CHICAGO (AFX) -- Executives at Wal-Mart Stores Inc., facing a rising chorus of criticism about labor practices and efforts to move into banking, will try to shift the focus to customers this week when they make a series of presentations to the media.
In only the second time that Wal-Mart has opened its doors to reporters, the company is launching the two-day event on Tuesday, with an agenda packed with discussions about the importance of customers and their shopping experience.
Spokeswoman Sarah Clark said that the company will 'champion the customer' during its time with media, as it tries to replace negative publicity about such heady issues as health insurance, the hiring more part-time employees and the possible motives behind efforts to win regulatory approval to operate banks.
The push is part of a longer-term strategy to be friendlier and more open with the press, which has grown increasingly interested in the goings-on at the world's largest retailer and employer.
'We started last year trying to set the record straight on a lot of the misinformation that was out there,' Clark added. 'We know that our success has made us a target, and we wanted to tell our story direct and up front and answer questions.'
The agenda parallels Wal-Mart's recent focus on improving the stores and its merchandise to build sales from new customers, as well as among those who already shop for low-priced milk, cereal and toothpaste but pay no attention to apparel or electronics offerings.
It also underscores the impact that Eduardo Castro-Wright, president and chief executive of the company's mammoth U.S. division, has had on turning the world's largest retailer into a more customer-sensitive operator. Castro-Wright was promoted in January 2005 after a very successful stint as chief of Wal-Mart de Mexico. Some analysts consider him a potential successor to Chief Executive Lee Scott.
'Everything we are trying to do, it is focused around the customer,' Castro-Wright told analysts and investors last month at a Merrill Lynch retailing conference.
Wood floors, nicer restrooms, hipper clothes
Indeed, Castro-Wright -- who spoke only briefly at last year's conference -- has the longest time period scheduled for his discussion, 'Improving the Customer Experience.' It's likely that presentation will echo those he's made to analysts in recent months, touching on initiatives the company has put in place -- ranging from a contemporary, even flashy marketing program and wood floors in some store areas to cleaner bathrooms, as well as new business-planning processes that are specific to individual markets.
'We're always wanting to be relevant to the customer,' said Clark, who acknowledged that the retailer's customer focus 'was not as sharp as it could have been.'
'We want to share that we are well-positioned to grow internationally and in the United States, and that we are working real hard to be champions for working families around the world.'
Also on the agenda is John Fleming, who was promoted to chief marketing officer a year ago to beef up the retailer's marketing and brand departments. Wal-Mart now carries hipper and higher-quality tops, skirts and pants that are showcased in top fashion magazines by a former Miss Universe.
Fleming, who joined the company in 2000 after nearly two decades at Target Corp. working mostly in the fashion division, is expected to share insights into customer-satisfaction surveys and how the company is responding to them.
Analysts credit Castro-Wright with the realignment that some believe will shake the retailer out of a lengthy slow-growth malaise.
'With Eduardo Castro-Wright making changes at the helm, we believe Wal-Mart is reaching an inflection point that will take the company to the next level of growth and profitability,' Citigroup analyst Deborah Weinswig wrote in a note to clients.
Addressing recent concerns that Wal-Mart's not doing enough to improve its profit margins, Chief Financial Officer Tom Schoewe is expected to talk about how the customer is key to growth and return on investment.
Doug McMillon, president of Sam's Club, is slated to discuss the 'whole new experience' of shopping at the warehouse-club stores. McMillon was promoted to the post in September in a crucial repositioning of the stores to focus on the small-business consumer.
Probably the most controversial segment will be Susan Chambers' presentation, scheduled for Wednesday on Wal-Mart and health care. Chambers, recently elevated to executive vice president of benefits administration and risk management, authored the notorious internal memo made public in October proposing ways to trim health-care costs.
Among them was a suggestion to hire more part-time workers and to include some sort of physical activity as a means of dissuading unhealthy people from working at Wal-Mart.
The conference also will include some insights from Jason Jackson, the director of emergency management, who won accolades for his quick and adept handling of Wal-Mart's response to Hurricane Katrina.
Andy Rubin, vice president of corporate strategy and sustainability, is expected to talk about the company's expanding interest in organic products.
Rounding out the two days will be Scott's address, called 'Change, Growth and Success for Wal-Mart and the Working Families We Serve.' This story was supplied by MarketWatch. For further information see www.marketwatch.com.