Wal-Mart

If you believe that you can make do without the friendly greeting of a Wal-Mart clerk, shopping online at Walmart.com might be a good option to fill your cart or prescription. The Web site features low-priced products ranging from contact lenses to electronics, apparel, furniture, pet products, pharmaceuticals, tires, toys, and even jewelry, with shipping fees starting at 97 cents. It offers DVD rentals and recently added music downloading to the mix. Walmart.com was launched in January 2000 as a joint-venture with venture capital firm Accel Partners, which sold its stake to Wal-Mart Stores in 2001. Walmart.com attracted about 500 million visitors in 2005, a fraction of the traffic of competitor Amazon.com.

The online retailer hopes to boost the number of annual visitors to 700 million in 2006.

Wal-Mart uses its online presence to offer a greater range of products than is available in its stores: 200,000 products - plus around 800,000 DVDs, books and CDs - as against 120,000 products in a typical store. Luxury items, such as diamond and platinum jewelry and cashmere sweaters, can also be had at Wal-Mart.com. As its bricks-and-mortar parent moves to sell more high-end merchandise in its stores, the Wal-Mart.com Web site serves as a sort of virtual testing ground for acceptance by more affluent shoppers.

The company has turned over its online DVD rental business to a more nimble competitor Netflix. Wal-Mart's current DVD rental customers have the option of becoming Netflix subscribers at their current Wal-Mart rate. Wal-Mart.com also promotes Netflix's service to visitors to its Web site. Wal-Mart.com continues to sell DVDs.

Raul Vazquez, formerly the company's marketing officer, succeeded Carter Cast as president of Walmart.com in early 2007. Cast was promoted to a strategic planning position within parent company Wal-Mart Stores.

The online unit contributes only about 1% of Wal-Mart's annual sales, some $290 million in 2005.

Meijer

Meijer (pronounced "Meyer") is the green giant of retailing in the Midwest. The company operates more than 170 combination grocery and general merchandise stores; about half are in Michigan, while the rest are in Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, and Ohio. Its huge stores (which average 200,000 to 250,000 sq. ft. each, or about the size of four regular grocery stores) stock about 120,000 items, including Meijer private-label products. Customers can choose from about 40 departments, including apparel, electronics, hardware, and toys. Most stores also sell gasoline, offer banking services, and have multiple in-store restaurants. Founder Hendrik Meijer opened his first store in 1934; the company is still family owned.

The Meijer family is denying rumors that the company is up for sale following speculation that UK retail giant Tesco was looking to acquire a large stake in the company.

Meijer has named Mark Murray as its future president. Murray, currently the president of Grand Valley State University and a Meijer board member, joins the company in late 2006, succeeding Larry Zigerelli, who resigned last year. Co-CEOs Hank Meijer and Paul Boyer will run the grocery chain in the interim. Boyer, a co-CEO since 2005, plans to step down at the end of 2006, but will remain on the executive board as vice chairman.

Although the discount superstore format is most often referred to in conjunction with its rival Wal-Mart, Meijer is its pioneer. But that hasn't stopped the world's #1 retailer from muscling in on Meijer's markets. Meijer competes with more than 50 supercenters and expects that number to reach 350 by 2007. The company is responding by cutting prices, putting some expansion plans on hold, and renovating its stores. It also cut jobs -- eliminating about 1,900 management positions at its stores in January 2004 following a reduction of about 350 positions in 2003 -- to become more efficient and competitive. On the plus side, Meijer opened about 10 stores in 2005. Meijer is also facing increased pressure from warehouse club stores, drugstores, and supermarket chains, like Kroger, that are expanding in its markets.

Meijer in mid-2006 launched a specialty-foods shopping Web site offering some 40,000 hard-to-find items, including kosher, organic, and international foods.