Building up a digital destination.(ELECTRONICS & ENTERTAINMENT)(Wal-Mart Stores Inc.)

Five years ago, Wal-Mart's consumer electronics departments were a destination for staple items like DVDs, CDs, mid-sized TVs, cameras and camcorders. The only higher-end products were DVD players--before prices began their rapid decline--and the first wave of lower-priced digital cameras.

Now, someone revisiting a CE department after a five-year absence wouldn't recognize the place. Wal-Mart has gone from discount merchandise to upper-tier products like iPods, GPS satellite systems and LCD and plasma TVs that carry price tags that were unfathomable a few years ago. CE now accounts for about 10% of sales at stores and increased more than 9% in fiscal 2006.

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