Rebranding Wal-Mart Green; The Right Direction

With "Unruly Julie" out of the picture at Wal-Mart and the advertising campaign effectively treading water, Wal-Mart's brand is in disarray.

Before Julie Roehm left, the executives were attempting to make the brand more prestigious in order to compete with Target for the consumer with more disposable income than the average low-price shopper more commonly found at Wal-Mart.

Target has done an exceptional job competing against Wal-Mart as a big-box retailer by not going head-to-head against Wal-Mart, but rather by going after a different set of consumers. This set of consumers don't want to be known as cheap, but still wants to buy department store type products inexpensively. As Wal-Mart established itself at the "low-price leader," Target built a brand around trendiness and style.

Wal-Mart is trying to bring in customers that will buy higher priced items in an effort to raise profits for year over year same store sales. The retailer cannot stock high-end items that bring higher margins in the stores until they have a customer base that can actually afford such items.

Wal-Mart should steer away from trying to change they meaning of their brand as a low-priced retailer. However, Wal-Mart should highlight its effort to be environmentally friendly. By highlighting their efforts and making eco-friendly products hip, Wal-Mart can alter their brand and draw a more profitable customer into the stores. Instead of being thought of as a penny-pincher, those shopping at Wal-Mart will be known as environmentally friendly and "hip."

By not trying be more prestigious, but rather by highlighting its environmentally friendly products and stores, Wal-Mart can move in a new direction. Putting being known as "cheap" in the background and bring in more customers that have a higher level of disposable income.