Home goods looking stronger at Walmart

-- Home Textiles Today, 4/2/2009 1:25:00 PM

Paradise, Ariz. -- Walmart U.S. has finally gotten the assortment in home "where it needs to be," evp/coo Bill Simon told investors yesterday.

He pointed to the recent brand relaunches of Mainstays, Canopy and Better Homes & Gardens as redefining Walmart's good/better/best statement. "And product clarity along with the color this year, which is certainly on trend, is having a very big impact on the business," Simon said during the Morgan Stanley Arizona Field Trip here.

He also credited the company's "win, place show" strategy, identifying merchandising areas, where respectively, Walmart gains market share, balances growth and profit, and simply boosts efficiency.

Simon noted competitors have been pursuing price-driven marketing to drive traffic during the recession. "Welcome to the price game," he said. "That's ours."