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Wal-Mart Stops Hyphenating
The economy may be gloomy, but Wal-Mart Stores is brightening up its look.
The world's largest retailer has updated its logo; in the fall, it will begin replacing the store signs that currently say "Wal-Mart," with a star instead of hypen.
The new logo runs "Walmart" all together (Ew! Echoes of Kmart!), followed by a sun-like symbol in burnt orange. It's the logo's first makeover since 1992. And it represents a big payday to some image consultant.
"This update to the logo is simply a reflection of the refresh taking place inside our stores and our renewed sense of purpose to help people save money so they can live better," Wal-Mart said in a statement.
The move continues corporate America's bias against the hyphen. What worked for Time-Life, does not for Time Warner. Companies that merge prefer to smoosh their names together, like ConocoPhilips, or the mouthful that is PricewaterhouseCoopers. Of the 100 biggest American companies, only four have hyphens: Wal-Mart, Hewlett-Packard, Coca-Cola, and TIA-CREF.
by Jeffrey Cane
