I wanted to take a second to let you know a little good news for Wal-Mart and for the planet.  Its official, as of today, Wal-Mart’s goal to work with laundry detergent suppliers to shrink the packaging of every liquid laundry detergent product on the shelf is completed.  Water has been pulled out of the bottles, and now all of the laundry detergents are compacted by a factor of 2 or 3. 

I love this kind of small change with a big impact for two reasons.  First, this change is so practical.  Though it has been literally years in the making, it is just at first blush a little occurrence until you think about the effort and the impact of a change to all of the detergent bottles that are sold at Wal-Mart shelves across the country.  Small unassuming changes seem to frequently end up being the most revolutionary don’t they…

Second, these changes are great b/c they end up being about more than just Wal-Mart.  Because this was done in partnership with the suppliers of detergent focused on efficiency across the entire supply chain, the impact will be seen at the rest of the retail over time too.  Soon, every bottle of laundry detergent will be compacted in every store.  This makes the effect even larger.  My very rough un-audited calculation for the total impact across all retail is that this will reduce 125 million pounds of plastic and 165 million pounds of cardboard each year. 

So, this kind of change reaches all customers regardless of where they shop; that means greater impact and more lasting change.  Indeed, with all of its sustainability efforts, Wal-Mart has committed to sharing learnings and even technologies.  A bummer is that this means Wal-Mart’s people may not get credit for their hard work…then again, the customer really deserves the credit anyway. 
 

We told you we would have more Blu Ray and we do!  This week you will find an additional 3 Blu Ray hardware players in store.  Check out our Blu Ray machines>>>

Magnavox

Samsung

Sony

Panasonic - ***UPDATE*** Photo -

PS3

We also have a wide assortment of Blu Ray movies in 1200 stores and are showcasing the hi def experience on a 40 inch TV.

So, the question is… what should I get my husband for Father’s Day…a Blu Ray player or a PS3?  My kids are voting for a PS3.

I was reading blogginstocks the other day and noticed the commentary on Wal-Mart's PC Merchandising.  The first bullet point was a bit hard to swallow: "Why even carry PCs is you display them like this".  I must be honest here:  I agree.  We have sold our fare share of computers over the years, but really haven't focused on improving the customer experience and addressing the concerns that bloggingstocks brings up.  When I took over the PC business last August, this was the first area on my list that I wanted to address. 

As you read down the blog, the next question is "Why is Wal-Mart stepping up to the plate".  Well, here is Wal-Mart stepping up to the plate!!  On May 19th, we will begin addressing some of the merchandising issues we have experienced in the past to help make the PC shopping experience easier for customers.  With over 3,800 stores, you are bound to see some variations of what I am about to show you but know we do recognize a need to change. 

The biggest change is in our Laptop area.  Here is a mock up of what the new counter will look like:

 Again, this is just a mock up but you can see that this is quite a change from our current display at stores.  The biggest changes are the helpful signing that will allow you to determine your end use then match up that end use (thru the use of icons) to one of the computers at the store, as well as merchandising the product by brand.  We have spent the last few years developing our brand portfolio and are proud of the brands that we can offer to customers.  The "Best For" signing allows customers to figure out what computer best fits their needs.

You can then match the icons to the screens on each of the laptops (seen in the first picture) as well as the fact flags below the laptops.  The fact flag is meant to clean up the language and speak more to the customers needs.  Here is an example:

 As you can see this is a major change from where we currently our.  We also know that a lot of our customers are researching online at walmart.com or other websites before they ever come to the store so we are working to integrate our online experience to be similar to what you see in the store. 

These are some big changes.  We are very excited to roll them out to all our customers.  I would hope that you would at least consider us for your next pc purchase.  Whether you are buying online at walmart.com, buying on line and shipping it to your local store via site to store, or happen to be browsing the new look on your next trip to Wal-Mart to buy deodorant or cereal, give us a try.

Would love to hear your feedback.  What do you think of the changes?  What else are we missing?  

 Thanks,

RH

Wow…I have been absent for two months, but it seems a full twenty years by blog standards.  So I am descending from the mountain, joints weary and rusty firearm over my shoulder.  I hope you recognize me, fellow villagers of this Blogosphere.

 I was going to write an in-depth review about the CTIA convention, but more than adequate coverage has been provided of the products and events.  Out of this convention, however, I noticed one major feature on mobile phones that is an emerging trend: high mega-pixel cameras.

What intrigues me most is the reality of your phone and digital camera now becoming one device.  To date cameras on phones are used to catch embarrassing moments or quick snap shots, but with the introduction of 3MP, 5MP or even 7.1MP cameras…your phone now can take the family vacation or holiday pictures as well.  

If you are interested check out some of the new Sony Ericsson CyberShot phones or my personal favorite the LG Viewty.  Drop a line about your thoughts on this topic or others regarding mobile phones.

Now if you will excuse me I need to go trim my beard.

Last week we were fortunate enough to get a sneak peek of Iron Man, and personally I loved it!  Liz from our Marketing team felt really passionate about this movie and wanted to be a guest movie critic and blogger.  Here is what Liz says...

As with the beginning of every summer season, comes the summer list of blockbuster movies and must-see hits. This coming summer brings forth no exception. With gas prices skyrocketing, and the heat soon to be blazing, make sure you pick the best of the best to see this summer.

There will be several movies competing for number one, some more deserving than others. One of the best movies you’ll see this summer will come from an unlikely culprit—Iron Man. While less media and consumer products have been circulating around this film, it is by far one of the best of the season. Robert Downey Jr. is surprisingly an excellent Iron Man. Both the story line and action are equally thrilling, and the movie is realistic enough not to seem too far fetched, while still amazingly imaginative. While some early scenes language isn’t necessarily appropriate for the youngest of audiences, the movie as a whole is pretty family friendly. Hollywood has gotten us into a pattern where sequel is the name of the game—sometimes leaving you with a discontented ending, and the feeling that you’ll have to slap down another $10 bucks next summer to see the sequel. Iron Man leaves you without guessing any endings, however with a healthy hope that there will be a sequel to come.