Walmart was learning to be a better citizen ... Walmart turns around and does something really despicable," Ms. Harquail writes. "It's not discriminating against women, strong-arming suppliers, polluting neighborhoods or racing to the bottom of the China Price. No, this time, it's closer to home, and in my case, really close to home. This time ... Walmart is knocking off the Girl Scouts."

Ms. Harquail was for years the "Cookie Mom" for her daughter's troop, so she said she recognized right away the distinct flavor and texture of Thin Mints and Tagalongs, the Girl Scouts' two most popular varieties, when she sampled them at the recent BlogHer conference in Chicago. Trouble is, they weren't Girl Scout cookies. They were "beta" versions of Great Value products, which the retailer was touting heavily in a substantial presence at the event for mainly mommy bloggers.

"The exclusivity of Girl Scout cookies is what makes the cookies really sell," Ms. Harquail writes. "But now, Walmart is shoving itself in front of these little girls, and knocking on your door to sell you their almost-as-good fake Thin Mints and fake Tagalongs, whenever you want them."

This, she writes, threatens the organization's ability to do raise money, and raises questions in her mind about whether it really cares about the community.

BlogHer, of course, is a place marketers go to listen and establish dialogue with women on the front lines of social media, and Walmart has now fully engaged one. While its suppliers are prone to suffering Great Value knockoffs in silence, not so den mothers and cookie-sale organizers.

The Girl Scouts of the USA were a bit more measured. Spokeswoman Michelle Tompkins said other manufacturers and marketers have probably come close to the taste or appearance of popular Girl Scout varieties in the past, though none immediately sprang to mind for her.

"I would hope that people realize," she said, "that when they buy Girl Scout cookies, they're also helping little girls."

A Walmart spokeswoman, contacted for comment and forwarded a link to the blog post, did not respond to a request for comment.

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Colorado Health Officials Identify Wal-Mart as One Retailer of Recalled Cilantro

By David Babcock,
Food Poison Journal
August 2nd, 2009                               [back to top]

The FDA announced several days ago that Frontera Produce of Texas was recalling cilantro due to potential contamination with Salmonella. Neither the FDA nor Frontera, however, provided the identities of the retailers where the cilantro in question had been sold. Thankfully, state health officials in Colorado have identifed a set of Wal-Mart stores that are implicated, according to the Colorado AP. It appears that Frontera has also now confirmed that the cilantro was sold at Wal-Mart stores in the Alamosa, Trinidad, La Junta, Cortez, and Durango areas. Further:

State health official say people who bought the cilantro between July 20 and July 27 should check their refrigerators and toss it or return it.

The product's lot number is 118122. The cilantro bunches have a white twist tie with pink lettering spelling the word 'cilantro' and the UPC number 033383801049.

Interestingly, Wal-Mart previously claimed that Frontera was the supplier of jalapeno peppers to the Cortez, Colorado Wal-Mart that later tested positive for Salmonella Saint Paul in connection with a 2008 outbreak that sickened over 1,000 indiviudals.

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VIDEOS

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Fighting Wal-Martization 25min. (2005)

A new video by The Labor Video Project 25 min. (2005)

Wal-Mart is now the largest private employer in the United States and has the same impact that General Motors had nearly 50 years ago. This 26-minute video shows why working people and trade unionists are fighting back and what Wal-Mart has in store for the communities it is seeking to build stores in. "Fighting Wal-Martization" is a hard hitting documentary that looks at how the constant price cutting not only drives local small businesses out of the community but how this ends up driving down the living conditions of the very people who shop at Wal-Mart. The video also looks at the healthcare crisis and how Wal-Mart increases its profits by sending it¹s employees to public hospitals to get treatment thereby shifting costs back onto the taxpayer. This video can be used at union meetings, community meetings and on cable TV to get the message out about the Wal-Martization of America and what it means to every working person.

Please mail your check of $20.00 and order form to

Labor Video Project
P. O. Box 720027,
San Francisco, CA 94172

For more info: lvpsf@labornet.org, (415) 282-1908

Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Prices (www.walmartmovie.com)

Independent America: The Two Lane Search for Mom & Pop (www.independentamerica.net)

Big Box Mart (www.jibjab.com)

Garth Brooks Parody (www.walmartworkersrights.org)

"Is Wal-Mart Good for America?" Frontline, PBS Video, (www.pbs.org)
 

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BOOKS

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NON-FICTION

The Case Against Wal-Mart By Al Norman Raphel Marketing ruth@raphael.com

Wal-Mart: The Face Of Twenty-First Century Capitalism Edited By Nelson Lichtenstein The New Press www.thenewpress.com

The Great Risk Shift: The Assault on American Jobs, Families, Health Care and Retirement By Jacob S. Hacker Oxford University Press www.oup.com

War On The Middle Class: How the Government, Big Business, and Special Interest Groups Are Waging War on the American Dream and How to Fight Back By Lou Dobbs Viking, a member of Penguin Group www.penguin.com

Momentum: Igniting Social Change in the Connected Age By Allison H. Fine Jossey-Bass www.joseybass.com

Big-Box Swindle: The True Cost of Mega-Retailers and the Fight for America's Independent Businesses, By Stacy Mitchell, www.beacon.org www.newrules.org

Wal-Mart: The Face Of the Twenty-First-Century Capitalism, Edited by Nelson Lichtenstein, Published by The New Press www.thenewpress.com

 The Bully Of Bentonville - How the high cost of Wal-Mart's Everyday Low Prices is Hurting America, By Anthony Bianco, Published by Doubleday
Email: specialmarkets@randomhouse.com

 How Wal-Mart is Destroying America (and the world), By Bill Quinn, Published By Ten Speed Press, Box 7123, Berkeley, CA 94707, www.tenspeed.com (pp. 163)

Slam Dunking Wal-Mart, By Al Norman, Published By Raphel Marketing, 12 S. Virginia Avenue, Atlantic City, New Jersey 08410, www.sprawl-busters.com (pp. 237)

The Great American JobsScam, By Greg LeRoy, Published By Barrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc., 235 Montgomery Street, Suite 650, San Francisco, CA 94104-2916, www.bkconnection.com (pp. 257)

Nickel and Dimed, By Barbara Ehrenreich, Published By Henry Holt and Company, LLC, 115 West 18^th Street, New York, NY 10011, www.henryholt.com (pp.221)

United States of Wal-Mart, By John Dicker, Published By Jeremy P. Tarcher (Penguin Group usa), www.us.penguingroup.com (pp.257)

The Wal-Mart Effect, By Charles Fishman www.penguin.com

Megamall On The Hudson, By David Porter and Chester L. Mirsky www.trafford.com

FICTION

Death By Discount, By Mary Vermillion, Published By Alyson Publications, P.O. Box 4371, Los Angeles, CA 90078-4371, www.maryvermillion.com (pp. 275)