Wal-Mart's New Goal: Sell All the Beer - Businessweek

Wal-Mart's New Goal: Sell All the Beer - Businessweek: "When Wal-Mart (WMT) began buying a greater number of locally grown fruits and vegetables in 2010, it made sure its efforts got plenty of publicity. But when Walmart decided it wanted to double its alcohol sales by 2016, it didn’t exactly issue a press release.

Customers noticed, and those in the alcohol industry—or, as Walmart prefers, the adult beverage business—certainly took note of the change. “They’ve said they want to be the No. 1 beer seller in the world,” Cameron Smith, the president of an executive search firm that works closely with Walmart’s supplier network, told Bloomberg News. “They’re getting there quick. Everyone in the supplier community is on cloud nine.”

So far, Walmart seems pretty pleased with the results, although the company hasn’t provided specific sales figures. “Feedback has been very positive” and the relationship with distributors “has been very collaborative,” says Deisha Barnett, a Walmart spokeswoman."

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