It’d be nice of the Wal-Mart Managers to take a break on the PR team and maybe wait a few weeks before distributing fake back-to-school lists. But by then school would have already started, and the opportunity’s out the window…

Kelby Carr, via Consumerist and Boing Boing:

My daughter is about to start kindergarten, so naturally we did some back to school shopping. Our state sales tax break weekend happened recently. When we noticed the local Wal-Mart had shopping lists not only specific to school and grade level, but to teacher, we were thrilled. We started tossing items in the cart to spend, spend, spend.

Weren’t we a little surprised to learn afterwards that Wal-Mart invented those lists. Not only were we a bit surprised to learn they did not, in fact, base the lists on anything remotely suggested by the school. Wal-Mart, in fact, put items on the list that are BANNED from being brought to school.

Our daughter’s school said Wal-Mart makes up those lists on their own, and a number of items (such as crayons) are on a list from the school. A list of items parents are specifically told not to have their child bring to school. Seriously?

(No scanned copies of the actual lists have yet been posted, but we’ll keep an eye out for them. )

Maybe in some parallel universe - where marketers are kings and consumers buy everything that’s advertised - this strategy makes sense, but we just can’t seem to understand how holding a fashion show is supposed to send the message that Wal-Mart is no longer interested in fashion.

See, Wal-Mart has had a lot of problems with its apparel lines. When it sold basic (read: ugly) clothes like high-waisted jeans and shapeless t-shirts, no one bought them because they were, well, ugly. So then Wal-Mart started selling “trendy” items like spandex leggings. Unsurprisingly, the spandex leggings didn’t sell either and Wal-Mart vowed to never go upscale again.

So the retailer’s recent fashion show in San Francisco’s supertrendy Union Square doesn’t seem to make sense. Is Wal-Mart planning to roll out a line of leather mini dresses just in time for back to school? If not, what’s the value retailer doing with the likes of high end designers?

Wal-Mart’s fashion show previews back-to-school [Reuters]

Wal-Mart Stores Inc presented a colorful, casual line of youthful looks for kids and teens on Saturday at a fashion show that previewed the mass-market chain’s new low-cost offerings for back to school.

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