What's So Bad About Wal-mart??? (online, chocolates, groceries, Target)

[Brian.Pearson]

It would be nice if they had things in stock when you need them. Out of floss one day, out of cat food, the next, out of hamburger...out of jeans....etc etc etc.

[ebs964]

Here's some of my gripes about Wal-Mart - they move into a small town, run all the local small stores out of business. Their stores are flithy and cluttered. You can't even push your cart down the aisle because there are so many boxes stacked everywhere. I can't believe this not a fire hazard. When their stores become so run down, they just move into a nice new store down the street and leave their old run down nasty store vacant.

Does anyone remember years ago when Wal-Mart was marketed as having a American-made products, buy American ,etc? As soon as they brainwashed everyone into believing they were pro-American, they got rid of all the American products and replaced them with cheap China crap.

A Super Wal-mart is now being built in my small rural town. Really sad... The nearest Wal-Mart to me now is 30 minutes away and I like it that way. Apparently the county commissioners that approved this do not agree with me.

[azloafer]

''Does anyone remember years ago when Wal-Mart was marketed as having a American-made products, buy American ,etc? As soon as they brainwashed everyone
into believing they were pro-American, they got rid of all the American products and replaced them with cheap China crap.''

Let's be accurate: The small local stores sell the same foreign crap. This is a global economy and everyone in business has to sell foreign made products to stay in business. It would be nice if the small local stores sold ONLY American made merchandise, but that is not the case. There are some rare exceptions where certain items are made in America, but most products are foreign made.

I do fear what will happen 50 years from now when America becomes a service only economy. My son-in-law is a researcher/buyer for a large firm and they buy products from 26 countries and sell them in the US. I don't have his permission to mention the firm's name, but they are listed as one of the top ten companies in the USA. That's just one example that I know first hand.

[Stratford, Ct. Resident]

It's humorous to hear people sing the praises about how much they "save" at walmart. If they would really look at what walmart charges for name-brand merchandise, they would realize that they're not getting a deal. Wal-mart is only cheap on the products that are exclusive to walmart, in other words, the cheap cr*p that only they carry and no other merchant will bother to sell.

Combine that with stores(in CT.) that are disorganized and dim/dingy, and i just don't see the appeal. If i had to choose between walmart and a jobber type store(Christmas Tree, Ocean State, NWL, etc.), i'd take the jobber. At least you will save $$$$ on name-brand merchandise there. For everyday dept. store staples, Target works well for me.

[ebs964]

Originally Posted by azloafer

''Does anyone remember years ago when Wal-Mart was marketed as having a American-made products, buy American ,etc? As soon as they brainwashed everyone
into believing they were pro-American, they got rid of all the American products and replaced them with cheap China crap.''

Let's be accurate: The small local stores sell the same foreign crap. This is a global economy and everyone in business has to sell foreign made products to stay in business. It would be nice if the small local stores sold ONLY American made merchandise, but that is not the case. There are some rare exceptions where certain items are made in America, but most products are foreign made.

I do fear what will happen 50 years from now when America becomes a service only economy. My son-in-law is a researcher/buyer for a large firm and they buy products from 26 countries and sell them in the US. I don't have his permission to mention the firm's name, but they are listed as one of the top ten companies in the USA. That's just one example that I know first hand.

But the local business didn't necessarily tout their products as "American-made". Yes - they sell the junk from China too and always have, it just that Wal-Mart used to heavily advertise "American made", so much that it seemed to go in hand in hand with Wal-Mart, sort of a branding technique.

I don't think it's going to take 50 years for the USA to become a service only economy. 90% of the seafood in my area (the South) is shipped from China and yet we are so close to the Gulf of Mexico. Go figure...

[PinkString]

Here is a book I read that reminded me of Walmart. How they come in and take over towns and small businesses go under,etc. It's a horror story by Bentley Little, titled "The Store."
It was humorous in many ways because it really reminded me of Walmart. Except of course for the creatures..but some would beg to differ. lol

[azloafer]

We had two grocery stores in our community, both are Safeway stores. Few real sales...UNTIL Wal-Mart came in. I do all my grocery shopping at Safeway because Wal-Mart caused them to have numerous sales to keep customers. Safeway also has its own gas station. Each time we spend $50 at Safeway we get 20 cents off our next fill-up. If we shop four times it adds up and we get four fill-ups. Safeway gas ends up 20 cents lower than every other station in town. Can't beat that!

