Seven Quarters

Seven Quarters, and Counting

16 August 2014

Copyright © 2014 – It’s Not Sam’s Walmart…..Anymore!  & RightTurnMedia2014

For the last seven quarters, or 1 ¾ years, Walmart’s Same Store sales have either been flat or falling.

As one long time Walmart stock analyst put it, “this company has a real serious management issue”, something It’s Not Sam’s Walmart….Anymore!, has known and witnessed for the last twelve years.

Once upon a time, back when Mr. Sam was still anything but a memory, you could judge our nation’s economy by Walmart’s Same Store Sales.  Sales going up quarter to quarter equaled a good economy.  But it sales dropped quarter to quarter for two straight quarters, something that had never happened before now, it was a sign that the economy was not in good condition.

Mr. Sam would never have tolerated one quarter of Same Store Sales being flat or falling, much alone two or more.

Why is this happening?

Simple, Walmart’s leadership is spending too much time investing money to chase after Amazon.com, the online grocery purchase and delivery business, and many other areas Walmart is not a leader in, instead of investing in the core business, the stores!

Investments in the core Walmart business, the stores, MUST be made!  These investments include, but are not limited to:

o  LAYAWAY!!!!  Probably Walmart’s biggest blunder of the last decade was eliminating Layaway.  As I have noted many a time, it is the only reason K-Mart is clinging on to life.  It is beyond time to return full layaway to each and every store.  This one move alone will increase Walmart’s market share, and increase Walmart’s sales immediately!

o  Full Store Renovations, Not Touchups.  Something K-Mart did til they went bankrupt.  Walmart ceased full store renovations as an effort to conserve working capital in favor of “touch up” renovations.

o  Increased Staffing.   Not just to include registers to insure customers are not made to wait excessively to check out, especially during the overnight hours where Walmart has lost an extensive amount of sales to other retailers that converted to 24 hour operations.

o  Increased Overnight Staffing.  To insure replenishment of shelves is fully completed.

o  Insuring Distribution Centers Are Stocked.  Walmart’s leadership, in an effort to conserve working capital, cut stocking levels in the distribution centers many years ago, this led to increased “outs” on store shelves, even in basic items.  It is beyond time to reverse this decision to insure each and every Distribution Center has adequate stock to provide to each and every store it serves.

o  Reinstate Hourly Department Managers In Each and Every Department.  Changing to Zone Managers and reducing the number of Department Managers has also contributed to the lack of stock on shelves problems plaguing each and every store.

o  Reduce the Management Heavy Ranks In Each and Every Store.  There are too many managers, and not enough associates to provide exceptional Customer Service. 

o  Eliminate the Home Office Store Scheduling System and Return Scheduling To The Store Level.  This is essential to insure each store’s success.  Currently, stores cannot add staff on for unusual events, such as bad weather, sporting events, product releases, etc. 

o  Rollback the Availability Rules.  With the elimination of scheduling of stores at the Home Office level, Availability Rules must be rolled back to what they originally were.  For example, a store may need an extra CSM overnights for just half a shift, but that is not allowed under the existing system.  Walmart, like many other companies that has implemented the so called “customer centered (NOT!)” scheduling system have been plagued by decreased customer satisfaction and high turnover.

o  Bring Back Talented Associates To Re-Energize The Company!  A large number of tenured Walmart Associates, the ones that were the best all around, were chased out the doors by the current mis-management and mis-leadership. 

o  Remove Entrenched or Underperforming Managers!  There are numerous entrenched Managers at all levels of Walmart, as well as underperforming ones.  A good example is the Market District Manager that has been leader of the same Market District for well over 20 years.  It has lead to poor decisions on whom to place in Store Management positions, which in turn leads to even poorer decisions in the stores.  Example, a former Co-Manager who spent his overnight shifts sleeping in the Manger’s Office, was promoted to Store Manager in another District, when it was found the Store Manager was failing, he was hired back as a Store Manager in his former District, where there have been numerous problems and high turnover since his arrival.

o  Dismantle the Spark, and Change The Walmart Logo Back!  Walmart’s current logo and “the spark” are trademarks of company’s leadership and management failures over the last 12 to 14 years.  Roll it back!

While there are plenty of other things that could be listed on the priorities sheet, those above, if completed quickly, could start to right the sinking Walmart ship.

Each retailer from the time of F.W. Woolworth, to Walmart, runs a certain life cycle, from start up to success, to eventual failure.  Walmart’s leadership has navigated the Walmart ship into the beginning of the failure stage.  Unlike those other retailers that have come and gone into the history books, the failure of Walmart would be an economic disaster on levels of which we have never seen.

Knowledge is power! 

It’s Not Sam’s Walmart…..Anymore!  is here for one reason, to return Sam Walton’s beliefs, values, and rock solid business model , that stresses Customer Service and Value to Walmart! 

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