It was bound to happen, Wal-Mart is starting to court more upscale consumers.  While Costco has become popular for thrifty affluence, Wal-Mart has been strictly a discount operation.  Just the other day, on talk radio,  I heard the redoubtable Tom Leykis telling listeners that Costco was a far more desirable place to scope out romantic partners than Wal-Mart.  Perhaps soon that will no longer the the case as the mega-retailer begins to pay more attention and trends and go after the crowd that is looking for a little mass-tige.  And brands are become interested in reaching Wal-Mart's prodigious customer base.  The Nike-engineered Starter shoe recently made it into Wal-Mart stores.  For Wal-Mart the challenge isn't to get customers into the stores but to get them to "cross the aisle" and make the transition from buying the bulk toliet paper to buying personal items like clothing and jewelry.  

[via Agenda, Inc.]