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Old 02-01-2012, 10:38 PM   #15
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Of course. Walmart is representative of the old evil free market capitalism that made this country great.

Hang'em high! Tax 100% of their profits. Throw them to the dogs. Marxism is the way to go. You bet.

The same with Home Depot. They ran all the mom and pop hardware stores out of business didn't they? Hang'em high! Tax 100% of their profits. Take away their citizenship. Capitalism just doesn't work. Bring back Karl Marx. Come on socialism. Down with Walmart, Home Depot.................let's see,.........who's next.........I know, McDonald's, Burger King......what about all those mom and pop burger joints they ran out of business? Let's see, who else in the business world can we diss? How about.....................and....................a nd.....................

Get a grip.
Thank you. And aren't they the nation's largest EMPLOYER? I don't get the Walmart bashing. People want CHEAP stuff and Walmart delivers.
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Old 02-01-2012, 10:48 PM   #16
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Interstingly in the area I live we have 3 Wally Worlds, however we also have 4 great small hardware stores. One of them is very well known by anyone that lives here for more then a few years; they make a point to make sure the owner or one of the staff greet you as you walk in the door and help you quickly find what you want. However if you want to just roam you are free to do. Sure prices are a bit higher, but you know what when I have a unique problem I can go to John, the owner, explain to him and he'll help me figure a way to make something work.

I won't dismiss Wally World, the reality is that during our economic challenges their aggressive pricing has helped to keep inflation in check and things affordable for many. I just choose not to shop there myself.
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Old 02-01-2012, 10:56 PM   #17
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And really McDonalds was the first example of a mega company popping up everywhere. Today, years after theres still a ton of other fast food places. Same as walmart, there will always be the smaller business' that will find there speciality. If it isnt Walmart, McDonalds, Sears, it will be another big store filling the need.
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Old 02-02-2012, 12:03 AM   #18
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Yeah and they don't have a hitching rail for my horse nor a drinking trough for him. I'll be blasted if I'm a gonna shop there.
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Old 02-02-2012, 06:03 AM   #19
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If you read the history of Wal-Mart, there are a couple of interesting facts.

1. Sam Walton's initial success was based on his uncanny ability to pick business locations along with his merchandizing style. While one could argue that they don't like a particular Wal-Mart being where it is, one of the greatest strengths of the company still seems to be where they put their stores.
2. Many of the locations where Walton's stores place were under served by others. True enough, he went head to head with a couple of businesses initially but many other places, there wasn't an alternative and Walton's store flourished.
3. In the 60's, according to Wikipedia, one of the Wal-Mart principals was to market American made goods. It would be interesting to look at whether the aggressive price cutting (from the vendor) by Wal-Mart was a contributor to driving some American suppliers out of business. Sears, General Motors and several other large companies have been responsible for bankrupting or nearly so some of the vendors that they had. Several of the engine makers (Kohler, Briggs and Straton) did not fare well with the
Sear's
4. Like it or not, we are in a world market today. Wal-Mart would be another business failure like K Mart was if they hadn't kept pace with the business climate changes. That includes where they buy their products. Many of the other retail chains like Academy also get most of their stock from foreign suppliers but that fact isn't as news worthy.

I, too, have noticed that other retail outlets have better prices than Wal-Mart. On a range of items, Home Depot beats Wal-Mart and not just by a little. It is up to consumers to figure that out for themselves and not to be taken in by Wal-Mart's slogans.
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Old 02-02-2012, 06:11 AM   #20
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I just read a post on a thread that was close that hit home regaurding WalMart.
I believe that post was probably mine in this thread http://www.irv2.com/forums/f64/what-has-america-become-114034-3.html
I believe what the OP was getting at is we ARE a victim of our own creation but most of us don't think of the long term effects of our actions. I have seen first had what has happened to a community because of WM moving in and smaller shops having to close and the loss of job due to their purchasing power. I was watching a special on TV one night about America's finical dependance on China and WM was a BIG portion of this report. I really wish I could remember the name of the show. It was showing a Murray lawn mower plant in Ohio that was moving to China because WM was dictating what they would pay and the only way to get that price was move to China. What really blew me away was an interview the host had with an employee of that manufacturing plant. It went like this (not word for word but pretty close):

Host: This facility is closing and moving to China correct?
Employee: Yes it is.
Host: And as we have shown you, it is because of Wal Mart and the way they dictate their prices correct?
Employee: Yes it is.
Host: So essentially you and everyone else here are losing you job because of Wal Mart right?
Employee: Yes that's right
Host: So, are you still going to shop at Wal Mart?
Employee (with a confused look on their face): Well, yes I am.

