Walmart bets on ‘Flashlight’ sneakers

Summer selling frenzy includes bacon-shaped pool floats, instant tent

These, says Walmart executives, could be the year’s biggest sensation: high-top sneakers with light-up soles.

Yes, says Steve Bratspies, Walmart’s chief merchandizing officer, stomping onstage in his black Flashlight sneakers, you heard right: the world’s largest retailer is expecting to sell $25 million worth of the sneakers this year. At $19.97 a pop (all figures US), that’s 1.25 million pairs of shoes.

“Like these sneakers?” he asks a crowd of thousands of screaming Walmart employees, two days before the company’s annual shareholder meeting. “Flashlight Sneakers. These are a huge trend we’re betting on this year.”

And if the company does sell the expected amount, he says that would be “enough lights for us to light up 48 Rockerfeller Center Christmas Trees. That’s a lot of lights!” (It’s worth noting that $25 million in flashingshoe sales would be a drop in the bucket for Walmart, making up less than 0.01 per cent of the $298.4 billion in U.S. sales it reported last year.)

It wasn’t immediately clear what sizes would be available, or what makes the shoes different from similar models from, say, 20 years ago.

But that didn’t stop Bratspies from touting his newest wares. Similar shoes at “the biggest national brands,” he said, will sell for about $60 a pair. At Walmart, they’ll cost about one-third of that.

“We beat on price, don’t we?” he said. “Every day, we beat on price.”

Then he rattled off more of the company’s biggest selling points: “Sales are up. Traffic is up. Momentum is ours.”

Bratspies turned to the company’s employees: “Your job is to create energy and excitement behind every apple, every bicycle, every pair of pajamas, every light bulb, every single thing you sell in our stores.”

Other offerings to hit shelves this year include an “instant-cabin tent” that can be set up in about one minute. It comes with LED lights and a screen porch. There’s also pool floats shaped like bacon.

However, when employees tried to set up the tent on the stage, it took well over a minute, before Bratspies declared, “I think it’s broken, actually. We’ve got a problem. Trust me, it’s really good.”

But no matter, he said: “Next up, we’ve got a sweet treat that’s already a huge hit in our stores.”

Bags of caramel M&Ms parachuted down from the ceiling.

Employees went wild: “Wow, wow!” “Oh my god!” “Come to mama, baby, come to mama!”

Then the other highlights: a cooler that holds ice up to five days, gallons of glue that sell for $12.88 (of which Walmart plans to sell seven million units), cupcakes and emoji smileys.

“These things are fun and already flying off shelves,” Bratspies said as the crowd cheered. “We’ve got ducks, swans. All at a really great Walmart price.”