Eye-on-Retail Tipsheet 4/10/13: Walmart launches magazine; Target wants to be a penny higher
“Walmart Canada launches glossy magazine” by Linda Barnard at The Star. “We’ll take your flyer, Target, and raise you a glossy Walmart magazine…Produced for Walmart by Rogers Media’s Custom Content division, Walmart Live Better will appear six times a year at Walmart Supercentres in English Canada, as well as through online platforms with regularly updated content. With a press run of 1 million copies per issue, it automatically becomes Canada’s largest-circulation magazine, according to Rogers.” Read more: https://www.thestar.com/life/2013/04/08/walmart_canada_launches_glossy_magazine.html
“How Walmart Trains Better Leaders” by JP Donlon at Chief Executive. “In 2009, Walmart U.S. CEO Bill Simon—a former naval aviator—engaged Damian McKinney—a former commando with Britain’s Royal Marines who runs a consulting business helping companies execute their strategy— to assist Walmart in accelerating the preparedness of leaders and to cultivate managers fast enough to meet rising demand. (Simon had met McKinney earlier in both men’s careers when they were colleagues at Diageo.)…Normally a publicity-shy company, Walmart doesn’t volunteer much apart from the fact that, to date, 496 of its executives have gone through the Academy.” Read more: https://chiefexecutive.net/how-walmart-trains-better-leaders
“Target CEO: ‘We want to be a penny higher than Wal-Mart'” by John Vomhof Jr. at Minneapolis/St.Paul Bus. Journal. “Speaking at a Economic Club of Minnesota luncheon on Monday, Target CEO Gregg Steinhafel said his company isn’t interested in an all-out “price war.” Rather, its goal is to be within 2 percent of Wal-Mart’s prices. “We want to be a penny higher than Wal-Mart,” he said. “So, if they have bananas for 48 cents, we want to have bananas for 49 cents. If it’s a $10 item, the difference might be a nickel.” Read more: https://www.bizjournals.com/twincities/news/2013/04/08/target-ceo-we-want-to-be-a-penny.html
“Apps Emerge as Key Walmart Strategy” by Carol Angrisani at Supermarket News. “Walmart plans to launch Print Plus, a mobile app that brings its print ads to life, an executive of the chain said during an educational session on day two of the Shopper Marketing Summit. The app, to be launched this year, allows shoppers to view content — such as recipes and product information — when they scan a Walmart ad with their smart phones. “We’re working on bringing liquid content off of our print pieces,” Ken Mantel, Walmart’s senior director of marketing, said.” Read more: https://supermarketnews.com/marketing/apps-emerge-key-walmart-strategy#ixzz2Q1UyYdVP
“eBay’s CEO: Retailers finally are responding to the commerce revolution” by Don Davis at Internet Retailer. “While Donahoe did not give specific store-based retailers, he said some merchants are experimenting with screens in store windows that let consumers shop at night when the store is closed…In a sign of eBay positioning itself to work closely with retail chains—many of them increasingly fearful of eBay rival Amazon—Donahoe emphasized that, despite eBay’s online roots, he doesn’t believe bricks-and-mortar stores will disappear. “A lot of people really like shopping,” Donahoe said in an interview. “It’s entertainment, a social experience. I don’t believe in the demise of the store.” Read more: https://www.internetretailer.com/2013/04/09/ebays-ceo-retailers-respond-commerce-revolution?cid=2013
“Ten retailers urged to pull potentially toxic products” by Wendy Koch at USA Today. “Health and environmental groups will launch a national campaign Thursday to prod 10 major retailers — including Walmart, Target and Costco — to clear store shelves of products containing hazardous chemicals. Advocates say these companies have done some “retail regulation” but argue more needs to be done and the U.S. government isn’t stepping up. They list 100-plus chemicals used in hundreds, possibly thousands, of products including wrinkle-free clothes, vinyl flooring, shampoos, sofa cushions and food packaging.” Read more: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/04/09/retailers-products-toxic-chemicals/2067113/
“Wal-Mart funds supplier training after Bangladesh fire” at Reuters. “Wal-Mart Stores Inc, the world’s largest retailer, is making its biggest push yet to try to improve conditions at factories that produce its clothing after a fire at a Bangladesh factory last year killed 112 people. The company also said Tuesday it would donate $1.6 million to help start a new Bangladesh training academy, and outlined its efforts to regain control over the complex and far-flung web of factories that make its products.” Read more: https://www.reuters.com/article/2013/04/09/us-walmart-bangladesh-factories-idUSBRE9380LG20130409
“PriceSmart: Waiting For A Discount On This ‘Costco Of The Caribbean'” by Alan Brochstein at Seeking Alpha. “The company opened its first stores in 1995 through licensees and then opened its first operated club in Panama in 1996…Today, PSMT operates 30 clubs in 12 countries and 1 U.S. Territory…After entering Colombia in 2011, PriceSmart is about to open its third unit early this year. It is contemplating its 6th unit in Costa Rica, which could open late in the year. Most recently, it announced that it will be opening its third club in Honduras in early 2014.” Read more: https://seekingalpha.com/article/1297641-pricesmart-waiting-for-a-discount-on-this-costco-of-the-caribbean?source=email_rt_mc_related_2
“Walmart Takes Its TV Fight Local” by Jack Neff at Ad Age. “It’s part of a plan that will see Walmart produce an eye-popping 1,500 TV ads in 2013. That’s more than double the 615-plus it ran in all of 2012, which itself was up substantially from a year earlier, when new local ads up 79%, according to Advertising Benchmark Index, which tracks consumer response to most new ads in the U.S.” Read more: https://adage.com/article/news/walmart-takes-tv-fight-local/240732/
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