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Crazy to Pay More
“Operation Unbeatable” drops prices on 16,000 items
with focus on Back to School; Retailer promises more to come
Bentonville, Ark., July 23, 2007 – As Americans grow more concerned over the high price of gas, Wal-Mart today unveiled an aggressive new program to drive deeper price cuts on key shopping items. This week, Wal-Mart will drop the price on more than 16,000 products across all stores, with a focus on top brands for back-to-school needs. Also this week, Wal-Mart launches a new ad campaign to address the importance of saving money as gas prices remain high and as kids head back to school.
Families with school-age children are expected to spend on average $563 this year on back to school.* Therefore, the retailer’s new price campaign aims to make a big difference in savings – 10 to even 50 percent – on important back-to-school items, giving families a good reason to look forward to shopping.
Internally dubbed “Operation Unbeatable,” Wal-Mart initially launched its aggressive price strategy just before July 4th, with deep price cuts on top brands and foods for the July 4 Holiday. Shoppers noticed.
“We know it’s tough right now and Americans are looking to us to provide the best value, and we will. Let there be no doubt – we mean business when it comes to price leadership,” said Bill Simon, executive vice president and chief operating officer, Wal-Mart Stores, U.S. “We’ll provide families savings where it counts, and continue to work closely with key suppliers, reduce packaging and lower shipping costs as we steer this program through fall and beyond.”
Bright in-store signage and Wal-Mart’s newly designed circular addresses new savings front and center, highlighting the products and brands the retailer knows are top of mind with most consumers. Operation Unbeatable will be supported by Wal-Mart’s every day low price promise to be the lowest price retailer in any community through its Ad Match program.**
Examples of Operation Unbeatable Back to School values:
• Only $1 buys 4 wide ruled notebooks, 2 bottles Elmer’s glue (4 oz.) and a 24-pack of crayons
• $2 – buys a 10-pack of #2 pencils, 2-pack erasers and 10-pack Bic pens
• $5 – buys a new backpack or a colorful “Munchsak” for snacks and lunch
• $10 – buys a Texas Instrument or Casio scientific calculator
• $50 – buys a week’s worth of school clothes, with shorts at $5 each and shirts two for $9
• $80 – buys two pair of prescription glasses at the Wal-Mart Vision Center
“We’ll continue to be more aggressive on pricing,” said Simon, “and already are working with key suppliers on upcoming plans for fall and holiday.” Wal-Mart will bring in new price changes week by week, depending on the seasonal need, and focusing on top brands customers want.
About Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT)
Every week, millions of customers visit Wal-Mart Stores, Supercenters, Neighborhood Markets, and Sam’s Club locations across America or log on to its online store at
www.walmart.com. The company and its Foundation are committed to a philosophy of giving back locally. Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) is proud to support the causes that are important to customers and associates right in their own neighborhoods, and last year gave more than $270 million to local communities in the United States. To learn more, visit www.walmartfacts.com,
www.walmartstores.com, or
www.walmartfoundation.org.
* BIGresearch, July 2007
**Program refers to Wal-Mart’s policy of matching the price of any local competitor’s printed advertisement for an identical product (excludes
Walmart.com). The policy does not include honoring manufacturers’ rebates, percents off, double or triple coupons, or any buy-one-get-one-free type offers.”