Kellie Pickler Fans - View Single Post - Wal-Mart, record labels, & CD prices

pickluh · 07-26-2007, 11:02 PM

When we were discussing Kellie's CD prices, I remembered my talks with clients who had ideas for new products and couldn't wait to get them in Wal-Mart. I'd tell them, "Wal-Mart didn't get where they are by paying top dollar to their suppliers."

I wondered if that applied to CDs and record labels. I found this article in RollingStone:

Wal-Mart Wants $10 CDs (from Oct 2004)

Here are some excerpts:

Along with other giant retailers such as Best Buy and Target, Wal-Mart willingly loses money selling CDs for less than $10 (they buy most hit CDs from distributors for around $12). These companies use bargain CDs to lure consumers to the store, hoping they might also grab a boombox or a DVD player while checking out the music deals.

Getting Wal-Mart excited about carrying a record is at the top of every label's to-do list, but it's harder than it sounds. There is an immense cultural chasm between slick industry executives and Severson's team of three music buyers at Wal-Mart headquarters in Bentonville, Arkansas. Only one of the three had ever worked in music retailing -- until that person moved to a new division in August and was replaced by someone who previously bought Wal-Mart's salty snacks.

The article is interesting reading. It even gives a breakdown of what goes into CD pricing. To get a perspective on things, I looked up how many Wal-Marts there are -- over 3,300. If each store sold just one Kellie CD per day since it was released, sales would be nearly 1,000,000 CDs already. That's amazing. On the other hand, you have to wonder who would profit.

On a related note, I checked my local Wal-Mart. There was one Kellie CD amongst all the country CDs. And there was just one Taylor Swift CD there too. However, near the checkout counter there was a point of purchased display with several Bucky, Taylor Swift, and Eliiott Yamin CDs, but none of Kellies.

07-26-2007, 11:02 PM	#1 (permalink)
pickluh Ron Huge Kellie Follower Keeper of Kellie's Air Freshener pickluh is offline Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: New Orleans	Wal-Mart, record labels, & CD prices When we were discussing Kellie's CD prices, I remembered my talks with clients who had ideas for new products and couldn't wait to get them in Wal-Mart. I'd tell them, "Wal-Mart didn't get where they are by paying top dollar to their suppliers." I wondered if that applied to CDs and record labels. I found this article in RollingStone: Wal-Mart Wants $10 CDs (from Oct 2004) Here are some excerpts: Along with other giant retailers such as Best Buy and Target, Wal-Mart willingly loses money selling CDs for less than $10 (they buy most hit CDs from distributors for around $12). These companies use bargain CDs to lure consumers to the store, hoping they might also grab a boombox or a DVD player while checking out the music deals. Getting Wal-Mart excited about carrying a record is at the top of every label's to-do list, but it's harder than it sounds. There is an immense cultural chasm between slick industry executives and Severson's team of three music buyers at Wal-Mart headquarters in Bentonville, Arkansas. Only one of the three had ever worked in music retailing -- until that person moved to a new division in August and was replaced by someone who previously bought Wal-Mart's salty snacks. The article is interesting reading. It even gives a breakdown of what goes into CD pricing. To get a perspective on things, I looked up how many Wal-Marts there are -- over 3,300. If each store sold just one Kellie CD per day since it was released, sales would be nearly 1,000,000 CDs already. That's amazing. On the other hand, you have to wonder who would profit. On a related note, I checked my local Wal-Mart. There was one Kellie CD amongst all the country CDs. And there was just one Taylor Swift CD there too. However, near the checkout counter there was a point of purchased display with several Bucky, Taylor Swift, and Eliiott Yamin CDs, but none of Kellies.