A New Logo Won’t Solve Wal-Mart’s Image Problems

Wal-Mart needs a new image - bad. The retailer’s latest attempt to upgrade its image isn’t just about being hip - it’s about trying to avoid its bad reputation for unethical business practices.

Just last week a Harris poll showed Wal-Mart’s reputation has been dropping fast. Wal-Mart’s continuing use of sweatshop labor and poor employment practices have undoubtedly harmed it here, as the study also showed these issues top consumers’ concerns. Additional cries of discrimination against women, damage to communities and local economies, unsustainable expansion practices, and unethical business and political dealings all draw an even more grim picture of the company. The company’s practices have earned it a place in the Worst Company in America contest, as well as Corporate Accountability’s Corporate Hall of Shame.

Unfortunately, a new logo won’t solve any of these issues. Wal-Mart might try to prove it’s changed by adopting a new logo and a new catchphrase, but two million employees around the world and countless American communities can feel the impact of a company that still pays poverty wages and drains local economies.

Concerned consumers everywhere should demand more from Wal-Mart than just a new logo.

Wal-Mart to revamp logo at its US stores [Associated Press]
Wal-Mart logo gets facelift [Benton County Daily Record (Ark.)]
Wal-Mart plans prototype store at Cordova site [Memphis Business Journal (Tenn.)]

Posted by Alex Goldschmidt on Monday, June 30, 2008