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Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION
Walmart unveils plan to fend off Target, dollar stores
(BRUCE BUMSTEAD/BRANDON SUN ARCHIVES)
TORONTO -- More products for $1 are coming to Walmart Canada as the retailer takes on dollar stores, Target and the country's biggest grocers in a strategy to win a larger share of the domestic retail market.
Executives from the company met with analysts and the media in Toronto on Thursday to discuss its answer to the entry of U.S. rival Target and an expansion by Canadian dollar-store operator Dollarama Inc. (TSX:DOL).
The plan includes lowering the prices of more items to about a loonie, said Shelley Broader, the retail giant's Canadian president and CEO.
"That's in direct reaction to what our customers need and want, but it happens to be a nice method of competing against the dollar stores," she said.
"The idea of getting most, if not all, of your needs met in one spot becomes incredibly important."
Walmart's supercentres aim to do exactly that, offering customers deals on everything from dish towels to dry-cleaning services. The price reductions are part of a strategy of "cementing ourselves in the minds and hearts of Canadians as one-stop shopping," said Broader.
Solidifying that stance is particularly crucial right now because so many other retailers are fighting for the same consumer market Walmart has practically had dominance over for several years.
Dollarama has been encroaching on the discount retailer's low-priced territory in recent months, expanding its products beyond small items worth a loonie.
The Montreal-based dollar store chain said Wednesday that during the fourth quarter, about half its sales of everyday consumer products, general merchandise and seasonal items were sold for between $1.25 and $2, up from 42 per cent last year.
Dollarama also aims to add up to 60 new stores this year, primarily in Ontario and Western Canada, in the face of growing competition from U.S. discount rival Dollar Tree.
-- The Canadian Press
Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition April 13, 2012 B4
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