Immediate Release

Contact: Chris Kofinis 202-486-6422

LEAKED DOCUMENT SHOWS WAL-MART’S #1 OVERALL BUSINESS CHALLENGE IS REPUTATION

55-PAGE “WAL-MART POSITIONING” REPORT, PREPARED BY GSD&M, ARGUES THAT WAL-MART “HILLBILLY STEREOTYPE IS ALIVE AND WELL”

REPORT RAISES SERIOUS ALARM BELL ON IMPACT OF WAL-MART’S POOR PUBLIC IMAGE & SUSPICIONS OVER THE VALUE OF “LOW PRICES”

Washington, D.C. - WakeUpWalMart.com, America’s campaign to change Wal-Mart, released a stunning new internal document prepared for Wal-Mart by its old advertising agency, GSD&M. The document, entitled “Wal-Mart Positioning Report,” states, in often brutal detail, the serious public image challenges Wal-Mart faces. According to GSD&M, and described in a section entitled “Know thy Enemy,” Wal-Mart’s reputation problem is the #1 challenge facing the company.

The 55-page GSD&M report, which was based on a series of focus groups and interviews, states, “Wal-Mart is a highly politicized brand,” and its public image is directly threatened by the “corporate brand that is portrayed in the media as a bad corporate citizen who doesn’t treat employees well and isn’t acting as a good citizen of the planet. That brand is increasingly becoming a force that is casting doubts on the consumer brand that people know and love. If it continues unchecked, we may see a very different categorization of Wal-Mart than we saw in the preceding exercise.”

Among other highly significant conclusions in the “Know Thy Enemy” section, where GSD&M identifies Wal-Mart’s reputation as its #1 business challenge, are (a) Wal-Mart’s consumer ratings as a “company I trust and respect” have steadily declined over the last two years, and (b) Shopping at Wal-mart used to mean saving money and being patriotic, being a member of the community, being a part of the “American Dream.” Today, it just means saving money. All value - no values.

“Sadly, after 2 years of empty rhetoric and ineffective publicity stunts, we now know that Wal-Mart has not only needlessly hurt its Associates and their families, but has pointlessly hurt the image and success that Sam Walton built. Like it or not, Wal-Mart needs to realize that only by working together with us can it seriously hope to improve its reputation which, according to their own former advertising agency, has become its greatest business challenge,” said Paul Blank, campaign director for WakeUpWalMart.com.

In often frank language, GSD&M also suggests that the Wal-Mart brand is seemingly lost. The report states, “Today, Wal-Mart is still credited with saving people money. But somewhere along the way, the realization that saving people money is a means to a better quality of life got lost or overlooked. It’s overlooked by the critics. It’s lost on our associates. And Wal-Mart, as merchants, may have even forgotten along the way.”

The report also raises alarm bells over the long term value of Wal-Mart’s low price business philosophy suggesting that, “People want the lowest price but they don’t trust the lowest price, particularly in our key growth categories…In a noncommoditized or nonconsumable category - lowest price causes suspicion.”

According to GSD&M, aside from Wal-Mart’s reputation, the second most serious challenge facing the company is that the Wal-Mart Shopper “hillbilly” stereotype is alive and well (in some form or fashion)….the time has come to rectify the stereotype so that our shoppers can feel proud to shop at Wal-Mart. The report also states that, “Today, Wal-Mart is not seen as a smart place to shop. People are unsure of the brands Wal-Mart carries. People are suspicious of low prices that may translate to low quality. And they worry that Wal-Mart will only have a few choices.”

Among other important observations and conclusions from the Wal-Mart positioning report:

o “67% cite Wal-Mart as the discount store they shop at most often while Target trails behind at only 27%. While this number is very strong, we have seen declines over the past two years when the score hovered in the mid-seventies range.”

o Target is the #3 Challenge facing Wal-Mart. They [Target] feel like ‘new and improved while Wal-Mart often feels like the ‘old and outdated.’

o “Wal-Mart is not a smart choice in categories where saving money and time are not the be-all, end-all, drivers - specifically Electronics, Apparel, Home Décor, Pharmacy, and Grocery. Our model is dependent on people wanting to buy a trusted item as quickly and cheaply as possible.”

o “The Wal-Mart brand was not built to inspire people while they shop, hold their hand while they make a high-risk decision or show them how to pull things together.”

The entire report is available by contacting WakeUpWalMart.com.