While it's no secret that consumers are looking for stores that can save them money, Wal-Mart Stores' latest results offer plenty of additional evidence. The Bentonville, Ark.-based retailer says sales for the third quarter jumped 7.5% to $97.6 billion, while income from continuing operations gained 6.6% to $3.03 billion. And its comparable-store sales gained 2.7% in the quarter, excluding gasoline sales, while its Sam's Club division gained 4.5%. "We are very pleased with our results this quarter," Lee Scott, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. president and CEO, said in a conference call. "Despite economic difficulties around the world, we achieved solid sales and earnings growth, and we are optimistic about the upcoming holidays. At a time when our customer is feeling the pressure of a tough economy, Wal-Mart's price leadership is more important than ever." "Price leads all of our marketing programs," added Eduardo Castro-Wright, president and CEO of Wal-Mart's U.S. stores. "We have a number of commercials that show customers how they can save on everyday needs. We will continue to remind customers that the savings add up when you shop at Wal-Mart. This message will continue to be very important during the holidays." He added that he expects the winter holidays to follow its Halloween performance. "Our business came late, but it did come," he says. "The product presentation and marketing came together to drive double-digit sales growth in Halloween-related merchandise. Executives also said apparel sales were strong, as were sales in entertainment. "We monetized traffic by leveraging an exclusive entertainment property, AC/DC, to drive sales in other areas. Our stores merchandise the band's newest CD in our young men's apparel area along with video gaming systems. The result was great sales for both the music and apparel areas." Sales have also been strong, he adds, in gaming, flat-panel TVs, and GPS units, "and the sales results of our early holiday season special values last weekend exceeded our expectations. You will see a number of entertainment products featured in our Black Friday events." Based on currency fluctuations, the company did lower its earnings forecast because of fluctuating currency exchange rates. But for the looming holiday season, it expects same-store sales to gain between 1% and 3%. Although saving money may be top of consumers' minds right now, Wal-Mart is moving ahead with its market testing of more upscale store concepts. It introduced two new Sam's Club test concepts in the quarter--a business center in Houston, which eliminates such categories as pharmacy, jewelry and apparel, and includes a print and copy center, and a smaller-store format Garden City, Kan. Initial results are encouraging, execs say. Another new concept is its Marketside convenience and fresh-foods stores, and Ad Age reports that the company is talking to as many as seven different ad agencies to take on the more upscale concept. Observers say Wal-Mart hatched the Marketside concept in response to Tesco's initial success with Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Markets. Separately, Tesco reported it is dialing down expansion plans. Wal-Mart is also stepping up its new-media efforts. The Morning News, an Arkansas newspaper, reports that Wal-Mart is now reaching out to female heads-of-households via Facebook, YouTube and Twitter. The company is also said to be stepping up its use of mobile ads, texting women who want to know about pending price cuts.
In a year when even quick-serve restaurants are scrambling to attract sparse consumer discretionary dollars, you can bet they will be pulling out the stops to lure exhausted bargain-hunting shoppers in for a quick pick-me-up, party goodies ... and maybe an inexpensive gift solution. Dunkin' Donuts has gotten a jump on the holidays with its announcement of special holiday-themed treats, a bagel-with-coffee offer, and promotions of gift cards and gift packages. Until Dec. 29, Dunkin' is promoting a new brownie topped with "creamy chocolate icing, white chocolate shavings and chocolate drizzle" ($1.39), as well as hot and cold versions of a Mocha Spice Latte (cinnamon and French vanilla flavors topped with mocha swirl syrup). The holiday latte offering is priced the same as Dunkin's other lattes ($2.09, 2.59 or $2.99, depending on the size). In addition, during the holiday season, customers can get a special 99-cent deal that includes a bagel with cream cheese with the purchase of a medium or larger hot coffee. "We're letting consumers know that we're aware that it's a tough economy, and we want to make things easier, particularly during the holidays when there's added money and time pressures," says Scott Hudler, senior director of brand marketing for Dunkin' Brands. "But that's really just a continuation of our existing brand positioning of Dunkin' offering good food, fast, and at an affordable price." Offering quick, inexpensive nourishment such as a bagel and coffee or latte to help energize people during the hectic holiday season also ties in with the brand's "America Runs on Dunkin'" marketing theme, he notes. The usual offerings of holiday-decorated donuts and Munchkins to serve party-going needs will be visibly promoted in-store, of course. And with "affordable" gifts being a particularly key opportunity this year, Dunkin' is heavy-ing up on promoting gift cards featuring Christmas trees, snowmen and other holiday themes. Gift cards purchased as thank-you's for teachers, mail carriers and others have become a substantial business for Dunkin', confirms Hudler. This year, for the first time--in addition to offering regular reloadable cards in-store and on its Web site--Dunkin' is offering a Web-based option of personalized, reloadable cards ($4.50 plus gift card value and shipping cost) bearing a photo chosen by the giver and accompanied by a personalized greeting card. The personalized card option, which is "on trend with the whole customization craze," was first tested successfully by Dunkin' during this past summer, reports Hudler. Also this year, an added holiday sharing element is part of the gift-card proposition: For every card purchased during December, Dunkin will donate $1 to its Dunkin' Brands Community Foundation. The foundation, a partnership of Dunkin' Brands and its Dunkin' and Baskin-Robbins franchise owners, provides financial assistance and other resources to emergency response organizations. Dunkin' encourages purchases of cards for personal as well as gift-giving use--and continues to employ various incentives to encourage card reloading. For example, after last year's holiday season, customers who registered their cards received a bonus $2 credit on them, says Hudler. 'Tis also the season to remind Dunkin' restaurant and site visitors about quick, inexpensive gift options such as the Dunkin' Donuts' Coffee Lover's Gift Set (two pounds of original blend Dunkin' coffee and two thermal travel mugs for $19.99), which is available only at holiday time. Dunkin's holiday offerings are being supported with radio and TV ads, starting with spots focusing on the 99-cent coffee/bagel deal, and moving to ones promoting the latte and gifting options closer to Christmas, according to Hudler. Online efforts, including Facebook and Dunkin's new Twitter presence, will begin to take on a seasonal spin near Thanksgiving, he adds.
