How Key Trends Impact Retail Why is this article so important?
If you scan the News Room at Wal-Mart, or do a search of retail articles appearing in the Wall Street Journal or other major business publications, you will rarely find articles on labor, operations, or productivity. Most of the news relates to quarterly revenue numbers, forecasts, same-store sales, leadership changes, acquisitions, and business expansions. The above article suggests a major change in focus by Wal-Mart leadership from revenue growth to labor expense reduction. Wal-Mart is not alone. Other leading retailers (e.g. Radio Shack, Payless Shoes, Mervyn’s, Target, Best Buy, and Petco) are launching similar programs that optimize productivity to increase profitability and reduce expense. This is not limited to hard-goods retailers. Retail banks like PNC, ATB, Charles Schwab, and First Trust are also diving into their numbers in order to shift excess staff to new locations. Store Labor Matters It should come as no surprise that Wal-Mart and others want to optimize store labor.