We truly are a victim of our own creation. Here is a pretty go site to look at Watch The Full Program Online | Is Wal-Mart Good For America? | FRONTLINE | PBS
Now it really sounds like I am bashing WM and I guess I pretty much am. Do I shop there? Yes I do because I don't have any other feasible option. Everything else in my area has closed and I'd have to travel about an hour to get anything else but groceries (clothing, electronics, ect...).

Now, it is all our fault as consumers? NO, NO, NO, NO, and NO!!!!!! A good portion is also corporate greed.

I know it sounds like I'm preaching but I'm really just . I don't know or have the answer. This is just my opinion FWIW
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Old 02-02-2012, 06:16 AM   #21
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I, too, have noticed that other retail outlets have better prices than Wal-Mart. On a range of items, Home Depot beats Wal-Mart and not just by a little. It is up to consumers to figure that out for themselves and not to be taken in by Wal-Mart's slogans.
You bring some very valid points in your post but I want to address this as it relates to my area. We don't have hardly any other choice to compare to that isn't about an hour away. The next closest major retailer is, you guessed it, another Wal Mart! If you live in or close to a major city you have a choice, but for those of us in rural America we really don't after a WM moves in.
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Old 02-02-2012, 06:55 AM   #22
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There is another facet to Wal-Mart that doesn't get mentioned much. Wal-Mart beats up their suppliers to no end. Much of their profitability is based on how they beat on their suppliers. We have a client who had the copyright on a particular camo pattern. He was getting $1.50 a yard royalty on the pattern. Wal-mart came to him and said they would guarantee him 500,000 yards, but he had to cut his royalty to $.50 a yard. This would destroy his current outlets so he refused. When most companies jump at the possible sale of that much material, Wal-Mart then goes back to them and TELLS them that their royalty is now $.10 a yard. That's one of the ways they make money.

The big boxes are also notorious for overcharging for items where the pricing is not that public. When we remodeled our offices a few years ago I bought a light fixture from a local dealer. The fixture costs $19.95. The fixture wouldn't work for our application and I was going to be driving by a Home Depot store so I decided to stop. As I was browsing through their lighting department I saw the same exact lighting fixture that I had paid $19.95 for at the local store. The Home Depot price was $36.95.

Remember Sy Syms? His tag line of "An educated consumer is our best customer" is the exact opposite for the big boxes of Wal-Mart, Home Depot, Lowes, and Best Buy. Those stores find that an educated consumer is their worst customer.
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Old 02-02-2012, 07:09 AM   #23
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Of course. Walmart is representative of the old evil free market capitalism that made this country great.

Hang'em high! Tax 100% of their profits. Throw them to the dogs. Marxism is the way to go. You bet.

The same with Home Depot. They ran all the mom and pop hardware stores out of business didn't they? Hang'em high! Tax 100% of their profits. Take away their citizenship. Capitalism just doesn't work. Bring back Karl Marx. Come on socialism. Down with Walmart, Home Depot.................let's see,.........who's next.........I know, McDonald's, Burger King......what about all those mom and pop burger joints they ran out of business? Let's see, who else in the business world can we diss? How about.....................and....................a nd.....................

