I wouldn't shop there. I speak english. Why would I go to a Walmart that specializes in Hispanics. That a pretty big message for me not to shop there.
This is nothing new in the grocery biz. they are following what other grocery chains have done. ie HEB. They did this years ago.
Grocery stores are one thing, but doing it with a full STORE is another IMO.
Personally, I refuse to shop at Wal-Mart, but here goes:
Wal-Mart vs. Target: No Contest in the Recession
http://www.time.com/time/business/ar...885133,00.htmlWhile Wal-Mart, 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 Wal-Mart's clocked in at 2.9%. Over the same period, Target's annual profit growth averaged 16%, while Wal-Mart lagged behind at 10.3%. "Target was frying Wal-Mart's brains out," says Howard Davidowitz, chairman of Davidowitz & Associates, a national retail investment-banking and consulting firm.
At the onset of the recession, however, Target and Wal-Mart saw their fortunes flip. Target's same-store sales have fallen for eight straight months; Wal-Mart's have risen for 22 straight months. Target's 2008 same-store sales fell 2.6%, while Wal-Mart's rose 3.3%. More recently, Target's February sales dropped 4.1%, while Wal-Mart enjoyed a 5.1% jump. (See the best business deals of 2008.)
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. Wal-Mart's 2008 bottom line rose 5.9%, to $13.5 billion. Now Target is getting trounced.
Davidowitz notes that a "double whammy" is driving Target down. First, the retailer's product mix is not ideal in this economy. According to Davidowitz, Target devotes some 40% of its shelf space to home and apparel items, which are struggling, while setting aside less than 20% for consumables like food, health items and beauty products. Wal-Mart sets aside 45% of its space for consumables. "Wal-Mart sells what you need to have," says Davidowitz, "as opposed to what you want to have." Not only does Wal-Mart sell more of the grocery items you need — the company is the world's largest food retailer — it sells them at better prices. Britt Beemer, founder of America's Research Group (ARG), says customers have fled Target because they think of the company as an apparel retailer and believe that the groceries it does sell are overpriced. (See Real Simple's saving and budgeting tips.)
The second whammy on Target's performance is its credit business. Target is one of the last major retailers to own a part of its credit-card portfolio. When consumers are drowning in mortgage and other credit-card debt, they often ignore retail-card obligations. Rising defaults and delinquencies have dragged earnings. In 2008 credit-card profits dropped 80.5%, to $155 million, and the company incurred a $135 million pre-tax loss on its credit segment in the fourth quarter. "The company did great with its credit business when the economy was up, but now that it's down, carrying your own credit is devastating," says Davidowitz. At least Target can be grateful it made one smart move: in May, the company sold 47% of its receivables to JPMorgan Chase for $3.6 billion. Without that move, the devastation would be much worse.
So how is Target responding to the malaise? The credit distress is hard to control, but the company has promised to tighten lending standards and increase collections. On the product side, the company knows it must offer more essentials. "We continue to invest in our food offering in recognition of its importance in driving greater frequency, increasing guest loyalty and making Target a preferred shopping destination," CEO Gregg Steinhafel said during Target's fourth-quarter earnings call. For example, last year the company opened its first distribution center for perishable goods like fruits, vegetables and meats in Lake City, Fla. Target is slated to open another distribution center this year, in Cedar Falls, Iowa. "That's a major step," says Davidowitz. "Controlling your own distribution can improve food freshness on the shelves, and it allows you to hold on to more of the margins."
Steinhafel also said that Target would sell perishables in most new and remodeled general-merchandise stores; the retailer plans to open 75 new locations this year. The company already sells meat and produce in its 245 "SuperTarget" locations (Target has 1,700 stores nationwide). Target has already enhanced its food investment in two general-merchandise stores in the Minneapolis area. Davidowitz, for one, is impressed. "When I checked the perishables, they are very fresh, very well presented, very appetizing, and people were buying them," he says. (See the top 10 food trends of 2008.)
Despite these efforts, Target's transformation won't guarantee success. It's hard for a retailer to shake its reputation as a clothing outlet, while at the same time quickly mastering the management of perishable grocery items. "You can't just flip the switch and change the store overnight," says David Heupel, a senior equity portfolio manager at Thirvent Financial in Minneapolis. Plus, if Target drops grocery prices below Wal-Mart's levels, the big boy will quickly respond. "There's no reason to put a stick in the bear's eye," says Ed Weller, a retail analyst at ThinkEquity Partners.
