Walmart China knows what WM USA is Re-learning

Walmart is usually thought of as a monolithic, hugely successful global operator. In many ways, they are just that. But WM USA is not WM China. Our team is in China this week (doing some shopping, and while we don't share any pictures from inside the store, we do quite a lot of shopping).

Those of us (and there are many of us) who work in and around Walmart for clients who make things to sell there know that the reality on the ground is complex. Walmart in the USA made a turn away from the "basics." Their "impact" program brought new products to the store, cleaned up the Main Street, did away (temporarily) with the five dollar DVD bin, and generally tired to make Walmart into something that it was not. Something striving to be a bit more upscale, a bit less cluttered, and a place to find designer brands. Their own designer brands.

It didn't work. Walmart knows it. The DVD bins are back, and there's an effort to get back to basics, especially in apparel: innerwear that everyone needs, basic jeans and tops for men and women.

One of our clients likes to frame up the change in just that way: the retail giant needs to get back to basics. In Shanghai, they are using the word "basics" a lot. They use the idea on their store-branded apparel (In Chinese, 日常必需品, "daily necesities"). The word "BASICS" (in English) is on the posters as you ride up the escalator, and it is on the women's intimates tags (a smaller department than in the USA, but still a fairly decent selection of colors and styles).

China, at least in Shanghai, is leading the pack. They are doing it for General Motors (Buick comes to mind). And Walmart China has the "basics" idea well in hand. I would be surprised if this idea doesn't come across from West to East (back across the Pacific, I mean. . . ).