Wal-Mart screws up…again

Wal-Mart is undergoing some of the pain that comes with hubris. What is hubris? Well, as our friends at Wikipedia define it: “Hubris often indicates a loss of touch with reality and overestimating one’s own competence or capabilities, especially for people in positions of power.” 

It seems that Wal-Mart’s recent mistakes, betting too big on toys for children 3-5 and cutting back on the toy department are just part of a bigger pattern of this company losing its bearing. It thinks its bigger than the consumers it services and the brands it carries.

At least that is what I took away from a very interesting article entitled: “Wal-Mart Reversal Marks Victory for Brands.” The piece by Jack Neff of Advertising Age tells us that Wal-Mart was recently forced to restore 300 brands to the shelves that they had previously delisted. It seems that consumers complained so loudly that they had to reverse their position.

Here is how the article puts it:

The world’s-biggest retailer had embarked on an ambitious program to winnow brand assortment in an effort to reduce inventory, improve margins and, it said, offer the consumer a better shopping experience. But realizing the culling actually "aggravated" consumers, it’s now restocking hundreds of brands and products eliminated or curtailed months ago and taking a new look at other categories where it has streamlined assortment… The move follows a fiscal fourth quarter when Wal-Mart’s traffic declined and sales actually fell for the first time in the retailer’s history.

The article went on to quote an individual who is in close contact with Wal-Mart as saying: "They were arrogant and ignorant, which is a dangerous combination.”