Project “Impact”…

Was stunned today to hear that WalMart has turned a corner, in terms of their approach, and are openly and aggressively going to be trying, in the next 18 months, to drive their largest competitors out of business.

For quite a few years, I ran a store, and in all our endeavours, while we may not have thought highly of our competition… the number one focus was never to eradicate competition.  It was product quality, product availability, customer service, product price… and if we kept to our goals, and maintained a good position on ALL of these points… it would possibly make it more difficult for our competition… and if they aren’t well positioned, they may fail.

I took Marketing in University… (back in the day) …and one of the tenets of Marketing, was the “Four P’s“…  Product, Place, Promotion and Price.  These four factors, when combined with the “T” of  Timely delivery, was the key to a successful marketing strategy.

Now, apparently, it is down to the “One K“… Kill your competition !!!

(And, as an aside, KMart is one of the first targets)

I think it is scary when a retailer becomes SO big, that they do not have to be cagey, or circumspect in their attempts to take over the world, and stamp every inch of the planet with their “mark” !