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Sales at U.S. Wal-Mart stores open at least a year have fallen in five straight quarters, hurt by competition from lower-priced dollar stores and an economy that has allowed some shoppers to move up to rivals such as Target Corp (TGT.N).

Bill Simon became CEO of the U.S. unit in June and is expected to outline how he and his revamped management team can spur sales.

"It is really important for them to show that they can get traffic in the stores, because that's going to be the key to that stock," said Sarah Henry, equity analyst at MFC Global Investment Management.

Wal-Mart arguably shot itself in the foot as the U.S. economy pulls out of recession, first through a poorly executed attempt to whittle down the products in its stores, followed by a failed attempt to increase traffic with thousands of temporary price "rollbacks."

While sales have done better outside the United States and the company plans to grow even more internationally, the U.S. performance has weighed down Wal-Mart stock.

Wal-Mart shares are up about 1.9 percent this year, well below the 13 percent increase for the Standard & Poor's Retail Index .RLX and a 12.2 percent jump for Target.

SHAKE-UP COULD CONTINUE

Soon after Simon's appointment, the company announced the departure of U.S. merchandising chief John Fleming. His post has not been replaced and four product heads will instead report directly to Simon, the retailer said in September.

"Given how soft sales have been, we were not surprised by the shake-up and think we could see more down the road if trends don't improve soon," J.P. Morgan analyst Charles Grom said in a note to clients.

Wal-Mart's one-time apparel chief has also left. Last month, the company said long-time Chief Financial Officer Tom Schoewe would retire at the end of November.

"We have a whole new management team over there, so it will be important for them to articulate a strategy going forward," Henry said.

Wal-Mart has said it will focus on basics in apparel -- items such as T-shirts and underwear -- to revive what has been a lagging business.

The retailer is also bringing back many of the products that were cut from U.S. stores and shifting from high-profile price "rollbacks" that failed to draw traffic back to what it calls "everyday low prices."

Simon has said the changes being made should improve sales by the fourth quarter.