[lbo-talk] end of the Wal-Mart era?

[Carl Remick]

On 10/3/07, Doug Henwood <dhenwood at panix.com> wrote:
> Wall Street Journal - October 3, 2007
>
> ... the value loop is beginning to unravel. For 10 years through
> 2005, Wal-Mart's sales gains at stores open at least a year averaged
> 5.2%. So far this year, its comparable-store sales, a measure of
> market share, is up just 1.3%. The pricing gap between Wal-Mart and
> rivals has narrowed, and more customers are now choosing convenience
> over wading through a supercenter.
>
> That compares with comparable-store gains of 4.6% at Target, which
> markets itself as a trend-setting discounter, and 6% at membership-
> club rival Costco Wholesale Corp., which peddles $500 Bordeaux wines
> and $4,000 Cartier watches.

Mirabile dictu, now we've gone from Wal-Mart's downscale dreariness to
a nascent new business model:  Costco's upscale meretriciousness.  I
see consumers going still further into hock to buy pretentious crap
they don't need.  Ah, bliss is it in this dawn to be alive!

Carl