Just what we all need.

[KvHagedorn]

Bigger monopolies destroying competition, choice, the small businessman, and a free society in general. Wal Mart's goal is to have everyone wear a blue smock and make minimum wage.. that is, unless you can be brainwashed into becoming one of those fundamentalist religious fanatics they call management.

http://articles.news.aol.com/news/article.adp?id=20060207220809990027&_ccc=6&cid=842

[Tjalfe]

Walmart responds to a demand. If nobody wanted their products, they would go out of business overnight.. bitch about the consumers, not the store.
.. and if they take your business away, maybe you need to educate people more, before they buy at wally world

[Jessterw]

Several of the management at our Walmart are atheists... hrm. Oddly enough, we have more choice here with Walmart being present. Plans are for another location across town from the current, which has directly resulted in plans for several other stores to move in.

The small businessman? Well, the ones who didn't value their customers are gone, the ones who did and do are still around. Funny that.

Mind you, not saying Walmart is all roses, but the worst I can say about them is their treatment of their labour force. Then again, they're not alone in that.

[KvHagedorn]

I'm talking about the fundamentalist religion OF Wal-Mart. I've met some of these people. They are scary. Wal-Mart IS god to them.

Tjalfe, there is psychology at work at this level. The MAJORITY of people are pretty much lemmings that can be led around by bright lights and the promise of low prices. Those of us who would actively boycott Wal-Mart are too few and are left with no where else to go, especially in some of the smaller cities where Wal-Mart has destroyed the local retailers, and even some chains.

[Jessterw]

Got ya on the religion bit. Can't really argue that.

What I do find odd, and I'm not saying it doesn't happen, but Stillwater (here) is pretty damn small. The only reason we could be considered "big" is that Oklahoma State University is here. Moving on and as I stated above, having Walmart here has not really hurt the local retailers or other chains present. I think a lot of it has to do with the relationships our local shops have with the community and thus their customer base. Sure those people still go to Walmart for some things, but they also keep the locals in business.

I won't buy most electronics or furniture at Walmart, but I'll be damned if I spend more somewhere else for the same product. Mouths to feed and all.

As an aside, our Walmart might be one of the few that actually treats its employees well.

[ALBPM]

Blue Smocks = Smurfs ....ROFL!!!!

[Umfriend]

Tjalfe, there is psychology at work at this level. The MAJORITY of people are pretty much lemmings that can be led around by bright lights and the promise of low prices.

Man, for an instance I was going to concur completely...but then I saw this thread is not about religion

[GT98]

KhV,

You need to get out of the Mid-west...Walmart came to NJ about 10-15 years ago and the only thing that happened was one of the weaker discount stores went out of buiness...though I think it had problems before that.

None of the local mom and pop stores where really affected by Walmarts coming and hell we didnt get Target till 1998 in my area...and they are doing well also..and non-union too..

Peronally I think the threat from Walmart is overstated...most people I see at the local scuzzball Walmart 5 minutes from my place is full of Hidisic Jews and Minorites. I rather go across the street to Target, where the store is much cleaner then Walmart.

But Then again, I do live in area that has several million People living in it with in an hours drive

[KRSESQ]

We're getting TWO Super-Walmarts AND a Sam's Club opening here this spring. It remains to be seen whether there is enough business in this part of the state (let alone the Bismarck-Mandan area - pop. 80,000 more or less) to support two major stores like this. In the last year we've gotten a new Kohls, Bestbuy, PetSmart, Lowes, and Home Depot. More developement than in the last ten years combined and more on the way.

Walmart may be starting to over-extend itself. It's the fate of all major retailers. After the founder and driving force dies and business-school grads take over, it's usually just a matter of time before the whole thing collapses under its own weight. Just look at Sears, Kmart, Montgomery Ward, and Woolworth. All were giants in their time and now they're more or less just footnotes.

I'm not too worried about Walmart impacting my business, at any rate. I'm sure I'll be kept busy enough repairing and upgrading the ultra-cheap computers they'll be selling.

