Skip navigation
MOST POPULAR RELATED TAGS
  • TOPICS
  • SECTORS
  • COMPANIES

Current DateTime: 01:44:48 14 Nov 2009
LinksList Documentid: 24355697
powered by digg
See all Play-by-Play postsSee all Power Lunch posts
Text Size
Feb.20
3:00 PM ET
Tuesday, 20 Feb 2007
CEO Scott Praised, Cautioned On Wal-Mart Turnaround

WalMart
Wal-Mart Stores
[WMT  Loading...      ()   ] topped Wall Street expectations with its 9.8% jump in fourth-quarter profit. So why would anyone want CEO H. Lee Scott to quit? Consultants William Marquard and Michael Bergdahl joined "Power Lunch" to explain -- and perhaps refute -- that line of thinking.

Marquard is the author of "Wal-Smart: What it Really Takes to Profit in a Wal-Mart World" and is co-founder of Marble Leadership Partners, which has counted McDonald's, Walt Disney, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and yes, Wal-Mart among its clients. He is in no hurry to have the CEO ousted.

Marquard maintains that Scott "inherited" baggage including a market multiple that "got well ahead" of the stock and the company's growth. However, the consultant says Scott has presided over a resurgence of the firm's former "productivity loop" and "strong process organization" -- which has helped reverse the six-year downward trend in Wal-Mart's overall-sales growth rate, lifting it to 11.7% from 9.5%. But he cautions investors and C-level executives alike: Scott must maintain focused on "returning to those roots" to sustain today's good news.

Bergdahl agrees. He is co-author of "The Ten Rules Of Sam Walton" -- and served as Walton's motivational "Director of 'People'" at Wal-Mart. He told CNBC's Sue Herera that the world's biggest retailer enjoyed "record sales and revenues" in 2006, and that even if its U.S. growth is slowing, the chain store is soaring globally.


Tools:
PrintEmailAdd This share icon
  • digg share

CNBC HIGHLIGHTS

  • Warren Buffett and Bill Gates spoke to Columbia students, and Buffett made the students a startling offer.
  • Brian L. Roberts
  • For the chief of cable company Comcast, growth has been about making deals – generally very large deals.
  • Some companies may start using insurance to shift carbon risk from their balance sheets to maybe... yours?
  • The president and founder of Genesis Today wants to improve America’s health, and thinks Wal-Mart can help.
  • Switzerland's privacy watchdog is taking legal action to force Google to make changes to its Street View service.
  • A wealthy, distracted Texas driver crashed his million-dollar Bugatti Veyron sports car into a salt marsh, say police.
ADD COMMENTS
Remaining characters


Current DateTime: 01:03:47 14 Nov 2009
LinksList Documentid: 29778428

Current DateTime: 01:02:29 14 Nov 2009
LinksList Documentid: 29779196

Current DateTime: 01:02:29 14 Nov 2009
LinksList Documentid: 29779199

Current DateTime: 01:02:29 14 Nov 2009
LinksList Documentid: 29779198
  Data is a real-time snapshot  *Data is delayed at least 15 minutes
Global Business and Financial News, Stock Quotes, and Market Data and Analysis

© 2009 CNBC, Inc.  All Rights Reserved.
A Division of NBC Universal
Thomson ReutersThomson Reuters