07/05/05 Wal-Mart and the produce industry, Pt.1

There is a lot of mystique about the retail entity known as Wal-Mart, especially since it is the largest of its kind in the world. The viewpoints about Wal-Mart as a business model, a community contributor, a buyer and seller of mass quantities of goods, are various indeed. Among those that are trying to get a handle on Wal-Mart, and the whole big box store phenomenon, is the produce industry. Whether a producer sells fresh fruit or vegetables, meat, or dairy, many say they are still trying to grasp how to sell their product to Wal-Mart, even though to an extent the giant retailer has revolutionized how the producers do business. And as the Wal-Mart model becomes more prominent, growers must try to adapt or develop some other niche to sell their goods. So what's with all this misconception about Wal-Mart and its role in supporting American ag? That is one of the things Bruce Petersen, Senior Vice-President of Perishables for Wal-Mart, hoped to clarify during a recent visit to Washington State. PETERSEN: Wal-Mart does support American agriculture in a lot of ways that I think many of you really don't even understand. But I think often times Wal-Mart gets pinned as this organization that maybe doesn't care about domestic production, and I think you'll find out that that's really couldn't be further from the truth. But where to begin with such a giant? Petersen says one place to start is the long-time mind-set of his company&the mind-set of their consumers. He says that should also be incorporated in the minds of those producers wishing to do business with Wal-Mart. PETERSEN: And in order to understand the mindset of the buyer, you have to understand the consumers. And if I were to share with producers a message that's extraordinarily important for your long term success is you have to understand what is the consumer thinking about when they make a purchase in the store. Now some producers may rightfully so say what about my bottom line? Petersen says Wal-Mart is unlike the perception of the giant company beating up producers at the negotiating table to get the lowest price possible. PETERSEN: We recognize the impact that we have on a company's bottom line. We have to do that responsibly. We have to think through the impact of the decisions we make not only in our organization but on the supplier  community we are doing business with. Just how Wal-Mart goes about doing business with producers is the focus of future programs.