You can’t always get what you want…

Last week I was in a shopping mood so I headed out to Nordstrom’s.  I left the store empty handed, feeling saddened and disenfranchised and vowing to write to the CEO.  Why?…

I wear size 18-20 clothing and it is difficult to find well-made, fashionable and reasonably priced choices in physical stores.  Of course there are plenty of options online to choose from but sometimes a gal needs to touch the fabric, see the construction, and try an item on before committing to the buy, or at least this grey goddess does.

I could always count on my local Nordstrom’s for its well-curated selection of casual, work, and dressy plus-sized looks.  That all changed with my visit last week, when I spent twenty minuets searching all three floors of the store before locating three overstuffed racks of pawed-over has-beens buried behind the petite section and stuffed into the furthermost corner of the store. I was so frustrated with the lack of selection, compromised real estate, and zero thought for the targeted customer I left the store empty-handed shaking my head and thinking half-jokingly even Walmart offers a better selection of plus-sized clothing than Nordstrom’s….

Turns out this is not such a joke after all.  For the past two years Walmart has quietly been making some very impressive retail maneuvers as it positions itself to become one of the few – if not only –  challengers to Amazon’s domination of all things sold.  Did you know Walmart now owns Jet.com, Modcloth, Hayneedle, Shoebuy, and Bonobos?  It has also introduced two new women’s brands to its lineup; Time and Tru and the plus-sized Terra & Sky to its line-up.  And they are about to open an online flagship store from Lord & Taylor featuring luxury brands no one would ever expect to find in the aisles of Walmart…

For your shopping pleasure Walmart has recently updated their website so it looks fresh, clean, and rich, making even the cheapest product look expensive.  The site features tens of thousands of items not found in stores, at price points that range from economical to extravagant. Don’t believe me?…

Every beach, wedding, cruise, and celebration item pictured above can be purchased through Wally World’s website, with free shipping and returns.  It’s really quite unbelievable.  As Walmart continues to implement its strategy to remain a dominant in-store and on-line retail destination I applaud their enhanced product selection and look forward to their evolution.  In the meantime I will be writing to Blake, Eric, Peter (all Nordstrom’s and all Co-Presidents and Directors) to share my disappointment with their plus-sized strategy.

*This is NOT a sponsored post – I just find the whole retail landscape endlessly fascinating as a business

*You Can’t Always Get What you Want – The Rolling Stones