Word: retailing
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...difference is that the Wal-Mart version will be merchandise and not food. McDonald's philosophy of selling very inexpensive food in a clean, well-lit environment served by consistently friendly people has helped it expand its operations to 36,000 stores worldwide. Wal-Mart's approach to retail stores is not terribly different. It may not be entirely coincidental that Wal-Mart was started in 1962 and McDonald's began in 1955. Millions of relatively young people, most of them parents, were only a decade removed from serving their country and not being paid a great deal for that...
...Earlier this week, Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer, said that it planned to improve its second quarter sales by offering shoppers irresistible bargains. For the last quarter, Wal-Mart reported flat earnings of $.77 and said it expected to deliver a range of $.83 to $.88 in the current period. Same-store sales for this quarter are expected to be between flat and up 3%. Wal-Mart may have an uphill fight to post strong second quarter earnings. Recent employment numbers and shrinking access to credit will hurt retail sales, although Wal-Mart probably has its share...
...Workers at McDonald's and Wal-Mart are not paid well. Waiting on people in a big-box retail outfit or cooking and serving fast food will never pay well. The jobs don't require any special skills and so they do not come with a premium wage. Wal-Mart does employ 2 million people, which is a lot of individuals to keep on a payroll during a recession. McDonald's has 400,000. Neither place has announced significant layoffs and neither is likely to. (Read: "The Burger That Conquered the Country...
...Charging people a dollar for a meal or for some modest item off a retail shelf may seem like a gimmick to pick up a penny a share for the next quarter. It is a good deal more than that. When a dollar is all that someone can spend, that person doesn't care if his purchase increases the company's earnings...
...Despite the stealth approach, industry experts expect Wal-Mart, known for squeezing efficiencies out of suppliers and supply chains, to have an impact on India's $375 billion retail market, which is dominated by mom-and-pop businesses and outmoded distribution networks. "We can learn the science of retailing, how to build scale and efficiencies," says Kishore Biyani, chairman of Pantaloon Retail, India's largest homegrown retailer with 114 hypermarkets...