Boston-area residents today have a second and final chance to bring their dogs to Nestle Purina PetCare's just-opened pop-up pooch restaurant, the Alpo Chop House Originals Grill at 167 Newbury St. Dinner hours are 3 - 8 p.m., reservations not accepted, pricing non-existent, and dress not required for dining. At Thursday's opening of the "Dog's Night Out" festivities, Red Sox great Carlton Fisk was scheduled to serve as guest waiter, providing canine customers with the house special: Filet Mignon made with angus beef, one of seven flavors in the Chop House Originals (http://www.alpo.com/index.aspx?pathPass=products/chop_house/ch_ny_strip) line of gourmet canned dog foods, which promise the pets of grocery shoppers "restaurant-inspired taste, right here at home." Those Beantown "can-noisseurs" lucky enough to savor that taste this week in a real restaurant can also take advantage of other themed amenities like a photo booth, where they get their pictures taken with their owners. They also get to take home a doggie bag with food for their next night's dinner -- and to make new friends not only with their dining companions at rustic wooden tables, but with adoptable dogs from Mass Paws, a local rescue organization. Alpo, in fact, has promised to donate $8,000 to Boston-area shelters on behalf of all the dog dinners served. Other costs for the promotion were not revealed. On the feline side, Del Monte's Meow Mix Cafe from Grand Central Marketing in late 2004 cost the brand $150,000 for a 10-day run in New York City -- and then reportedly resulted in $50 million in additional sales during 2005.
For the past few years, automakers have accelerated efforts to reduce sales of new cars and trucks to daily rental fleets because such sales can hurt residuals and damage brand equity--especially if consumers don't have a good experience with the rental vehicle or service. A new study by J.D. Power and Associates suggests that they aren't having as good an experience as they once were. The Westgate Village, Calif. firm's Associates 2008 Rental Car Satisfaction Study, in its 13th year, says customer satisfaction with renting cars at airports has declined considerably for a second consecutive year. The study, based on over 13,400 surveys of business and leisure travelers between October 2007 and October 2008, measures satisfaction with renting cars at airports. The study bases results on fees, the pick-up process, the rental car, the reservation and the return process and shuttle service. Overall satisfaction declines significantly from 750 points on a 1,000-point scale in 2007 to 734 in 2008. Jim Gaz, senior director of global hospitality, travel and entertainment at J.D. Power and Associates, says the problem is the economy, which is hurting rental fleets' ability to keep full staffing as business travelers and tourists cut back on air travel. "Some leisure and business travelers are avoiding air travel altogether, which has ramifications for airport-based rental car companies in terms of a shrinking customer base and decreasing revenues," he says. For the fifth year, the firm puts Enterprise on top of rental fleets in customer satisfaction. After Enterprise comes Hertz and Alamo, respectively, with Alamo improving from 2007. Below industry average were Avis, Budget, Thrifty, Dollar, Payless and Advantage Rent-A-Car. The firm says critical factors include clean vehicles in good operating condition, customers getting the models that they reserve, and brief wait times for vehicle pickup and drop-off. The study also finds that by a wide margin, customers with the highest levels of satisfaction and high commitment to a particular rental car brand are much more likely to use that company again and to recommend the company to others, compared with the average customer. Among customers who are highly committed, 86% said they "definitely will" use the company again, and 88% said they "definitely will" recommend the company to others. By contrast, among customers who say they have a medium commitment, only 21% said they "definitely will" use the brand again.
In its largest advertising campaign, and the first to include television in three years, "challenger" brand Musselman's is repositioning itself to better compete with the applesauce category giant, Motts. The farmer cooperative's new campaign, tagged "Grower-Owned Since 1949," breaks Monday, created by Brunner, Pittsburgh. Orchard-based and intentionally "unslick" in appearance, per a spokesperson for the brand, the new campaign replaces Musselman's previous "Healthy Snack Alternative" positioning, which it could not claim exclusively. "Internal research showed that "Grower-Owned" also suggests quality and freshness," he says--and it helps to validate higher shelf prices for the brand's single-serve and bottled products, both resulting from a year-long, industry-wide rise in apple prices. Targeting moms with school-age kids, two television commercials and two outdoor billboards will run in five test DMAs, from Philadelphia to Minneapolis, each selected for high potential share growth. TV will air on morning and daytime programming such as "Oprah," "Good Morning America," "Ellen," and "The View." Cable buys will run on Food Network, Learning Channel, and other similar channels. Outdoor will go up in high-traffic areas, close to food retail locations. Musselman's is a division of growers' cooperative, Knouse Foods, Peach Glen, Penn.
Top 10 DMAs in which adults said they had signed a petition in the last 12 months. 1 Seattle/ Tacoma 2 Cleveland/ Akron (Canton) 3 Bend, Ore. 4 Detroit 5 Santa Barbara/ Santa Maria/ San Luis Obispo, Calif. 6 Eureka, Calif. 7 Eugene, Ore. 8 Portland/Auburn, Maine 9 Burlington, Vt./ Plattsburgh, N.Y. 10 Albany/ Schnectady/ Troy, N.Y. Source: MRI's Market-by-Market study, www.mediamark.com