1) Wal-Mart Stores decided to slash the price of one of the hottest electronics items for the holidays—the 42-inch flat-panel TV—to $988 as part of its quest to remain U.S. retailing's "low-price leader."
2) What caught competitors off guard was that Wal-Mart also cut the price of a top brand name—the 42-inch Panasonic high-definition TV—by $500, to $1,294.
The "Wal-Mart effect" caused a freefall in prices of flat-panel televisions at hundreds of retailers—to the glee of many people who were then able to afford their first big-screen plasma or liquid-crystal-display model. The fallout is evident
1) Circuit City Stores on Mar. 28 laid off 3,400 employees and put its 800 Canadian stores on the block.
2) Tweeter Home Entertainment Group, the high-end home entertainment store, is shuttering 49 of its 153 stores and dismissed 650 workers.
3) Dallas-based CompUSA is closing 126 of its 229 stores
4) Rex Stores is boarding up dozens of outlets, as well as selling 94 of its 211 stores.
5) Panasonic executives are still smarting from Wal-Mart's decision to drop the price on its 42-inch model.
Oh how do you solve a solution like ..... Wal-Mart?
[Click here for full story at: BUSINESSWEEK.COM]
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