Get a grip.
Thank you. And let's make sure we tell every business how much money they can make because we know how much is too much. And cheap fuel is a god given right. And family farms have to be subsidized because they are quaint and I remember how much fun I had at my grandpa's farm. Every worker should be paid a lot of money even if their productivity does not warrant it. Maybe it's time for us old folks to get over it and realize that the world does not work like we want it to - our time is over. Maybe we should quit whining and fighting change and lend some wisdom instead of wishing for what used to be.
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Old 02-02-2012, 07:12 AM   #24
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There is another facet to Wal-Mart that doesn't get mentioned much. Wal-Mart beats up their suppliers to no end. Much of their profitability is based on how they beat on their suppliers. We have a client who had the copyright on a particular camo pattern. He was getting $1.50 a yard royalty on the pattern. Wal-mart came to him and said they would guarantee him 500,000 yards, but he had to cut his royalty to $.50 a yard. This would destroy his current outlets so he refused. When most companies jump at the possible sale of that much material, Wal-Mart then goes back to them and TELLS them that their royalty is now $.10 a yard. That's one of the ways they make money.

The big boxes are also notorious for overcharging for items where the pricing is not that public. When we remodeled our offices a few years ago I bought a light fixture from a local dealer. The fixture costs $19.95. The fixture wouldn't work for our application and I was going to be driving by a Home Depot store so I decided to stop. As I was browsing through their lighting department I saw the same exact lighting fixture that I had paid $19.95 for at the local store. The Home Depot price was $36.95.

Remember Sy Syms? His tag line of "An educated consumer is our best customer" is the exact opposite for the big boxes of Wal-Mart, Home Depot, Lowes, and Best Buy. Those stores find that an educated consumer is their worst customer.

The great mitigation, of course, is the Internet. There are relatively few items which I can buy locally that I cannot also shop for on the Internet. While Google and other search engines try to control which options you see, particularly in which order, a diligent shopper can quickly scan the availability and catch places like Home Depot overcharging for seldom purchased or small market items. I do admit that sometimes the local retail and Internet prices are all pretty much the same.

Wal-Mart and most of the other big chains offer some sort of a price match policy. If you can find a product advertized at a better price and present the local ad, they will adjust their price accordingly. I do understand that "local" ad does not much help the other poster for whom alternative stores are a long drive away. Wal-Mart and others may or may not recognize those ads as local.
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Old 02-02-2012, 07:17 AM   #25
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You bring some very valid points in your post but I want to address this as it relates to my area. We don't have hardly any other choice to compare to that isn't about an hour away. The next closest major retailer is, you guessed it, another Wal Mart! If you live in or close to a major city you have a choice, but for those of us in rural America we really don't after a WM moves in.
The one of the keys to Sam Walton's location strategy was to pick more remote locations where the other large retailers didn't see value. Montgomery Ward, for example, didn't have anything close to the Walton location selection criteria. Once Walton's store had put a damper on the small local merchants, there was no other choice. It is called controlling your marketplace and he did it very well.
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Old 02-02-2012, 07:30 AM   #26
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Your saying that you would pay $14/lb for the same steak at a grocer you can buy at Sam's for $6/lb? I don't get it.
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Old 02-02-2012, 07:34 AM   #27
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You most certainly cannot blame everything on WalMart. Sure alot of shop there but there are other companies where we also shop that do the same thing. Maybe not to the magnitude of Wally World but they still do it. I used to be employed by one of these companies who actually were UK based but wanted us to purchase the majority of our stock from well you no where.
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Old 02-02-2012, 08:00 AM   #28
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Interstingly in the area I live we have 3 Wally Worlds, however we also have 4 great small hardware stores. One of them is very well known by anyone that lives here for more then a few years; they make a point to make sure the owner or one of the staff greet you as you walk in the door and help you quickly find what you want. However if you want to just roam you are free to do. Sure prices are a bit higher, but you know what when I have a unique problem I can go to John, the owner, explain to him and he'll help me figure a way to make something work.

I won't dismiss Wally World, the reality is that during our economic challenges their aggressive pricing has helped to keep inflation in check and things affordable for many. I just choose not to shop there myself.
In the Tallahassee area we have Ace hardware stores that do a booming business ,they compete with the big box home improvement stores with service ,not price. When you walk into one of their stores it's like walking onto a car lot...they jump on you. I try and support the small stores ,but if they don't want to "try" and get my business ,I will go on.
Too bad they don't sell chicken, I like me some Walmart chicken.
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