Saturday, July 29, 2006
Wal-Mart Bids Aufwiedersehen to Germany
Wal-Mart suffers $1-billion loss as it beats retreat from Germany and, as a commenter on a community site quipped, isn't it ironic that an inflexible behemoth like Wal-Mart couldn't get along with the resolute Germans to turn a profit?
Why did Wal-Mart fail in Germany? Because they failed to realize that they weren't dealing with Americans, they were dealing with Germans who, (in a Gomer Pyle voice) surprise, surprise, surprise, aren't Americans and don't generally have the same cultural norms as Americans.
And part of Wal-Mart's success is to get a strong enough market share so that they can force their suppliers to give them better prices so that they can undercut their competition. Well its hard to do that when people do not like shopping at your stores to start with.
Here in the states, we've already been long afflicted with the asshole business model so the solution will necessarily be different.
So that's two countries (South Korea told Wal-Mart to shove it months ago) that have rejected Wal-Mart's lecherous and unsavory advances. How many more to follow?
Tags: Wal-Mart, WalMart, failure, Germany, South Korea
Tuesday, July 18, 2006
WalMart Attempts to be MySpace, Badly
Why did Wal-Mart fail in Germany? Because they failed to realize that they weren't dealing with Americans, they were dealing with Germans who, (in a Gomer Pyle voice) surprise, surprise, surprise, aren't Americans and don't generally have the same cultural norms as Americans.
And part of Wal-Mart's success is to get a strong enough market share so that they can force their suppliers to give them better prices so that they can undercut their competition. Well its hard to do that when people do not like shopping at your stores to start with.
Here in the states, we've already been long afflicted with the asshole business model so the solution will necessarily be different.
So that's two countries (South Korea told Wal-Mart to shove it months ago) that have rejected Wal-Mart's lecherous and unsavory advances. How many more to follow?
Tags: Wal-Mart, WalMart, failure, Germany, South Korea
Tuesday, July 18, 2006
Del.icio.us It
Digg It!WalMart Attempts to be MySpace, Badly
WalMart is working overtime to try and capture the minds of the kids with a space to let them express their individuality as long as it passes their censors.
Seriously, WalMart, you are about as uncool as it gets and half-assed crap like this just makes you look cheap and stupid.
The article is on Advertising Age, Wal-Mart Tries to Become MySpace and basically concludes that this is a pathetic attempt to collect children's minds so they'll shop at WalMart. It has nothing to do with kids expressing themselves since there are so many things that they cannot publish or write (a slag on WalMart? um, no, anything even remotely positive about Target? um, no).
A site espousing freedom and then barring any "objectionable content" is about as unfree and uncool as can be. And the kids interviewed for the article weren't buying it at all.
Sorry, WalMart, you still suck.
Tags: Wal-Mart, WalMart, schoolyourway, lame, MySpace, ripoff
Tuesday, July 11, 2006
How to Beat The Wal-Marts
Seriously, WalMart, you are about as uncool as it gets and half-assed crap like this just makes you look cheap and stupid.
The article is on Advertising Age, Wal-Mart Tries to Become MySpace and basically concludes that this is a pathetic attempt to collect children's minds so they'll shop at WalMart. It has nothing to do with kids expressing themselves since there are so many things that they cannot publish or write (a slag on WalMart? um, no, anything even remotely positive about Target? um, no).
A site espousing freedom and then barring any "objectionable content" is about as unfree and uncool as can be. And the kids interviewed for the article weren't buying it at all.
Sorry, WalMart, you still suck.
Tags: Wal-Mart, WalMart, schoolyourway, lame, MySpace, ripoff
Tuesday, July 11, 2006
How to Beat The Wal-Marts
Marketing to beat the Wal-Marts of the world. How do you keep your doors open when an undercutting price giant like Wal-Mart moves in? Offer your customers something that a monster like Wal-Mart can't, offer community, offer extra information, offer a place where people want to go not have to go, take advantage of your flexibility and speed to react to changing market conditions, offer service that makes people want to return.
Tags: Wal-Mart, WalMart, How to beat WalMart, How to beat Wal-Mart, marketing, duct tape marketing
To beat a giant, you've to take advantage of their weaknesses - don't be afraid to point them out. I saw a sign in a local hardware store that said "Our prices are higher than Wal-Mart because we take care of our employees." Pretty bold, but perhaps an effective way to make a point.Wal-Mart is not the end of small business but Wal-Mart's presence does require a refocusing of your business's efforts to attract and retain a loyal customer base. Duct Tape Marketing has a good amount of information that can be applied today to help you increase your bottomline tomorrow.
Tags: Wal-Mart, WalMart, How to beat WalMart, How to beat Wal-Mart, marketing, duct tape marketing