One wonders what the folks in Bentonville think about Tesco. Well, Wal-Mart has had a mighty tough time in the UK, as its ASDA subsidiary battles with Tesco, so they doubtless have a healthy respect for the company. If they could have their preference, they probably would rather Tesco not get a beachhead here, as Tesco might introduce other concepts.
But this concept alone sounds like another way of subdividing the business that Wal-Mart doesn’t have. Or put another way, it is not so much a proposal for how to compete with Wal-Mart as a proposal for how to avoid competing with Wal-Mart.
I wrote a cover story for DELI BUSINESS entitled “Wal-Mart: Remembering The Forgotten Consumer”. The gist:
“Somewhere along the line, supermarkets just decided to give up the price card and allow Wal-Mart to seize the business of consumers who are focused on price.”
Nothing we know about Tesco’s plans makes me think that this will change. You can read the whole article here.
I think Wal-Mart loses more sleep over Save-A-Lot.
