Word: walmart
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...While Walmart, the largest company in the world, has always dwarfed rival Target ($406 billion in annual revenues vs. Target's $65 billion), until recently Target had been decisively winning the growth game. From 2003 to 2007, Target's annual same-store sales growth averaged 4.6%, while Walmart's clocked in at 2.9%. Over the same period, Target's annual profit growth averaged 16%, while Walmart lagged behind at 10.3%. "Target was frying Walmart's brains out," says Howard Davidowitz, chairman of Davidowitz & Associates, a national retail investment-banking and consulting firm...
...onset of the recession, however, Target and Walmart saw their fortunes flip. Target's same-store sales have fallen for eight straight months; Walmart's have risen for 22 straight months. Target's 2008 same-store sales fell 2.6%, while Walmart's rose 3.3%. More recently, Target's February sales dropped 4.1%, while Walmart enjoyed a 5.1% jump. (See the best business deals...
...More important, Target's profits last year dropped a stunning 22.3%, to $2.2 billion. That figure includes a 40.7% earnings collapse in the fourth quarter. Walmart's 2008 bottom line rose 5.9%, to $13.5 billion. Now Target is getting trounced...
...dazed and confused. What do I really want, versus what do I really need? Sure, I can afford the plasma television now, but should I save that $2,000, in case I get laid off tomorrow? Can I really tell my snobby friends that I now shop at - egads - Walmart? To gauge the mindset of the American consumer, and the state of shopping during this recession, TIME checked in with respected retail expert Paco Underhill, the CEO of Envirosell, a consulting firm, and author of Why We Buy: The Science of Shopping...
...closed at 52 cents per share on Jan. 27, a 95% drop over last year. "They're in survival mode," says Davidowitz. But how can the company stay afloat when the economy has turned against the whole industry (even Barnes & Noble is struggling), and when big boxes like Walmart and Target are moving into the book-selling game? "Borders has to give people a reason to shop there," says Norris, starting with improving customer service. "It has to be more than better," he says. "It has to be astronomical. It has to be something people talk about." (Read "Books Gone...