Two Walmart specialty brands, which were just introduced to the retailer’s market less than three years ago, are being felled from the company’s brand lineup. Wild Oats and Price First will slowly start being phased out at Walmart stores across the nation in the coming months.
Wild Oats, a partnered organics line for the company, and Price First, Walmart’s in-house label for basic need grocery products, were introduced to consumers in 2014. Both labels were created by the company to provide normally high-cost and high-demand products at low affordable prices.
Although Walmart has declined to comment, Time.com speculates that the company initially introduced both brands as way to tap in on the organic foods trend and no-name brand labels, but with more price options for consumers.
However, as competitors like Trader Joe’s and Aldi move in on similar markets and pricing gains, Walmart seems to have removed Wild Oats and Price First in the face of slow-moving consumer momentum to save costs while it can.
These two brands, says Time.com, aren’t making enough headway for the retailer to keep its prices low and its profits up. Another possibility behind the brand cuts is an overlap of basic low-priced and organic products with Walmart’s Great Value brand.
This latest move appears to be in line with a string of executive decisions by the retail giant. Walmart also recently announced that the company is reducing its Board of Directors by three members, to allow the company to streamline its cost-effectiveness and adaptability in a fast-changing market.
Hover your cursor over DeliMarket News as we continue to update you on financially-minded moves by Walmart and other retailers in the industry.
