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June 11, 2006
Wal Mart Just Doesn't Get It
In the world of reputation management, have you ever seen a company that acted in a more ham-handed fashion in the face of public criticism than Wal Mart?
There was an article recently in The Bulldog Reporter that described how Coca Cola was forced by Wal Mart to change its century-old distribution methods or face Wal Mart making its own private-label brand of Gatorade (my bet is they'll do it anyway). The folks in Bentonville are probably celebrating over this short-term win, but it's really symptomatic of Wal Mart's complete lack of understanding about the factors that truly form a good reputation (and a strong brand).
And then, to add insult to injury, it tries these plodding, transparent efforts at reversing the slide rather than preventing it from happening in the first place. Let's review:
- Because it was getting its keester handed to it in the apparel category (by Target, who brought on the Mossimo brand and added designs from Izaak Mizrahi), it made a play for long-in-the-tooth designer Tommy Hilfiger, without thinking about the fact that there's almost no synergy between these two brands.
- In an effort to build its following in urban markets (apparently we've run out of small towns to decimate), Wal Mart hired former Atlanta Mayor and civil rights leader Andrew Young to tout Wal Mart's value to the inner city. Young actually was quoted in an interview with the Los Angeles Times comparing Wal Mart to Jesus . Both he and Wal Mart have since been vilified by the religious communities Young was supposed to be representing.
- Back in April, the company announced plans to hold a series of seminars to help mom-and-pop competitors survive after a Wal Mart store moves into its community. I'm betting there's a part of the seminar called "How To Get Out Of Your Lease."
Don't know about you, but all of these reactionary moves seem to be hiding the real truth. Wal Mart is undeniably successful, and an incredible display of operational efficiency, but it's just not a very nice company. The sooner it recognizes that its competitiveness in the future will be dependent on how it treats members of its network (suppliers, partners, employees, customers, neighbors), the sooner it will begin to truly rebuild its reputation.
Until then, I'll stick with the guys with the big red bullseye...
Posted by Matt Kucharski at June 11, 2006 10:21 AM
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