Walmart 1997 Annual Report Download - page 23

(individual) Members.
“We strive to create value
for our members, first and
foremost by providing small
businesses with top-quality
merchandise at exceptional
prices,” said Joe Hardin,
President of SAM’S Club.
And that membership value
translates into shareholder
value, as SAM’S Club showed
improvement in sales and
operating profit in the latest
fiscal year. Membership income
was also up, driven by growth
in new Advantage memberships
and renewals.
Among the ways SAM’S Club
creates membership value:
•
SAM’S Club offers quality
through branded merchan-
dise at exceptional prices.
• The clubs also emphasize
bringing in the best regional
brands — the brands many
of our members grew up using.
• SAM’S Club has moved
aggressively to lower price
points on the vast majority
of its merchandise without
giving up quality, through
better prices from our
vendors or, in some cases,
alternative vendors.
This enables the clubs
to encourage impulse
buying with prominent
displays of those items.
• By lowering the number
of individual items a club
stocks, SAM’S Club has
been able to merchandise
the items more effectively.
This reduces operational
costs and enables the clubs
to move huge quantities
of merchandise.
• For qualified members,
Business and Advantage
alike, the SAM’S Club credit
program offers a 1 percent
rebate on everything they buy.
• And the list of membership
benefits just goes on and
on... significant discounts
on cruises through the
Travel Department;
discounts on rental cars,
hotels, car and boat
purchases; discounted
long-distance telephone
service; and more.
The process of building
membership value also
includes an aggressive remodel-
ing program for many clubs,
and an effort to expand the
clubs’ selection in the fresh
categories — bakery, fresh
meat and produce. “These are
commodity categories that
build excitement, and
encourage people to shop
at a warehouse club more
frequently,” Hardin said.
In a simple but effective move
to build business, the new lower
price points are combined with
a new layout, which encourages
impulse purchases.
Building membership value
is “a work in progress, not
something we just do once
and forget about it,” Hardin
said. “We’re trying to exceed
members’ expectations by
working to be more consistent.”
And so SAM’S Club strides
into the future. As always
at Wal-Mart, change is not
only expected, but encouraged,
through the ideas and enthusiasm
of associates like King.
“I’m a product of the invest-
ment
the company makes in its
people,” King said. “The company
allows you to have total owner-
ship of your ideas by letting you
put them in action and watch
them succeed.
“That approach, that openness
to associates’ ideas, has been
around since the company was
started,” she said. “And what
I find very promising is that,
even today, you can still see
it happening.
“The company is always
pushing us to wherever our
capabilities will take us.
Wal-Mart will open the door
to opportunity any time
somebody knocks on it.”
Whether it’s a small business or a large family, SAM’S Club
membership means value.
21