Wal-mart

[Rex]

I believe in the premise of wal-mart, or moreso Sam Walton. The man built an empire, even after everyone told him he couldn't compete with the big Boys (k-mart, federal)
He wasn't the smartest man in the world, but smart enough to know it and hire the right people. He reckognized the value of computerized inventory before it's time.
I could go on and on, but that wasn't the idea I wanted to go down in this thread.
Has corporate greed overtaken Wal-mart? Our we the consumner beng duped into "putting all our eggs in one basket"?
Wal-mart has an aggressive marketing plan, and a good solid plan at that. I worry that, too late, we will realize that competion will be gone. That Wal-mart will have taken over markets and have a virtual monopoly on goods.
As an employer, Wal-mart is not known for it's generousity to it's associates. (my wife works there, and I can attest to that) Already one of the largest employers in the world, is it getting to the point where, in the interest of profits, they will start dictating benefits, employees salaries etc.

I beleive in Wal-mart, I shop at Wal-mart almost exclusively for any item they sell. I mean lets face it, you can't beat thier prices. K-mart is history, they didn't see the writing on the wall until it was too late. I fear Sears will fall also, once a mainstay of my shopping, they have let thier strongest lines (kenmore and Craftsmen) get weak in the last 10 years.
They've had to cheapen them, to stay in competition, and in doing so, lost the base of consumers that have kept them alive for the last 50 years.

I'd like to hear your opinion on this
Rex

[andy]

Like you said, they're driving smaller shops out of business.
I'm all for capatalism, but how can you support a company that would do something like this?
http://kutv.com/topstories/topstorie..._040185451.htm

[Edit] Here's some more reading material if anyone is interested:
http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/77/walmart.html
http://www.nlcnet.org/campaigns/arch...oduction.shtml
http://www.nlcnet.org/campaigns/arch.../walmart.shtml


I wonder how they keep their prices so low :roll:

[Crys]

I avoid chain stores whenever possible. I'd rather pay a few extra pennies and support local businesses than make some remote CEO even richer. How much of the merchandise at big name stores is made overseas for pennies, and sold to us for fifty bucks by a wage slave who isn't making enough money to live on even though they're working more than full time?

And people wonder why customer service at places like that is so bad...

[ocknar_the_ackerspaz]

IIRC, Sam Walton applied for federal exemption from the minimum wage. :evil:

[Rex]

Great articles, I read them and while they are critical of Wal-mart, they still seem to come off with a sence of respect to Wal-mart.

It did surpirise me that Home depot is the number 2 in sales in the US. For my money they can;t compete with Menards, and I mean that. Menards is cheaper and have better trained personal than any Home Depot I have ever been in.

But Back to Wally world, I am in the Dells, the range of department stores here is very limited. I too, try to buy local whenever I can. I buy my meats from the local meat market, the veggies I get at the local store. Wal-mart veggies aren't that great and don't last long in the fridge.

But I am on a budget, so any boxed items or staples I usually get from wally world. A few cents I can pay, but remember this is a tourist town so it's more than a few cents.

Just to give you an Idea, one year for xmas I bought my wife a foot massager. Well my son wanted a toy sheriffs kit (rifle,badge etc) Wally world didn't have one. Stopping at k-mart to check them for it, I noticed the exact same foot massager for $19 more!!!! and then I checked at a local merchants..31 bucks more!!!!

Wal-mart runs a tight ship, if we had them in congress I've no doubt the national debt would be wiped out and the so called "pork barrel" would be non existant. They have managed to keep thier office cost down below 5%, unheard of, in the retail business, before wally world came about.

While I disagree with some of thier business practices, I admire the fact that even as large as they have grown, thier princiiples are still intact, honesty and integrity. Instead of cornering the market and raising the prices, they strive to keep the cost down and even lower them when able.

I know that isn't a popular opinion, but looking back.. if they hadn't been the way they are, can you imagine the prices we would be paying if they weren't here?

Thank you everyone for your opinions, I hope to hear more
Rex

[AJE]

Yep I couldn't agree with all of you especally Crys, in Manitowoc the city has the second highest unemployment rate in Wisconsin. Lord knows I myself who has an education couldn't even locate some form of a employment. The downtown "Historic" portion is no more than a ghost town, small family run buisnesses are dwindling. We used to have Kmart, Sears, and Cub Foods. But Wal-Mart took over their cliental with the bargain cheap prices. The largest local employer was Mirro Company, but went bankrupt because their largest franciser was Kmart who couldn't stay afloat, therefore Mirro went belly up.

[Kris10]

Frontline recently aired an interesting documentary, Is Wal-Mart Good for America? It was sad to see how Wal-Mart treats small businesses. If businesses won't sell to Wal-Mart at rock-bottom prices, Wal-Mart won't carry their products. Consumers may get a cheaper deal, but businesses can't cover their own costs. This leads to lost jobs. Wal-Mart is also more interested in creating jobs in China than America.

Wal-Mart is a necessary evil, and I feel torn between Wal-Mart and small business. There are some small companies that make great products, and I'll go out of my way or pay more to get them. For basics like a big bottle of Tylenol, I can't justify paying $2 more at the local grocery when I can get it cheaper at Wal-Mart. Until I win the lottery, I have to watch costs. That may mean shopping at Wal-Mart for the best price.

I can't knock the Walton family for what they've done. They developed a unique concept and ran with it. I'd like to see other businesses do the same. I love the "Super" Target in Eau Claire. I'm interested to see if Sears can make the supercenter concept work. Conveinence and price drive commerce, and if other companies can't match Wal-Mart prices, perhaps they can up their level of service to compete. There are a lot of things irritating about Wal-Mart like lack of service, messy and crowded stores, lack of quality items and inconvenient hours (our Wal-Mart closes at 10:00 pm). There is definitely room for a competitor to step in and improve on these things!

