Giant retailer Wal-Mart is adding marketing muscle to its operation in an effort to boost sales, broaden its customer base, and more effectively compete with rival Target. The effort is largely the
work of the company's chief marketing officer, John Fleming, a former Target executive, who was named to his post last spring. A Wal-Mart spokeswoman said the company will add 60 people to its
200-person marketing staff this year, a 30 percent increase. The expanded marketing department is part of the retailer's broader effort to upgrade the quality of its merchandise and image in an effort
to get customers to shop its aisles for more than low-priced items such as laundry detergent and sweat socks. The company said it plans to build three new departments--brand management, a
category-marketing group, and an insight and customer-strategy group.
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