Walmart And Hostile Takeover

[Bulldog_916]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/time/20090909/us_time/08599192069800

Lately, it seems that Walmart is becoming more and more encompassing and it's scaring me. There are fewer and fewer options out there anymore. Mervyn's by me dropped off last year, a lot of other stores are barely holding on. The more drop off, the fewer options we have as shoppers as to what kind of experience we want to have locally. There eventually will only be the Walmart experience. Am I the only one who WANTS to actively avoid Walmart in the search for a better shopping experience? Will there be a better shopping experience after Walmart finishes tearing down markets left and right? I fear the Walmart takeover because it makes me feel funneled into a rat maze. We will soon have no choice but to hit the town Walmart for our pharmaceuticals, food, and clothing because local companies wouldnt be able to keep up with the low prices. Granted, it only has so far it can go, but who knows how they can manipulate the markets in order to keep expanding?

Would anybody else be willing to pay the extra price to shop somewhere better? There arent many mom-and-pop clothing stores in big cities, it's mostly department stores or mall storefronts. But grocers like Raleys or Safeway or Whole Foods I'd be willing to shop at for a better experience and have gotten that better experience 9/10 times, especially with Raleys. Just try and find the produce guy at Walmart. He works midnight shift at the 24 hour SuperCenter in Antelope. I want friendly service. I want a better quality of product. I'll pay the price for it if necessary. I want access to the butcher. I want to ask the produce guy about the produce. I want to know that someone can help me find something in whatever isle if I need the help. I dont get any of that at Walmart. You have to practically pull the salespeople over and grab them to ask them something and half the time you cant understand what the hell they're saying because English isnt their native language or it is and they just butcher it to death.

I think we as a society need to stop trying to satisfy our cravings for junk and technology in favor of a more sustainable family environment where people can cook and buy better food and spend time seeing their kids grow up. I've found great satisfaction in cooking and the enjoyment of shopping for the fresh ingredients heightens that urge for a simple and good life.

I think service in retail needs to get better and a good way to do that is to increase wages. Satisfy your employees and your customers benefit from that satisfaction and so does your bottom line.

What do you guys think?

[fcbayern]

I avoid Wal-Mart like the plague. I rather pay a little more at Target. I think the shopping eperience is 10x better.

Now as a company Wal-Mart is great!! Thats why I have plenty of Wal-mart stock in my portfolio

[Sonthert]

Hate Wal Mart. Wouldn't go in there. Wouldn't sell them pennies for $.25...I'd never get my money from them.

[McLovin600]

I will probably be in the minority but i LOVE walmart. please note: the one I go to does not sell produce and does not have a bucher shop (these are things I wouldnt want to be cheap about anyway). yes its crowded, long lines, often messy and lots of foreigners working, but NOBODY can beat those prices (target is not even close unless things are on sale). As for the product, they have super cheap crap (which is what some people want) but also have the higher end stuff to go with it (at a better price than anywhere else). I can buy a 30$ POS TV with the vhs lol or right next to it the Sony plasma. I needed a cheap desk the other day for the basement, nothing special by any means and got one for like 20$. should I have gone to some small store and spent 100? I used to work at Walgreens and Jewel Osco, and even with all their eleventy billion coupons, walmart is still either equal or cheaper and you only have to go to one store. Evil company? totaly agree but I can't argue with a cart full of necessities for less than $50. Parking is an absolute nightmare.

[Svaals]

We have a couple other grocers in town still, but a few of them did close when we got a Super Center. I agree, though, I'd rather not go there unless I absolutely have to. Their produce always sucks, they don't have a butcher or a fish monger that you can talk to anymore. The local grocery stores are much better, and are cheaper, too, if you catch a sale. We also have an Aldi (Which is kind of like BagNSave), which is always much cheaper than Wal-Mart. For some things Wal-Mart is definitely cheaper on a day-to-day basis, but it's not worth it to me to go for anything other than lunch meat and ramen noodles.

You will also notice that Wal-Mart offers very few of its employees benefits. Often times I hear of people getting Medicaid when they work just below 40 hours at Wal-Mart. Any company that rich that intentionally screws its employees by keeping them just below full-time is evil.

[Bulldog_916]

I will probably be in the minority but i LOVE walmart. please note: the one I go to does not sell produce and does not have a bucher shop (these are things I wouldnt want to be cheap about anyway). yes its crowded, long lines, often messy and lots of foreigners working, but NOBODY can beat those prices (target is not even close unless things are on sale). As for the product, they have super cheap crap (which is what some people want) but also have the higher end stuff to go with it (at a better price than anywhere else). I can buy a 30$ POS TV with the vhs lol or right next to it the Sony plasma. I needed a cheap desk the other day for the basement, nothing special by any means and got one for like 20$. should I have gone to some small store and spent 100? I used to work at Walgreens and Jewel Osco, and even with all their eleventy billion coupons, walmart is still either equal or cheaper and you only have to go to one store. Evil company? totaly agree but I can't argue with a cart full of necessities for less than $50. Parking is an absolute nightmare.

