Word: kmarts
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...business has a tendency to complicate if you don't do things to force yourself to keep it simple," says Tom Coughlin, head of Wal-Mart's store operations. As simple as keeping the right products in stock--a huge problem for Kmart. And maintaining a smooth checkout system. "We call it Take the Money," says Coughlin. What's the point of low prices if consumers can't pay for their items quickly? Wal-Mart's operating mantra has been "a store at a time," meaning that no one can manage thousands of stores; it has to be done locally...
...Mart's sales in stores open at least a year were up only about 3% compared with the same period last year--at the low end of its expectations. But many other retailers were hurt much worse. Wal-Mart just keeps gaining market share, not only from bankrupt discounter Kmart but also from grocers like Kroger, drugstore chains like CVS and electronics sellers like RadioShack...
That campaign has borne little fruit, in part because Wal-Mart's wages are competitive with those paid by rivals such as Kmart and Target. Wal-Mart offers health benefits, and its stock plan has been a wealth builder for many lower-level employees, at least until the market crashed. Still, Wal-Mart is regarded as offering ample opportunities for advancement. Charlyn Jarrells Porter, who heads the Wal-Mart division that deals with personnel issues, says two-thirds of its managers come from the ranks of store associates, which is what Wal-Mart calls all employees. This year the company...
...sent to Newcastle, England, or New Castle, Del.--and therein lies the trap. This kind of centralization always makes sense in the beginning, when cost savings are easy and the staff is lean. But history shows that the buying organization eventually becomes bloated, as it did for Kmart, and tries to force merchandise through the system whether or not local managers and their customers want...
...sure, Wal-Mart has to keep finding new people to pick on. Over the past two years, Kmart filed for bankruptcy, and Ames and Bradlees, once East Coast powerhouses, closed up shop. Wal-Mart is quickly adding scalps in the grocery industry too, the venerable Grand Union among them. Safeway, Albertsons and SuperValu have all slashed their earnings estimates in the past few weeks...