Wal-Mart: smiling all the way to the bank

Maybe Wal-Mart should give up on trademarking the smiley face and make a deal to license the Death Star for its ads. The bad boy of box stores, already suffering from a reputation as a low-wage, union-busting employer, is scuffling with local residents in Putnam County, Fla. According this story in the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, a Wal-Mart consultant sent a letter to rural landowners that said if they refuse to sell their land, earmarked for a new, 925,000-square-foot distribution center, the company will ask the county to invoke eminent domain. (An official Wal-Mart rep said a letter to residents was “a miscommunication.”) Also today, the superstore told The New York Times that it wants to sell organic foods, a watchword for lots of upper-middle class moms. And recent ads have aimed to give Wal-Mart a more upscale image. So let’s recap: Today’s papers have the retailer both kicking poor folks out of their trailers while courting families with cash. Seems like they need at least one more face.

—Posted by Deanna Zammit

May 12, 2006 | Permalink