Last year Wal-Mart decided it would try and compete with retailers like Target and J.C. Penny, by trying to create a more contemporary, fashionable line of clothing to be sold in its stores. They hired a designer, rented some Manhattan studio space, and set to work creating a bland mix of ill-fitting clothing that occasionally borders on offensive.

Not surprisingly, sales have tanked, and now the company is pulling the new line from hundreds of stores. Plus, the reaction to the company's Metro7 line of nightclub wear was so bad, it actually sent customers shopping elsewhere, which has effected sales figures for the store as a whole.

I'm not sure what they were thinking. The idea behind creating a line of fashionable clothes would -- presumably -- be to entice those who are interested in looking trendy into the store. But no one who knows what they're buying would ever be into the lines Wal-Mart created, and those that aren't interested in fashion would never have bought these clothes in the first place.

Hopefully, if they try it again, they'll hire some designers who know what they're doing.