What's more, Wal-Mart isn't just some massive outlet that peddles cheap wares; it has focused on food for a long time, and is really hitting a stride during the recession. "Wal-Mart works hard to build a strategy around groceries," says ARG's Beemer. "They look at groceries as a way to get people in the store for the first time. Target sees it as an add-on sale." In a research note led "It's Wal-Mart's Time & Investors' Opportunity," Deutsche Bank analyst Bill Dreher Jr. wrote, "Bottom line, Wal-Mart is executing flawlessly."
Can Target reach Wal-Mart's level of excellence? It may have to rethink its mission. Issac Mizrahi is nice. But now shoppers want to see meat and potatoes.
When I lived in Houston a million years ago, the closest grocery to me was called Fiesta Mart- not part of the stores in SA- and it was completely geared toward Hispanic customers. I agree, why would I shop there when they did not even carry what I wanted? I drove to Randall's.
Well i stand corrected but i still feel that the english should be our official language. i mean if i want to live in any other country in the world i would have to learn their language. if i didnt i wouldnt get anywhere in life. but for some reason here all that doesnt matter.
Hum, I know many people who don't speak English and they shop at places that don't cater to Hispanics. Money speaks in all languages.
Maybe you misunderstood...I said "not just because of mexicans" because the previous posts like ASF's. I was born here, I know this is a hispanic city, wtf is YOUR problem?Not just because of Mexicans? Dude you're in the wrong city loser.
It's not often I agree with TPark, but as Joe C alluded to... if I'm a business owner, I don't give a rat's ass what color, religion, race, sexual orientation or whatever you are. If you want to give me your money, I'll happily sell you my wares.
Your wish doesn't make it so.
Huge cross-sections of Americans speak Spanish. Large numbers speak Chinese and/or Vietnamese, and that number is growing.
Your point might be valid if this country had a national language, but as we don't . . . it's moot.
If the Wal-Mart isn't selling Coke with cane sugar in glass bottles, it isn't really Hispanic.
Why? I'm a big believer in letting people go to in their own hand baskets. The ones that don't assimilate or learn English tend to stay in menial dead end jobs, and are therefor NOT competing for my white collar job.
Viva Espanol
Exactly.
Money is the same color from every race.
That may be true in some fields but for some knowing how how to speak Spanish, Japanese or Chinese will get you farther than just knowing English. It is a global economy.
This country just doesn't value multi-lingualism like they do abroad. All over Europe most people speak a minimum of 2 languages and very often more. And almost everyone speaks English.
I wonder if I'll be able to buy cheap Los Spurs jerseys there.
I'm not talking multi-linguists, Joe. I'm talking poor uneducated people in the U.S.A. that ONLY speak Spanish. Those people are, and will always be self-limited.
Wal-Mart learned a long time ago that customer service doesn't mean if you have prices that are lower than everyone else's, especially in times like these.
Relative cleanliness doesn't mean .
Having a competent or even english speaking employee group doesn't mean .
Having a clean and neat store doesn't mean .
Having a parking lot that isn't full of dirty diapers and 100s of loose shopping carts doesn't mean .
Keeping lines down by actually using more than 10% of the available checkout lanes doesn't mean .
Bottom line - make the person believe they're saving any money at all and they'll endure all sorts of bull . They may whine and complain from time to time, but they'll be back over and over again.
I bet half of those people are illegals. Dude this really is stupid. I live in Plano Texas. We have a huge ass grocery store/outlet stores that cater to asians. I went there once and will never go back. 98 percent of the store were items I would never ever buy. The other 2 percent I can get where I grocery shop at. The fact they did not speak good english did not help. Meaning they couldn't help me when I asked a question.
If Wal-Mart is going to cater to Hispanics thats cool with me. I will not go there, thats cool with them. There is a market for specialized stores. Thats why they are specialized, they are for a certain market. This Wal-Mart for the Hispanics in not for Germans,French,Canadians or me.
True. I was just pointing out that only speaking English can also limit ones advancement.
281 and 1604
I concur.
those Los Spurs jerseys, other NBA teams included, are pretty much a mockery. why didn't they just slap "Los Spurso's" or "Los Mavo's" on there. the nba's marketing department could've put a little more thought to it. for starters, "spurs" is a feminine not masculine.
Vamonos a Walmarrrrr!!
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