RELEVANT NEWS
Wal-Mart Changing Strategies

For 44 years, Wal-Mart’s message has been “Low prices, always.” According to the New York Times,
that message will soon be changing. The company conducted a year of intense research to find that
its customers belong to three groups.

There are “brand aspirationals” (people with low incomes who are obsessed with names like KitchenAid),
“price-sensitive affluents” (wealthier shoppers who love deals), and “value-price shoppers” (who like low
prices and cannot afford much more).

Out of all this research came a new message which will soon change the look of Wal-Mart’s stores and
advertising. That message? “Saving people money so they can live better lives.” From now on, all product
decisions will be organized around these three groups that represent the majority of Wal-Mart’s business.

To get started with this new initiative, Wal-Mart is creating teams, each with a marketing executive and a
merchandise executive, to tackle five so-called “power” product categories – one of which is home goods –
with these consumers in mind.

To read the full article, go to: New York Times Article

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