For Duke, the customer is everything

Creating a better customer experience and improving efficiency continue to be important goals for Wal-Mart, as the company looks to maintain its leadership in the retail space.

Speaking at the Goldman Sachs Retailing Conference in New York on Sept. 10, Wal-Mart president and CEO Mike Duke noted that the company is focused on the four key areas of improved productivity; smart, aggressive growth; leveraging opportunities and better serving customers that he believes will deliver opportunity for the company.

According to Duke, by improving the productivity loop, Wal-Mart can drive expenses down, lower SG&A and pass those savings on to customers, ultimately leading to increased traffic and sales.

In the area of growth, Duke noted that Wal-Mart is getting smarter about using capital in this area, which may mean fewer and smaller stores. However, he was quick to point out that the company is always looking for potential areas of growth around the world.

Leveraging opportunities, Duke said, means taking what works in certain areas, like the merchandising systems in the United States and applying them to other segments of the company. The Wal-Mart chief pointed out that the U.S. idea of “win, play, show” is being applied in other markets. Duke attributed the global sharing of ideas in part to the leadership of Eduardo Castro-Wright, Doug McMillon and Brian Cornell.

Better serving the customer seems to be the most important area for Duke. He noted that whenever he visits a Wal-Mart store, he always makes a point to speak to people on the checkout line to get a sense of their needs and concerns. For Duke, improving the customer experience means friendlier, less-cluttered stores, which has been the focus of the company’s Project Impact initiative in the United States.

In regards to the Wal-Mart customer, Duke said that there is a new focus on frugality and more mid- and high-income shoppers are starting to visit his company’s stores. He noted that customers are getting smarter with their money by cutting back on such things as dining out and vacation. Duke said such societal changes present opportunities in retailing.