You gotta remember, there's a reason the prices are so low. Their suppliers are basically building the shit so cheaply using the least expensive near-slave labor it becomes inexpensive for us. But I suppose most department stores sell merchandise of that nature. Manufacturing here has dropped to a near zero level. All I'm saying is I'd rather pay the extra cash for either better merchandise or better service or a better shopping experience. Especially with food. I dont want to scrimp on those kinds of things. That's why I shop at Raley's or Whole Foods Market or Safeway.

[coplinb]

McLovin, those cheap walmart prices cost alot more to other people, like losing your job at a competing grocer, or even losing the business a family worked hard to open in hopes of the 'american dream' Walmart kills small town businesses all over the country every year, and exploits slave labor all over the world.

Anyone who hasnt seen it should watch the movie 'Walmart, The High Cost of Low Prices' Ill be the first to admit that the movie is VERY biased against Walmart, but it does however have the facts to prove it.

[SimplexCoda]

Im not like a wal-mart fanatic, but i havent had a bad experience because of wal-mart that i can think of, sure sometimes its cheaper somewhere else, but wal-mart is so convienant to me.

[kvtaco17]

I'm just gonna say FUCK Wal-Mart... biggest killer of mom and pop shops ever!

[Rani]

There are two Walmarts outside my city limits. My city council has publically stated unequivocally they will never allow the planning commission to put a Walmart within the city because we have so many family run businesses. I go there only if I can find what I need nowhere else and on those occasions I'm in and out in record time buying only the item I went in there for. I don't "shop" there the way I would in any other store.

'Rani

EDIT: By the way, I've been to their home office in Arkansas because they were once a client of mine. They are the absolute worst people to deal with because they openly say, "We don't care what you want or what's fair. We're Walmart." Assholes. Also Sam's Club are the same people if anyone didn't know.

[Ralleac]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/time/20090909/us_time/08599192069800
But grocers like Raleys or Safeway or Whole Foods I'd be willing to shop at for a better experience and have gotten that better experience 9/10 times, especially with Raleys. Just try and find the produce guy at Walmart. I want a better quality of product. I'll pay the price for it if necessary. I want access to the butcher. I want to ask the produce guy about the produce. I want to know that someone can help me find something in whatever isle if I need the help.

What do you guys think?

Companies like Wal Mart, Target, Kroger, Safeway, Albertson's, Vons, Publix...etc... they all make it hard for small businesses to attract customers. I can't say I think one is any better than the other, though. They all follow similar business practices and pay similar wages. When I lived in Texas Wal Mart actually paid better than all the other stores.

I think we have like 1 Wal Mart near Portland. For the most part we only have Fred Meyer, Target, Winco, Albertson's, Safeway, etc... They may as well be Wal Mart. I dislike Safeway simply because they don't have self-checkout. It makes dealing with the long lines ridiculous at most hours of the day.

I dont get any of that at Walmart. You have to practically pull the salespeople over and grab them to ask them something and half the time you cant understand what the hell they're saying because English isnt their native language or it is and they just butcher it to death.

I run into this at Safeway, Albertson's, Fred Meyer, and Target all the time. There are a lot of ESL employees just about everywhere you go, even up here in the Northwest.

[Amn_sinclair]

As far as wal mart goes its not my favorite place to shop but sometimes its the only option. U have to think that it may shut down mom and pop stores which is sad. At the same time though how many more jobs does it create when they open one? When we got our first wal mart super center back home, the only place that closed down was furr gorcery store but that was for other reasons not just the competition. Plus my home town also has a wal mart distribution center in it for the produce and frozen foods and stuff. That place created so many jobs in my town. as far as the wages goes. When i applied for a job there the starting pay was 13 something (min wage was 5.15) u got like 3 weeks of paid Vacation. Then the health plan my mom has the option to use is the equivilant of my step dads retired military health plan. And from what they say its a good Plan. So u may not get the best expeirence working at wal mart but they do help the economy by being able to have so many eemployes.

[NIGHTS OF BAGHDAD]

i just got back from walmart..picked up the office season 5...thats is all

[FiveSpeedF150]

We have a couple other grocers in town still, but a few of them did close when we got a Super Center. I agree, though, I'd rather not go there unless I absolutely have to. Their produce always sucks, they don't have a butcher or a fish monger that you can talk to anymore. The local grocery stores are much better, and are cheaper, too, if you catch a sale. We also have an Aldi (Which is kind of like BagNSave), which is always much cheaper than Wal-Mart. For some things Wal-Mart is definitely cheaper on a day-to-day basis, but it's not worth it to me to go for anything other than lunch meat and ramen noodles.