The Frontline website has an excellet review of the documentary... highly worth checking out.

[Mutt]

I know this is an old thread, but i just got here...

Originally Posted by Rex

Wal-mart runs a tight ship, if we had them in congress I've no doubt the national debt would be wiped out and the so called "pork barrel" would be non existant. They have managed to keep thier office cost down below 5%, unheard of, in the retail business, before wally world came about.

We'd also have no minimum wage, 12 hour work days, no overtime, an even more materialistic society, more jobs farmed out to foreign nations, more US jobs going to undocumented workers, heavy-handed censorship, not to mention all of the money the fed/state would be shelling out to make up the difference between what the largest corporation in the world pays its employees, and the already obscenely low standard of living our curent government recognizes as reasonable.

Originally Posted by Rex

While I disagree with some of thier business practices, I admire the fact that even as large as they have grown, thier princiiples are still intact, honesty and integrity. Instead of cornering the market and raising the prices, they strive to keep the cost down and even lower them when able.

The only principle i see walmart adhering to is "mo' money,mo' money,mo' money." I see gender discrimination. I see them taking advantage of immigrant workers. i see racial harassment. I see human rights violations. I see a company that likely buys more sweat-shop produced goods than any other.

nothing personal, but walmart is bad.

dialog is good, though.

-Mutt

[Crys]

News from last fall, but applicable to this discussion:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/3747580.stm

"Mexican writers and artists have joined a campaign to stop the US retailer, Wal-Mart, from opening a store near the famous ruins of Teotihuacan."

They're building on part of the site which is not legally protected but which is still, obviously, a part of the archeological site, as witnessed by the discovery of an altar when they were building the parking lot. I wonder what knowledge they've destroyed forever in the name of greed.

[Cesperon]

It wasn't long ago that Walmart had all those ads about how they were saving jobs because they were buying from US manufacturers. (18 jobs saved in KY; 150 saved in LA... remember?) Funny thing is- that campaign was so HUGE many people today still believe it.

BRILLIANT!!! Buy from one or two American companies advertise the heck out of that so everyone thinks the company is pro-America & then buy everything else from overseas & let millions of others loose thier jobs.

Sleezy, underhanded, misleading.. but you have to admit brilliant!

[Rex]

I see most opinions are running against Wal-mart. While I agree with most, I am not anti-Walmart. Sam Walton made the american dream come true. he took on the big guys against all odds, when people told him he was nuts. yet he made it work.
Now, walmart has taken to doing business the"American way" I mean think about it, most businesses have built themselves the same way Walmart has, Walmart has just become bigger and used thier power to thier advantage. Yet they haven't forgotten what got them thier, low prices...thats the bottom line.

Maybe I am lucky, but I have always gotten excellent service from walmart. I have never had a problem returning items, even when I don't have a reciept. The walmarts in this area are all supercenters so they are open 24/7.

I don't buy thier fresh produce or meats. I get them at the local supermarket.. but this is not a cost move or even a loyalty to the local. Rather the local supermarket has better produce (longer fridge life) and better meats.

As for loyalty, a little story, Some years back I supported the local mom and pop general store. They were going to do an addition to thier store and I bid it.... On a $14000 job, I lost it by `$130 to an out of town company. When the owner informed me of that, I was mad. I went home and dug out all my reciepts and checks that I had spent there over the last year..over 9 grand. Going back, I laid them on thier counter, and told the owner, that 130 bucks you saved, just cost you 9 grand in my business, and I never went back in that store.

Thanx for the great response, lets keep it going
Rex

[Cesperon]

Originally Posted by Rex

As for loyalty, a little story, Some years back I supported the local mom and pop general store. They were going to do an addition to thier store and I bid it.... On a $14000 job, I lost it by `$130 to an out of town company. When the owner informed me of that, I was mad. I went home and dug out all my reciepts and checks that I had spent there over the last year..over 9 grand. Going back, I laid them on thier counter, and told the owner, that 130 bucks you saved, just cost you 9 grand in my business, and I never went back in that store.

Thanx for the great response, lets keep it going
Rex

Good for you! Many times I wish I had saved all my reciepts and do the same thing!

I truely believe the to be strong a community needs to support itself. Shop in it when you can & hire from within whenever possible and keep your money & sales tax in your community. I live right on the IL/WI state line (Kenosha-- not a huge shopping mecca) & unfortunately Gurnee IL is closer to me and has more shops than Racine. But still I always try to shop in WI and when I can't, it honestly bothers me to see my dollars going to IL sales tax..

[MrKhay]

Have you looked at how many websites there are that dedicate themselves to bashing Wal-Mart? I'm amazed. I'll post a couple links, just to give you an idea.

WakeUpWalMart.com - Join the fight to change Wal-Mart and change America
Wal-Mart In The News | WalmartWatch.com

While talking with Neighbor Don, he informed me that in a California town, local retailers were going out of business because the people of the community were drawn to the new Wal-Mart Supercenter.

Not to be outdone, or driven out of business, the local retailers banded together and formed a purchasing union in order to buy larger quantities. They were able to offer lower prices than the "big box" store.

Word spread, and customers returned to shopping at the local retailers. Form what I was told by Neighbor Don, lay-offs were imposed, and budgets were cut. He claims that his source is reliable. It didn't take long, (90 days or so), the local retailers were able to close the local Wal-Mart. "Ran'em outa town", says Don.