It's All Over for Wal-Mart.

The WSJ has an article arguing that it is all over for Wal-Mart. The specific quote is- "The Wal-Mart Era, the retailer's time of overwhelming business and social influence in America, is drawing to a close."

The article argues that Wal-Mart has only one advantage- price. On the other hand, its competitors have multiple advantages- "greater convenience, more selection, higher quality, or better service." The article berates Wal-Mart for its politically incorrect image.

While I do agree with the thesis of the article that Wal-Mart's influence has eroded, I think the article misses some big points. For one, I think Wal-Mart is terrible at store experience. They believe in simply throwing stuff together with the mistaken impression that consumers do not care about wide aisles or attractive displays. Target, on the other hand, is superb with store experience issues.

The article also includes this cool video I use in class regularly-



Is this sort of growth a thing of the past?

WSJ REPORTS- Walmart chooses Subway over McDonalds!

Excerpt-

Wal-Mart Embraces Subway Over McDonald's in Its Stores

By James Covert and Richard Gibson

Word Count: 1,070 | Companies Featured in This Article: Wal-Mart Stores, McDonald's

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is losing its taste for burgers and fries.

Subway, the fast-food chain that likes to promote its sandwiches as a healthy alternative to traditional fried and grilled fare, began doing business with the world's largest retailer only three years ago. But from a lone restaurant inside a Wal-Mart in Ozark, Ala., Subway has quickly overtaken McDonald's Corp. as Wal-Mart's primary fast-food concessionaire across the U.S.