You will also notice that Wal-Mart offers very few of its employees benefits. Often times I hear of people getting Medicaid when they work just below 40 hours at Wal-Mart. Any company that rich that intentionally screws its employees by keeping them just below full-time is evil.

Capitalism is beautiful like that. Wal-Mart hires the type of people who have nothing to offer companies that offer better compensation. Wal-Mart gets what it pays for in employees, and use the strategy of low prices-no matter what to overcome the complete lack of quality customer service. So far they've done just fine with the strategy.

If I know what I want, need no help whatsoever, and know wal-mart carries it, I will stop by.

Sometimes, however, decent service is well worth the cost.

[fcbayern]

We have a couple other grocers in town still, but a few of them did close when we got a Super Center. I agree, though, I'd rather not go there unless I absolutely have to. Their produce always sucks, they don't have a butcher or a fish monger that you can talk to anymore. The local grocery stores are much better, and are cheaper, too, if you catch a sale. We also have an Aldi (Which is kind of like BagNSave), which is always much cheaper than Wal-Mart. For some things Wal-Mart is definitely cheaper on a day-to-day basis, but it's not worth it to me to go for anything other than lunch meat and ramen noodles.

You will also notice that Wal-Mart offers very few of its employees benefits. Often times I hear of people getting Medicaid when they work just below 40 hours at Wal-Mart. Any company that rich that intentionally screws its employees by keeping them just below full-time is evil.

Capitalism is beautiful like that. Wal-Mart hires the type of people who have nothing to offer companies that offer better compensation. Wal-Mart gets what it pays for in employees, and use the strategy of low prices-no matter what to overcome the complete lack of quality customer service. So far they've done just fine with the strategy.

If I know what I want, need no help whatsoever, and know wal-mart carries it, I will stop by.

Sometimes, however, decent service is well worth the cost.

% sped is absolutely correct, this is capitalizm at its best. Wal-mart offers low pay and very little benefits to its employees. It offers medium to low quality items for a low price.

The employees continue to work there because its obviously not that bad or else they would quit (they are free to do so)

And the customers also continue to shop there, for some reason, if not they would shop elsewhere (they are also free to do so)

This is why we live in America (most of us anyway) because we are free to work and shop where ever we want. You dont like working or shopping there.. GO SOMEWHERE ELSE..

Now why cant our healthcare system be that simple..

[Sonthert]

i just got back from walmart..picked up the office season 5...thats is all

Thats helpful.

We should support stores that not only make jobs for selling the stuff, but make jobs for people making the stuff.

My uncles run one of the largest small farms in Michigan. Not too well, lately, I'm afraid. They had to stop raising cattle, which was a good money maker. New laws were enacted that are pointless other than to squeeze out the little farms from raising cattle. My Uncle has told me that 20 years ago, they would go to auction to sell their cattle and there'd be 8 or so bidders from different companies to bid on the cattle. If the steer was a good one, it would fetch a good price. If it wasn't, it wouldn't. 5 years ago or so, they told me that now at auction there is only one or two bidders and they both work for WalMart. Guess how good the prices are? Awful. They have no competition. You can decide not to sell the cattle at the absurdly low prices they offer and let them freeze to death in the winter, but thats no good. People didn't suddenly stop eating meat...did they?

Somebody made the point that the prices for meat at Wal Mart are high. True. They have gained a virtual monopoly in lots of areas of the meat packing industry (as I hope the above example illustrates)...they can buy low and sell high...because you don't have a choice. Let them go and do whatever they want to and everything there will follow that example. The prices won't be cheap anymore. Mark this day down. You have been warned. Lots of people that live in small towns where Wal Marts moved in and killed all the local businesses claim the same thing happened. The prices went sky-high once the competition was snuffed out. Other people have claimed that Wal Mart uses predatory pricing against competitors. That is, a Wal Mart moves into a small town that has a hardware store and an appliance store. They make the prices on hardware and appliances absurdly low...until those small stores die off, then the prices shoot up. Enjoy the low prices while they last. You'll end up paying more in the long run at Wal Mart than you would have by supporting a decent, hardworking small store (Bias!, Bias!).

I say supposedly on several points in the previous section because I don't really know, its all 3rd hand anecdotes.

[NIGHTS OF BAGHDAD]

its not really my concern how they treat there employees..if a store has what i want for the price i want it i go buy it..no one is forcing them to work there..everyone has there own free will to do what they want with there lives..it can be a doctor, work the night shift in a factory, work customer service at walmart or even get rich off of other peoples addiction point is i dont care how you treat your employees..dont give them a lunch break..oh well..no benefits...oh well..again if they dont like it..they know where the door is..i only care about what you sell and how much you sell it..thats what brings me and others to you..product and price..so i really dont feel that you should judge me because i shop at a place like walmart

[liquidglass]

I agree walmart is taking over certain places, especially in the south (in my opinion) because of the lack of speciality shops as it is, walmart is more convenient per town than dozens of specialty shops on one main street.

