Walmart.com’s Sales Make Its Parent Proud
By George Anderson
John Fleming, chief executive officer, Walmart.com told the San Francisco Business Times, “We had a great holiday season. We know that sales (for the entire online sector) are up 25 percent from last year, and we are significantly above that level.”
Wal-Mart’s brick and mortar business grew less than three percent for the 2002 holiday selling season.
Moderator’s Comment: What is your assessment of Walmart.com’s
performance and its role within the Wal-Mart business empire?
Obviously, Walmart.com’s sales growth increase is largely
a product of starting from a much smaller comparison base. That said, it appears
as though Walmart.com may now actually have a shot of becoming the Wal-Mart
of the internet. It wasn’t that long ago that some wondered if Wal-Mart would
dot-com its e-commerce business.
Mr. Fleming attributes much of his division’s success
to greater integration with Wal-Mart’s stores. The San Francisco Business Times
article says that Walmart.com “offers products that complement the company’s
in-store offerings such as higher-end consumer electronics and appliances and
additional book and movie titles.”
[George
Anderson – Moderator]