Posted by
Cary Wesberry on Saturday, March 15, 2008 8:55:56 PM
DEARBORN, Mich. (AP) -- Faten Saad knew she wasn't in a typical Wal-Mart when she saw an end-of-the-aisle display featuring Mamool.
Boxes of the date-filled, whole wheat cookie from the Middle East welcomed the 21-year-old Lebanon native into the international aisle of the new Wal-Mart store in this Detroit suburb known as the capital of Arab America. Aisle 3, which also features Eastern European and Hispanic food, represents many of the 550 items geared toward Arab-American shoppers in the store that opened last week.
It might be statistically tiny in a store with more than 150,000 items, but it's symbolically huge for the world's largest retailer as it seeks to change from a cost-is-everything monolith to one that customizes its stores to meet neighborhood needs.
Managers say they seek peace with the neighborhood's merchants -- and vow not to undercut them on Middle Eastern specialties. But some experts and observers say Wal-Mart's well-planned launch in Dearborn is bound to shake up the buying and selling in a community that has long supported its own. Southeastern Michigan is home to an estimated 300,000 people who trace their roots to the Middle East.
"I have not heard of anything this tailored. It's inspiring to me as a shareholder," said Patricia Edwards, portfolio manager and retail analyst in the Seattle office of San Francisco-based investment manager Wentworth, Hauser & Violich, which has 537,000 shares of Wal-Mart Stores Inc. stock.
The Dearborn store also sells Arabic music and plans to offer Muslim greeting cards. But the modifications go beyond merchandise: It has 35 employees who speak Arabic -- noted in Arabic script on their badges. The store also has hired a local Arab-American educator to teach the staff cultural sensitivity.
It's clear as soon as shoppers walk in that this isn't a typical Wal-Mart.
Teaching "cultural sensitivity" to the staff. How nice. Brainwashing Wal-Mart employees shouldn't be that difficult for the Islamists. I have no doubt the footbathes are coming next. Why is it that I'm thinking there will be no Mohammed comic books and/or cartoons for sale, even at super-low-low prices? My culturally sensitive question of the day: Will they be selling burkhas and turbans at reduced cost to the customer? I would ask in what color, but I'm pretty sure I already know the answer to that one.