Target vs Walmart | Wardrobe Malfunction | 3

Business Wars

Wondery

History, Business, David Brown, Management

4.6 • 13.2K Ratings

🗓️ 14 June 2023

⏱️ 42 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

It’s early 2005 and Walmart’s reeling from a dismal holiday season. It hoped to improve its image by playing nice with rivals only to watch Target snatch away its shoppers.

So now it’s looking to hit back by muscling in on the cheap-chic action that’s sent Target’s growth soaring.

But Walmart’s about to find that winning over the fashion conscious is as much about brand as design.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey, Prime Members, you can binge off for episodes of Business Wars, target versus Walmart,
0:04.8	ad-free on Amazon Music. Download the app today.
0:16.4	Walmart Head Office, Bentonville, Arkansas, spring 2005.
0:21.2	In the auditorium, Walmart's buyers and executives are attending their regular Friday meeting.
0:26.2	These meetings are a ritual that goes back to the days of Sam Walton.
0:30.1	There are big reason why Walmart remains nimble, despite its heft.
0:34.5	And every week, Walmart's CEO Lee Scott leads the meeting.
0:39.6	Okay, make sure that supplier gets us enough product to keep pace with the demand.
0:43.7	Scott doesn't give a deadline. He doesn't need to. Everyone here knows the deadline.
0:49.2	It's the same as it's always been. Sundown. At Walmart, problems aren't allowed to linger.
0:56.0	Scott adjusts his thin rimed spectacles and looks around the room for the small appliances buyer.
1:02.2	Ah, there you are. I got a question. The buyer stands.
1:07.2	Why is Target selling a coffee maker for 1995 that's better than ours?
1:12.3	The buyer knows better than to make excuses. I don't know, but I'll find out.
1:17.5	The buyer sits and grabs his blackberry. As he pings messages and emails to his team and suppliers,
1:24.1	the meeting moves on. But in every discussion, Target looms large.
1:30.8	Ever since Target embraced designer collaborations, it's been on fire.
1:36.3	Affluent shoppers now rush to buy the company's latest gear. And so far,
1:41.3	Walmart's attempts to get a piece of that action have fallen flatter than its static stock price.
1:47.9	The revenue golf between the two remains huge. Walmart's US stores ring up $192 billion of sales a year.
1:56.9	Target trails far behind on 51 billion. But Target's growing faster, and that means Walmart's
2:04.0	conceding market share. And if that continues, one day, maybe many years from now, Target will
	...

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