Wal-Mart to Cut Back Organic Food in Stores
But demand for organic products by Wal-Mart customers has not kept pace with the company's plans. And this causing an unexpected drop in sales for suppliers of organic products that Wal-Mart had placed orders with. Even though Wal-Mart had placed huge orders for organic apples and juices last year with organic farmers last year in preparation for the organic push, the retailer is cutting back or stopping orders altogether. Wade Groetsch, president at the Florida juice producer Blue Lake Citrus Products, says he stopped shipping his organic orange-tangerine blend to Wal-Mart after a few months. "The sales there just weren't enough to justify our costs of packing and shipping," he says.
Karen Burk, a spokeswoman for the company, says that the majority of Wal-Mart stores are offering between 100 and 200 organic food items. She says the company does not have a target, at least not a public one, of stocking 400 organic items in the average store. Burk denies that this means the company has fallen short of its goals. She says that individual stores make the decision of how much organic food they carry based on local demand. If there is no demand, the orders go down.
Burk said that in some cases, stores have doubled the number of organic products that they offer. She said that there are Wal-Mart stores that do stock roughly 400 organic items, including locations in Rogers, Ark., Rockwall, Tex., and Plano, Tex. "We are continuing to see a demand by many of our customers for organic alternatives and will tailor each store's assortment to meet the demand," she wrote.
Wal-Mart has been trying to cultivate a more upscale reputation in a number of product categories. Last year, Wal-Mart found through internal research that it had high-income customers, with incomes of more than $75,000, in its stores shopping for staples like milk and detergent, and it set out to sell them more high-end merchandise. But Chief Executive Lee Scott concedes that the company has struggled to persuade customers that Wal-Mart can mean high-quality, rather than simply low price. "I think we went too far too fast," he said.
In the organic foods category, the problem may be social perception of the retail giant. The consumers that Wal-Mart was hoping to target with their organic campaign, consumers who go to stores like Whole Foods Market or Wild Oats Markets are less price-sensitive than the traditional Wal-Mart shopper but more socially conscious and object to Wal-Mart's employment and business practices. As a result, they won't shop at Wal-Mart even if Wal-Mart offers organic foods.
Published by Goth Diva
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- Wal-Mart trying to cultivate a more upscale image.
- Wal-Mart stores choose individually how much organic food they offer.
- Wal-Mart has cancelled plans to try and lure consumers from stores like Whole Foods or Wild Oats.
18 Comments
Post a CommentWmt will carry more organic items that are not perishable (dry goods),think aisles.This is their strong point. Produce: stores only carry what is demanded but those who can afford such items usually want quick service check-out which can normally be done quicker between 7-9 P.M. M-F otherwise do not go. I have read of robotics being utilized in farming (produce) it will eventually decrease the need for migrant worker (illegals) and reduce the societal costs (financially) associated indirectly. So support farmers who will be using robotics!!!
I wish our Wal-Mart Super Center had more organic options available -- I have been loving Safeway's "O Organics" brand, and their organic selection beats the pants off of Wal-Mart's. Lots of people are buying cheap organic items from Safeway, why wouldn't they at Wal-Mart? How do they know what demand is, if the items aren't stocked for people to buy or not buy?!? How disappointing!
We buy all our groceries at wal-mart, so, i was looking forward to walmart carrying more organic food so i could see what it's like. *sigh*
I agree with Heather James how disappointing.
I've purchased organics from Walmart in the past but found them to be too pricey. My local health food store - Sun Harvest - actually has much more variety and better prices. I guess Walmart is sticking to products that have a higher profit margin for them.
Not wanting to spout from the soapbox, but as one of the wealthiest countries on the planet it's absolutely disgusting that not everyone can afford to eat decent, healthy food. Al- I'll have to look for that Mother Jones article, it sound interesting. I can't believe I missed that. Do you know what issue it was in by chance?
I'm curious to see if, in light of the pet food debacle and the fears surrounding what we feed our pets, people will start to pay more attention to what we feed ourselves....
Genetically modified crops may be contributing to the destruction of bees in America and Germany, as well.
I disagree that you can be healthy without organics. Conventionally grown foods are contaminated with pesticides & other additives that the FDA admits may contribute to Cancer, obesity, asthma, fertility problems, and a WEALTH of health issues. You can get all of your nutrients and avoid obesity without going organic, but to be truly healthy, you need to at LEAST buy the Dirty Dozen organic instead of conventionally-grown. The medical community already admits that part of the reason why so many multiples are being born now, to women NOT on fertility drugs, is because of all the hormones and crap in our food. Obviously these substances affect us. It's best to avoid them. Fruits & vegies, yes, are healthier than big macs and french fries--but organic is healthiEST.
I posted this to Digg -- True story: a greenhouse near Louisville specializing in flowers was given a very large order for poinsettias by Walmart. The growers, friends of mine, were very excited even though their profit margin was only a sliver per plant, and they set about growing the requested flowers. A week before the order was to be delivered, Walmart cancelled because they'd found a cheaper supplier in South America and the greenhouse would not match their price. My friends lost a bundle (though they sold the flowers at higher than Walmart's second offer), and refuse to do business with Walmart ever again. Walmart's cheap, but I don't care for most of their business practices.