Marketing Factoids

  • Music sales in the United States will decline to $9.2 billion in 2013, from $10.1 billion this year. source ›
  • Acquiring a new customer costs about five to seven times as much as maintaining a profitable relationship with an existing customer source ›
  • Consumers ages 18 to 27 say they use the Internet nearly 13 hours a week, compared to viewing 10 hours of TV source ›
  • more factoids ›
OCT 6

Wal-Mart Grinning Big Through the Tough Times†

Sales, Margins and Stock Price All Up -- but What's the Reason Behind the Marketing and Merchandising Miracle?

Advertising Age, October 6, 2008 — Looking for a silver lining in the economy? It's shining brightly from Bentonville, Ark.

Same-store-sales growth for Wal-Mart Stores is well ahead of dismal levels a year ago. Amazingly, Wal-Mart's margins are up too. And the stock has soared more than 30% in the past year, trading at levels not seen since the turn of the millennium, providing hope that CEO Lee Scott can avoid a net loss during his reign. Wal-Mart has become a popular defensive buy for investors and consumers alike.

The big question: Is Wal-Mart's recent run of improved results more about the marketing or the economy? Most signs point to the economy, though economic distress has dovetailed nicely with the marketing.

Category: Marketing Strategy
Tags: Wal-Mart, Recession

Add Your Comment

(required)
(required)



(to prevent comment spam)
 


Any HTML in your comment will be removed upon submission. All comments are moderated, and it may take up to 24 hours for your submission to be approved and published. The BackPocket editors reserve the right to edit or remove comments at any time and for any reason.

Subscribe to comments on this article