日记 [2008年06月09日]

沃尔玛从新的“营销焦点”中获得收益

 

沃尔玛改进了营销手法，其优质的客户服务在超乎预期的销售中体现出来。

 

五月，沃尔玛的销售超过了预期，这刺激了客户消费政府发行并鼓励使用的支票，但是公司的管理层注意到，更快更方便更友好的营销方式是在颇有挑战的经济环境下，使购物者和商家产生共鸣。

 

“我们已经以占据了一个非常有利的地位而告终”，沃尔玛连锁美国分公司的主席兼首席执行官Eduardo Castro-Wright在罗杰斯购物广场的花园区说。周四，他加入了很多行政人员组织的活动，这些行政人员来自不同的部门，他们诠释了这些不同的栏目是如何被包含在一年前开始的“节约金钱，生活更好”运动中。

沃尔玛的新方向延续了这样一个曲折的过程，这是一件高档商品因销售下滑而沦为打折商品的过程。

 

周四，在其年度股东大会的前一天，沃尔玛报告了三月份同店面3.9个百分点的增长，这远好于分析师所预计的1.6个百分点的增长。包括燃料销售在内，沃尔玛报告了4.4个百分点的增长。这家公司预计“同店销售额”在目前这个月将呈现2到4个百分点的增长。

 

同店销售额只过去至少一年中开得店面的销售额，它作为反应零售商健康状况的重要指标。

 

在基本衣服价格不到10美元的这一背景下，Dottie Mattison,沃尔玛高级副总裁兼服装业务部的总经理说，这家公司正在致力于用最低的价格收购诸如伦敦的恒适和Fruit这样的大品牌。

 

Mattison称，在服装行业不景气的情况下，抛弃一些产品线并将精力放到其他方面是明智选择，因此，沃尔玛已经提出了收购要约。作为一家童装的服务商，Garanimals已经更换了四个连锁品牌了。

 

上个月沃尔玛的报告显示，服装销售行业的不景气拉低了这个国家的商业状况，庆幸的是，出现了很多改善的端倪。

 

沃尔玛的家居用品区，在这两年已经体验到了其第一轮“同店销售额”的增长，也有其突出的经营重点。Linda Hefner，作为家居用品部门的执行副总裁，告诉记者说，这家公司的家居部门的某些区域强调主流的品牌，而其他区域则强调零售商的自有品牌，尤其是檐篷，支柱等，这些将于本个秋季被海运至各个商店。

Hefner注意到，家居用品的价格相较竞争者便宜了大约40%。拥有300个线程计数表的大号檐篷价格为35.88美元。

 

和很多商店一样，家居部门也在通过一些倾斜政策使得产品更易于销售出去。

 

这种现象在电子部门同样表现明显，这些部门的店面被改装为拥有一块高清晰度电视的墙，外观看起来并不凌乱。仅仅在这家零售商在本顿维尔总部的数里之外，在罗杰斯的商店，购物者通过高清晰电视里展示的标签来决定他们该买什么。

 

雇员们通过训练变得越来越有帮助。这个部门利用了视频游戏这个新市场来吸引更多的观众而不仅仅是玩家。包括罗杰斯的店面在内，大约1000家店都提供了样本模型供顾客娱乐。沃尔玛也致力于对蓝光高清晰影碟机的改进，这个行业目前已经被设立为一种单独的高科技。

 

在商品领域，沃尔玛正在加紧准备一些例如披萨的食物，这些食物可为那些呆在家的顾客节省开支。这个夏季，这家零售商的重点放在了两种最廉价的食品上------冰淇淋和苏打。周四，它开始提供12包装的可口可乐，价格为11美元。

 

“从某种意义上说，食品杂货零售市场在低迷的经济状况下是利润丰厚的”，杂货部的执行副总裁Jack Sinclair说。

 

英文原文： 

Wal-Mart benefits from new merchandising focus

 

Wal-Mart's improving merchandise, customer service shows up in better-than-expected sales

ROGERS, Ark. (AP) -- Wal-Mart's better-than-expected sales in May got a boost customers spending their government stimulus checks, but company officials noted that its faster, cleaner and friendlier approach to merchandising is clearly resonating with shoppers in a challenging economy.

 

"We have ended up in a really good place," said Eduardo Castro-Wright, president and CEO of Wal-Mart Stores Inc.'s U.S. division, standing in the garden section of a Supercenter in Rogers. He was joined Thursday by executives from different departments who offered presentations on how different categories are all embracing its "save money, live better" campaign begun a year ago. That means an emphasis on low prices while focusing on a more edited selection in an attractive selling environment.

 

Wal-Mart's new direction follows a zigzag course between upscale and discount goods that had slowed sales growth.

 

On Thursday, the day before its annual shareholders' meeting, Wal-Mart reported a 3.9 percent increase in same-store sales in May, much better than the 1.6 percent gain that analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial expected. Including fuel sales, Wal-Mart reported a 4.4 percent gain. The company said it expects same-store sales growth between 2 percent to 4 percent in the current month.

 

Same-store sales are sales at stores open at least a year and are considered a key indicator of a retailer's health.

 

Standing amid racks of basic clothing items priced at less than $10, Dottie Mattison, Wal-Mart's senior vice president and general manager for apparel, said that the company is focusing on offering the lowest prices on such big brands as Hanes and Fruit of the Loom.

 

Mattison said Wal-Mart has been "clarifying the offering," which in the case of apparel meant dropping some lines and putting greater focus on others. Garanimals, a mix-and-match children's apparel collection, replaced four store-label brands.

 

Wal-Mart's home furnishings area, which enjoyed its first same-store sales increase in two years, has a tighter focus too. Linda Hefner, executive vice president of home furnishings, told reporters that in certain areas of the home department the company is emphasizing major brands, while in other areas it is stressing the retailer's own store labels, particularly Canopy, Mainstays and an upcoming collection called Better Homes and Gardens, which will be shipped to stores this fall.

 

Hefner noted that prices on home goods are as much as 40 percent less than those of competitors. For example, a queen-size set of Canopy 300-thread count sheets sells for $35.88.

Like many of the store's areas, the home department now features lower shelving to make it easier to shop.

 

That clarity is also evident in the electronics department, where stores are being remodeled to have a wall of high-definition televisions and a less cluttered look. At the Rogers store, just a few miles from the retailer's Bentonville headquarters, shoppers see clear labeling on televisions, helping them decide what to buy.

 

Employees are also being trained to be more helpful. The section is taking advantage of new markets for video games, such as the Guitar Hero line, which appeals to an audience broader than hardcore gamers. About 1,000 of its stores, including the Rogers location, offer demo models that shoppers can play with. Wal-Mart is also doing more to promote Blu-ray high definition movies and players, now that the industry has settled on a single technology.

 

In the food area, Wal-Mart is stressing prepared meals like pizza as its shoppers stay home more to save money. This summer, the retailer is focusing in particular on the lowest prices for two food basics -- ice cream and soda. On Thursday, it was offering four 12-packs of Coca-Cola cans for $11.

 

"In a sense, the retail grocery market is getting a benefit" from the slow economy, said Jack Sinclair, executive vice president of the grocery division.

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