'Sushi-Mart'

There's a "new Wal-Mart" out there making headlines on everything from banking ventures and minority business set-asides to global warming and port security. They're even inviting reporters in for conference calls. But the story that surprised me most was the Wal-Mart sushi bar and $500 bottles of wine in its new prototype store in Plano, Texas. I still like the old Wal-Mart, and I very much dislike people who sneer their disdain for the Wal-Mart shopping experience. First off: It's just a store, folks. It's not supposed to be a psychic, spiritual and/or soul-cleansing encounter. And while I can think of a bunch of improvements for my neighborhood Wal-Mart, mine won't require either a viticulturist or a consultant: Wipe down the fixtures; tidy the signs at the entrance; warm up the lighting; keep the carts corralled; hire at least a few clerks born after the Civil War; etc. But I'm just a guy. My positive bias toward Wal-Mart was formed decades ago while doing shopalongs with my penny-pincher of a brother-in-law. He raised kids on a teacher's salary, installed solar water heaters on his house to save money, and worried about things like "global food wars." But he was one happy camper every time he passed efficiently through a Wal-Mart checkout, which was all the proof I needed to believe that it was what it claimed: the low-price/logistics leader of the free world. Conversely, I'm annoyed when consultants go ga-ga over the Apple Stores, Trader Joe's and Whole Foods of the world. I remember a few years back when House & Garden's editor shopped her first Target store and wrote about it almost orgas... ecstatically. Hey, she oughta visit my neighborhood TarJay sometime. It's got all the fantabulous designer spatulas and color-coordinated flip-flops any suburban fashionista could hope for. But it's a city store, so it gets thoroughly trampled upon, picked over and rummaged through by the masses every weekend. I find myself wondering how bright, perky and super-fun any of the consultants' pet chain stores would be if they had to maintain upwards of 6,000 of them -- like Wal-Mart does. But again, I'm just a guy. Vendors attending the company's Supplier Summit in January learned that "it's about the customer, always" -- and it was pretty clear they meant women:A Loyalist shops Wal-Mart 63 times a year and gives the chain 77% of her shopping dollar. The Selective only ponies up 28%. Skeptics just won't come to Wal-Mart. Forty percent of Selectives shop both Wal-Mart and Target, but confine themselves to a single category or department. Wal-Mart wants vendors to provide customer insights, marketing programs and "value-producing items" that will persuade Selectives to shop the entire store, and Skeptics to at least give it a try. "VPIs" should be innovative, fashionable and/or buzzworthy products that save energy, conserve resources, save time, and/or provide peace of mind (such as health or safety for family).Call Wal-Mart's environmental "sustainability" initiative [see Related Articles below] a publicity stunt at your own peril. It's already affecting little things like biodegradable gift cards made of corn-based material. Wal-Mart executives say they want to reward vendors who lead the way toward sustainability, but that in two to three years, suppliers may be forced to participate.Finally, take note: A theme noted many times was "Reduce Clutter at Stores."

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