Kevin

[TnT]

Walmart responds to a demand. If nobody wanted their products, they would go out of business overnight.. bitch about the consumers, not the store.
.. and if they take your business away, maybe you need to educate people more, before they buy at wally world

Actually we can bitch about the store. Around here we have been keeping Walmart out by using land use laws and city planning regulations. Plus stores like New Season Market and Whole Foods Market are sprouting everywhere, it looks like not many want a Walmart around.

From what I understand, Walmart targets about 50,000 people per store. Here there are several 100,000 with not a Walmart nearby. They are trying extremely hard to build with various tactics (lobbying, lawsuits, propaganda campaigns, etc.) and I hope they continue to be unsuccessful.

Anyways, market forces isn't always a good way to determine what is the right thing to do. People are sheep and do what's best for them at the moment to the detriment of others. Plenty know some things they do is wrong, but could care less because they aren't affected by the consequences.


@GT98

For areas where nature is a bit more preserved, Walmart also has a knack for building on land that should be left alone. Other stores have avoided those areas due to city planning regulations and also the bad rep it would create, but not Walmart. That's one of the reasons Walmart gets so much flak out here, not just the labor and small business issues.

[Brian Ellis]

I live in a village of 1110 inhabitants. It has THREE, yes, THREE successful Mom and Pop supermarkets, yet we have Carrefour (the second biggest supermarket chain in the world whose aim is to undercut everybody by at least 3% on all products) in a neighbouring village, about 7 minutes drive from here. What effect has Carrefour had on the local supermarkets? None, that I can see; they are all thriving. Yet the Carrefour car park is always full. Why? Because people go there only for the special offers or for imported goods that the local ones don't even offer, which possibly represent only 2 or 3% of the weekly shopping basket. They use the local ones for normal, everyday, shopping, decent service and a gossip.

IMHO, the big chains are not reponsible for the demise of small retailers. The ones who go down the drain are those which are badly managed or do not offer the kind of service necessary for the concept of the small retailer. The latter cannot fight the big'uns on their own ground, but they can offer a different kind of fight that the Walmarts, Carrefours et al. cannot engage in: service.

[TransformX]

Here's a problem Brian, IKEA offers no service whatsoever, here it's even worse, they won't even help people carry stuff to their car. Most of their products are sub level as well. YET, the public goes there en-mass, buying their cheap crap over and over again.
Then again, when you see local politics, it kind of explains itself..

[lowlifecat]

IKEA has cheap food. Some stores even have 1$ breakfasts. Come for the food, leave with a lamp.

As for Wal-mart, any store that shuts down one of it's branches because it's workers unionized aint worth the ground it's built on. thier excuse; they wouldn't be making as much money.

hell, if more companies where like wal-mart, we and our children would still be working in textile factories for 1$ day.

Maybe Wal-mart should save even more money by joining the whole outsourcing thing. Import a whole bunch of cheap labor from asia and pay 'em a fraction of minimum wage. I'm sure Nike (and others) will be glad to lend 'em a few working, they'd probably throw in a overseer or two, complete with whips and all.

/meow

[TransformX]

Maybe Wal-mart should save even more money by joining the whole outsourcing thing. Import a whole bunch of cheap labor from asia and pay 'em a fraction of minimum wage. I'm sure Nike (and others) will be glad to lend 'em a few working, they'd probably throw in a overseer or two, complete with whips and all.

/meow

Too late, Wal-mart is trading with China in volumes that dwarf countries.
Wal-mart produced cheaper and lower grade crap in China to reduce costs.

[Dr Mordrid]

WalMarts opening around here get little reaction. They don't force smaller retailers out. To the contrary many times small mini malls full of mom & pops open up on the land in front of their stores. They most certainly didn't drive out the areas main department store, Meijers, because that (privately held) chain is more competition than even WalMart can handle.

Dr. Mordrid