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Wal-Mart kicks off toy price war
Report: No. 1 retailer slashes tags on popular and hard-to-find items, surprising Toys "R" Us.
November 19, 2003: 8:48 AM EST

NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is cutting prices on a number of hot toys earlier in the holiday season than such sales are normally seen, according to a published report.

Hokey Pokey Elmo, which Wal-Mart is selling for less than wholesale cost  
Hokey Pokey Elmo, which Wal-Mart is selling for less than wholesale cost.

The Wall Street Journal reports that a survey conducted by Banc of America Securities found that Wal-Mart's prices of 15 popular toys were 12 percent lower than those of Toys "R" Us, the largest stand-alone toy retailer, and 8 percent lower than prices at discount retailer Target, the nation's No. 2 general retailer after Wal-Mart.

The Journal says that Toys "R" Us executives have acknowledged that the Wal-Mart price cutting has caught them somewhat by surprise and was among factors hurting its recently reported third-quarter results.

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The newspaper said the lower prices are even found on some toys in short supply, including Leap Frog's Explorer Globe. And it reported that some of Wal-Mart's retail prices are below wholesale prices. For instance, it is charging $29.74 for the Hot Wheels T-Wrecks Play Set, which has a wholesale price of $42, and $19.46 for the Sesame Street Hokey Pokey Elmo, whose wholesale price is $24.  Top of page




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Most stock quote data provided by BATS. Market indices are shown in real time, except for the DJIA, which is delayed by two minutes. All times are ET. Disclaimer. Morningstar: © 2018 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Factset: FactSet Research Systems Inc. 2018. All rights reserved. Chicago Mercantile Association: Certain market data is the property of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved. Dow Jones: The Dow Jones branded indices are proprietary to and are calculated, distributed and marketed by DJI Opco, a subsidiary of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC and have been licensed for use to S&P Opco, LLC and CNN. Standard & Poor's and S&P are registered trademarks of Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC and Dow Jones is a registered trademark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC. All content of the Dow Jones branded indices © S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC 2018 and/or its affiliates.