[jadybug]

It saddens me greatly that so many mom and pop stores go out of business once a Wal-mart goes in to a town.

[SteelCityRising]

Originally Posted by jadybug

It saddens me greatly that so many mom and pop stores go out of business once a Wal-mart goes in to a town.

Yes. Unfortunately corporate homogenization is the new American Dream. Communities benchmark themselves to one another not based upon what is unique to them but rather if they have the same stuff. In my area two elderly sisters ran a successful two-store local chain of independent bookstores---one in an inner suburb of each Scranton and Wilkes-Barre. Both closed as the locals flocked en mass to Borders and Barnes & Noble. Soon the outskirts of every city and town in America will look exactly the same---four-lane divided roadway (perhaps some with a fifth lane in the center for turns) lined with gas stations, big-box stores, fast-food restaurants, chain family restaurants, etc. I think this is tragic, but the lemmings here in Scranton want another Ruth's Chris Steakhouse and Wolfgang Puck Express that you can find in any other large city in America as opposed to nurturing the unique Brazilian steakhouse on Providence Square or the French cafe that sends money to give milk to malnourished children in sub-Saharan Africa.

[recycled]

Wow, this old thread that was bumped up is filled with the words of our departed by not forgotten friend MoMark.

Just south of "MO", Wal-Mart got it's start by figuring out that the outer fringes of cities and the small and medium sized cities across America were mostly neglected by the "department store power players" of the 1960s + 70s (Sears, JC Penny, Montgomery Ward). Whatever formula old Sam figured out to grow into the largest retailer on earth has some merits and lessons to think about. CNBC reporter David Faber did a great 90 minute special report on Wal Mart, and it wasn't a love-in or a hate-fest. They took a close look at the good and the bad, and it is worth seeing.

I live just a couple of blocks from a regular WM (not a super WM, no grocery store). It's a fairly busy store, but rarely "packed" with shopper except during holiday season. Around here there is cutthroat retail competition from every other large chain in America, and WM is not at the top of the shopping list. I buy a few things at WM, mostly because it's near by and if I can save a trip by car by walking to WM to buy a few items that are the same items I might by elsewhere, I'll walk to WM. It's not about the price, because some things at WM are no less and sometimes more than other stores.

Here's one thing that WM deserves some credit for. They have almost blown apart the national price structure for the most commonly used prescription drugs. Until recently, most prescription drugs were sold for cartel like prices by most pharmacies across America. I fortunately do not need hardly anything in the way of prescription drugs but many less fortunate people were getting flat out ripped off. WM has done what the federal government could not do with billions of taxpayer dollars to achieve fair price structure for generic prescription drugs. WM took the 300 most common generic RX drugs and went shopping around the world to find suppliers. If a US drug company would not go along, they were scratched and WM found a company elsewhere. Today anybody can walk into a WalMart Pharmacy with a generic drug prescription and get a 30 day supply for $4 or 90 day supply for $10. No questions about insurance, it takes just minutes. That's less than most insurance covered "co pay" prices are for generics at most other places.

Yes, I am well aware that WM is using these prescription drug prices to get people in their stores so they will buy some other things between the pharmacy and the checkout aisle. But it gives people options not available before. It has now forced their competitors to play ball. Walgreens is now offering generic 90 day RX for $12.99. CVS hasn't changed prices much yet, but many grocery store pharmacies are pricing generics close to WM. The prices are radically lower than they were 2 years ago. How often do you hear people on TV complaining about the cost of generic prescription drugs now? It has become a non-issue. It's one of the few things whose cost has not been hyper inflated by the declining US dollar in recent years.

By the way, I do most of my grocery shopping at a small middle eastern food store that has great fresh fruits and veggies. I can't remember last time I visited a "mall" or a chain restaurant, and never do "fast food".