Word: castros
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...search for that shop-till-you drop formula, Wal-Mart is testing one prototype in the middle of Middle America--Elyria, Ohio. Castro-Wright strides into a very un-Wal-Mart-like area that features low, wood-veneer (actually recycled plastic) side counters where towels are displayed. You can actually see over the department, and the sight makes you want to linger; you're not hemmed in by the usual 8-ft.-high (2.5 m) discount-store shelving crammed with merchandise. The assortment--the colors and styles--is broad and deep, even attractive. The prices are killer, natch...
...kitchen section, low, faux-granite counters display small appliances in a similar open style. With this design, Wal-Mart has adapted a strategy created by its highly successful Mexican operation, Wal-Mex (which Castro-Wright used to run), that groups domestic wares by room. Wal-Mart recently told analysts that "comp" sales in the newly designed section are doing 3.33 percentage points better than in the old-model sections...
This kind of central command and control, long out of favor in corporate America (not to mention the People's Republic of China), is now being de-emphasized. Castro-Wright, 52, is pushing executives out to where the stores are and bringing in local hires. The company has created five U.S. regions and staffed them as if they were independent $8 billion-to-$12 billion retailers. The Southeast regional headquarters is in Atlanta; the Midwest is run out of Chicago. Both regions are headed by locals, which will give the company more political clout in the sometimes contentious battles...
...when shoppers in Dallas don't buy the giant bags of dog food that they've become so expert at supplying. What if doggie apparel is just as sellable in Big D? (Stop that snickering.) "In Bentonville, you don't have a lot of dogs running around in sweaters," Castro-Wright says, almost containing a giggle...
...focus on supply-chain logistics grinds away at costs but doesn't allow it to know the neighbors. The new strategy tries to make that connection--editing for the area, offering a point of distinction. "It's going to tell the customer that we understand what they need," says Castro-Wright. "We not only understand what you need, we respect your point of view. We want to be your store of choice because we understand you better than anyone else in the marketplace...