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"Koeppel Direct's media buying expertise has played an integral role in making my company successful. Koeppel generated so much business for our company, occasionally we have to limit their media buys, in order to handle all of the new business." | |
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MEDIA BUYING DIRECT RESPONSE TELEVISION (DRTV) ARTICLE ...... |
Organic Foods, Hip Clothing and Sushi at Wal-Mart?
By: Peter Koeppel
Published: 05/06 |
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Did you ever think that Wal-Mart would be offering a sushi bar and Wi-Fi in their
Starbucks style Kick's Coffee Café? The new, upscale Wal-Mart has arrived and is located in Plano,
Texas, an affluent suburb of Dallas. I decided to visit this test store to evaluate how effective
it might be at attracting well-heeled customers.
The store features 500 kinds of organic produce and 2000 premium items not found in your typical Wal-Mart,
including hundreds of wines priced up to $500 a bottle, plasma TV's, pricey olive oil, a card and book
section that looks like a Barnes & Noble store and for the first time they have baggers at their checkout
lines. (AP, 3/22/06) Even the employees have new uniforms. The blue aprons and vests have been replaced by
more stylish blue polo shirts and khaki pants.
The store doesn't sell guns and their fishing, lawn and garden, camping and automotive products sections
are much smaller than at a typical Wal-Mart. Cosmetics and the pharmacy are conveniently located near
the food and wine items, because focus groups of female customers determined they wanted them there
for speed and convenience. (AP, 3/22/06). The aisles are wider and there are less PA announcements and no
in-store radio. (Dallas Morning News, 3/22/06). Several sections of the store reminded me more of a
Target than a Wal-Mart. The store is 217,000 square feet, which is 20,000 larger than their average
Supercenter.
Retail experts say nearly half of American families shop at Wal-Mart at least once a week. They say the
retail giant has nearly tapped out its middle-class base and must attract consumers who love Target and
Costco but not Wal-Mart. It took Target a long time to shift upscale and it won't happen quickly at
Wal-Mart. Stores must guard against changing too much, which could alienate its core customers, according
to Don Gher, an analyst at Coldstream Capital Management. Mr. Gher predicts that Wal-Mart will be successful
at selling high end electronics to upscale customer, but feels that selling them apparel will be more
difficult. (AP, 3/22/06).
Wal-Mart is hoping to attract upscale consumers and then persuade vendors with upscale products to sell
them at their stores. They are counting on the higher end female shoppers to try out their kid's apparel
first. Then they might become interested in their higher quality clothing brands for women, George and
Metro 7, which can be tried on in this Wal-Mart's more private fitting rooms. (AP 3/22/06) Aspects of
this new Wal-Mart concept that are successful will be rolled out to stores in other upscale
communities.
With 3,700 stores and near market saturation among its core audience, Wal-Mart's move into the more
upscale market appears to be a smart strategy. Judging by the traffic in the store, they seemed to be
attracting a contingent of the more affluent suburban soccer moms. It will be interesting to see
whether these customers will continue as Wal-Mart shoppers after the novelty of the new concept
wears off.
Peter Koeppel is president of Koeppel Direct, a leading infomercial media buying firm.
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