Wal-Mart struts its marketing
By Chuck Bartels
Associated Press
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world's largest retailer, put on a flashy show for shareholders yesterday that highlighted its efforts to reach customers with deeper pockets and expand its offerings for young and trendy shoppers.
Associated Press
"More and more customers at all income levels are interested in value," said Tom Coughlin, president of domestic Wal-Mart stores.
At the Wal-Mart shareholders' meeting yesterday in Fayetteville, Ark., two attendees from Yunaxan, China, displayed a flag of that country, where Wal-Mart now operates 19 stores.
Coughlin said the company remains devoted to the lower-income customers that Wal-Mart has targeted from its start. But the company highlighted its diamond sales in Wal-Mart stores and its Sam's Club warehouses.
It also trotted out celebrities like television teen stars Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, who have popular clothing and apparel lines with the company, country performers Lee Greenwood and David Vasser, and several National Football League stars including Joe Montana and Jerry Rice.
Despite the fanfare, Lee Scott, the company's president and chief executive, focused on business, pointing out that the company made adjustments last year to improve its fortunes. The company had lower-than-usual increases in profit and sales for its last fiscal year, ended Jan. 31, but it finished strong and posted an impressive first quarter in this fiscal year.
Last year, Wal-Mart expanded its market share and increased its revenues by $26 billion to $217.8 billion.
Last month, Wal-Mart reported that first-quarter earnings rose 19.4 percent from the year-ago period, beating Wall Street expectations. Total sales increased 14.4 percent.
Scott said the company will continue to grow through improving sales in existing stores, trimming costs through inventory management and other techniques, and through aggressive expansion. Wal-Mart is spending $10 billion this year on growth.
The company plans this year to add 15 to 20 Neighborhood Markets — its new stand-alone grocery stores — and add 180 to 185 Supercenters, which combine discount and grocery stores. In all, expansions will add 46 million square feet, a 9 percent increase, said chief financial officer Thomas Schoewe.
Last month, the company concluded its deal to buy the long-vacant Ke'eaumoku superblock on O'ahu, near Ala Moana Center, paying an estimated $35 million for the site where the world's largest retailer now plans to stack Sam's Club and Wal-Mart stores.
Wal-Mart has said it plans a 155,000-square-foot Sam's Club for the top floor of its building on the site, a 150,000-square-foot Wal-Mart store on the bottom floor, and several other shops on the parcel bordered by Sheridan, Makaloa, Rycroft and Ke'eaumoku streets.
Several hundred workers probably will be employed at each of the stores and the company wants to finish construction by early 2004.
The complex will give Wal-Mart two Sam's Club discount stores in O'ahu and seven Wal-Mart stores in Hawai'i: three on O'ahu, two on the Big Island, and one each on Maui and Kaua'i.
As of this month, Wal-Mart had a total of 4,485 stores, internationally and domestic.
The company has 1,614 discount stores, 1,133 Supercenters, 509 Sam's Clubs, 33 Neighborhood Markets and 1,196 international stores.
