Retailers Emulate Wal-Mart's Focus On Necessities

ANNE D'INNOCENZIO

NEW YORK (AP) — As Wal-Mart prepares for its annual shareholder meeting Friday, several large retailers are emulating the king of one-stop shopping and offering more necessities.

The stores are trying to keep registers humming, as Wal-Mart has, amid a recession that has pushed consumers to cut back spending to essentials — food, cleaning products and other consumables.

Target, known for cheap chic clothing and home accessories, is adding fresh food and relaunching an in-store line of home and personal-care products like sunscreen as up & up. Toys R Us Inc., which has long carried baby formula and diapers, is rolling out a new section in 260 of its almost 600 stores with more consumables, like paper towels, hand soap and detergent. ...