Wal-Mart has been one of the largest discount stores in the country in recent years surpassing all others with their discount prices and availability of multiple items and brands. In 2006, Wal-Mart Stores saw their performance fall to numbers never seen before since their beginning (Ferrell, Hirt, Ferrell, 2009). Increased competition from Kroger, Safeway, and Costco challenged Wal-Mart for the middle-income customers that they had long serviced. Top competitor, Target, emerged with a more appealing store presence and fashionable merchandise than that of Wal-Mart. When it came down to it, the difference in cost of similar items between both Target and Wal-Mart stores were only a few cents, not enough to make a difference for the consumer. Consumers were shopping at Target for more appealing apparel …show more content…
CEO H. Lee Scott stated that halting the company’s expansion would not eliminate the ability that they had to redesign their existing stores and if the redesign was really even necessary (Ferrell, Hirt, Ferrell, 2009). The company continued their current plans of a new store opening daily, even opening new Supercenters within a short distance of those stores already in existence. Wal-Mart was literally competing against themselves in these market areas. While Target was Wal-Mart’s main competitor, Target specialized in apparel and home goods, while Wal-Mart had an advantage with their grocery department, pharmacy and entertainment. Aligning themselves be more competitive in the grocery store market share, Wal-Mart began offering organic foods in their stores, cheaper than their nearest competitor Whole Foods was doing (Ferrell, Hirt, Ferrell, 2009). When the economy experienced a downturn, more consumers were spending their money on the daily necessities and no longer buying luxury items that were not necessarily needed. Wal-Mart saw their profits increase because of their low price guarantee, low prices on prescriptions and a new focus on becoming