Discount prices are for the top 10% of income earners too :
The article contains an excellent summary of walmart.com's troubled history:
NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Discounter Wal-Mart can keep "rollin', rollin', rollin'" back its prices but Walmart.com has loftier intentions.The retailer's online unit next week is launching a four-day Thanksgiving online special that will feature upscale items such as cashmere sweaters, high-end electronics like flat-screen TVs, portable multi-media systems and even shiatsu massage chairs exclusively for Web shoppers.
"These are high-end items that consumers typically find at specialty stores and not necessarily at Wal-Mart," CEO John Fleming said In an interview with CNN/Money Thursday. "The idea is to take our base business and layer it with unexpected products."
Said Fleming, "I think of this as going above and beyond in terms of price points and the assortment of products that we currently offer."The high-end products may be a little out of character for the world's largest discounter, but Fleming said shoppers will be pleased with the competitive prices.
Wal-Mart's dot-com unit got off to a shaky start. First launched independently in 1996 with no online puchase functions, then relaunched in January 2000 as a joint venture. In 2003 it finally became fully acquired by Wal-Mart and has grown to become one of the leading online shopping destinations, competing with industry leaders Amazon.com and eBay in terms of average visitors per week.
Posted by Kevin on November, 30 2004 at 10:49 AM