I personally like walmart, mostly b/c i've always grown up with it, I shop at a few places aka wherever has the lowest price, so if they have it, then I'm there. And honestly I'm not too worried about it monopolizing completely. Because just as with any Goliath in a free (as close as the world is to one) market will have it's Davids. Walmart had to compete with other companies that were doing the same thing it was when it came around, same for target, etc.
But just as they had things to overcome they also have flaws, which will allow for a smaller business to exploit these flaws. Like personalization, I bet you money a radioshack beside a walmart will sell more electronics and cell phones, why? because they are personal to the customers, not a faceless corporation of drones (no offense if you work there)

People worry, I just get the best deal or pay a little more for the best experience and it will work itself out.

[Svaals]

We have a couple other grocers in town still, but a few of them did close when we got a Super Center. I agree, though, I'd rather not go there unless I absolutely have to. Their produce always sucks, they don't have a butcher or a fish monger that you can talk to anymore. The local grocery stores are much better, and are cheaper, too, if you catch a sale. We also have an Aldi (Which is kind of like BagNSave), which is always much cheaper than Wal-Mart. For some things Wal-Mart is definitely cheaper on a day-to-day basis, but it's not worth it to me to go for anything other than lunch meat and ramen noodles.

You will also notice that Wal-Mart offers very few of its employees benefits. Often times I hear of people getting Medicaid when they work just below 40 hours at Wal-Mart. Any company that rich that intentionally screws its employees by keeping them just below full-time is evil.

Capitalism is beautiful like that. Wal-Mart hires the type of people who have nothing to offer companies that offer better compensation. Wal-Mart gets what it pays for in employees, and use the strategy of low prices-no matter what to overcome the complete lack of quality customer service. So far they've done just fine with the strategy.

If I know what I want, need no help whatsoever, and know wal-mart carries it, I will stop by.

Sometimes, however, decent service is well worth the cost.

I agree that Wal-Mart is welcome to treat their employees like crap, or pick employees that offer nothing to better companies. The problem I have with Wal-Mart screwing their employees on insurance is that tax-payers are making up the difference (Medicaid) to help Wal-Mart's bottom line.

[Ralleac]

I agree that Wal-Mart is welcome to treat their employees like crap, or pick employees that offer nothing to better companies. The problem I have with Wal-Mart screwing their employees on insurance is that tax-payers are making up the difference (Medicaid) to help Wal-Mart's bottom line.

Albertson's Southern division schedules all employees below management at a max. of 6 hour shifts ($6.70/hr) to avoid having to give lunches or benefits. If they break 8 hours or have to pay any overtime they get in trouble with corporate. Kroger had paid lunches ($5.15/hr starting for cashiers at the time) when I worked there during my first year of college, but we still had no benefits. This isn't an uncommon practice for this type of job. The Wal Mart in the same area to live actually paid around 10 an hour starting + benefits.

Wal Mart isn't doing anything to mom and pop chains or their employees that most of the other corporate chains aren't trying to do. In most cases they've just been more successful, although Kroger was giving them some pretty solid competition last time I checked. Edited September 11, 2009 by Ralleac

[newjacksm]

I hate walmart but how can you beat Sons of Anarchy Season 1 for 30 bucks where as Best Buy has it for 44...

SouthPark Walmart Episode is just great...

http://peopleofwalmart.com/ Edited September 11, 2009 by newjacksm

[McLovin600]

I hate walmart but how can you beat Sons of Anarchy Season 1 for 30 bucks where as Best Buy has it for 44...

SouthPark Walmart Episode is just great...

http://peopleofwalmart.com/

love that one!

[NIGHTS OF BAGHDAD]

I hate walmart but how can you beat Sons of Anarchy Season 1 for 30 bucks where as Best Buy has it for 44...

SouthPark Walmart Episode is just great...

http://peopleofwalmart.com/

you would think best buy would lower there prices a bit with circuit city gone..best buy is too expensive..circuit city was much better

[Amn_sinclair]

I hate walmart but how can you beat Sons of Anarchy Season 1 for 30 bucks where as Best Buy has it for 44...

SouthPark Walmart Episode is just great...

http://peopleofwalmart.com/

you would think best buy would lower there prices a bit with circuit city gone..best buy is too expensive..circuit city was much better

And now best buy begins its take over of the electronics industry

[Sonthert]

+1 to Svaals.

The issue is WalMart shifts costs on to local governments. What they don't pay to employees, in terms of benefits or the costs that local governments are demanded of to have a Wal Mart built frequently are costly to us, as tax payers. After they kill local competition, they raise prices...ultimately, the price you pay is higher. You save $5 now...you might as well pay for it with a credit card...because the comeuppance will be with interest.