02/12/07 Wal-Marts Retail Tactics

If you can predict the next direction Wal-Mart will be heading you can write your own ticket. Whether we shop there or not Wal-Mart directly impacts our retail experience because basically everywhere we do shop competes on some level with Wal-Mart whose sales now are greater than it's six competitors combined, and we are talking the likes of Target, Sears, Costco and Kroger . Wal-Mart's retail clout has bought market control, but there is no resting in the laurels, when it was determined Wally Wal-Mart needed a makeover some experts urged the giant to try and mimic Target. Cool, hip Target whose trendy clothing and house wares translated to an over a 4 percent growth last year. Wally couldn't pull it off, now the marketing department is urging the giant to get in touch with his real identity his inner self&they want Wally to be apart of his neighborhood . This year watch Wal Mart initiate segmentation and target six demographic groups from inner city to empty-nesters. So Wally will be need to be grooving in the hood while waltzing with the siverhairs. Can he pull this off?