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| Wal-Mart employees displaced by Katrina get jobs near evacuation centers. KPRC's Kym Alvarado-Booth reports (September 6) |
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NEW YORK (CNN/Money) -
Wal-Mart executives vowed Wednesday to cut prices for the holidays, continue building new stores near existing ones, target more middle and higher-end customers, and perhaps make new acquisitions.
Chief Executive Officer Lee Scott said the world's biggest retailer would aggressively cut prices in the vital holiday season after drawing criticism last year for keeping them too high.
"This year we are setting the pace (in pricing) both in back-to-school and in the holiday season," Scott said in a presentation to analysts at Prudential Equity Group's consumer conference in Chicago.
In a separate conference in New York, Wal-Mart (Research) Chief Financial Officer Tom Schoewe said the company would continue with its strategy of opening stores near existing ones.
While he said some analysts call the strategy "cannibalism," Schoewe said the move increases the company's overall sales despite the drop in same-store sales growth.
"We think (comparing same-store sales) doesn't paint the entire picture," he said. "Overall growth is very important."
Schoewe also said the retailer will try to attract middle and upper-end customers, but will retain its focus on its core entry-level customers.
And he said rising inflation, triggered by higher fuel prices, may present some "opportunities" for the company, perhaps in the form of acquisitions.
-- from staff and wire reports
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