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Target did not have the same impact on the towns they went into, they just didn't. I go to walmart once in a while too, I am not a hater of Walmart, but they did do damage in a way no other chain has before to small towns because they used a different model for pricing and for where they went.
Your blind if you haven't been to Walmart & seen people who have two or three buggies filled with food twice a month. Not talking about black Friday either. Yeah, that's it baby play the race card.
So what? People have to eat! If you're poor, it's common to go shopping once you get "paid". I don't want to get into an argument about welfare here, just sayin'.
Sadly your right here. People in Target & stores like Costco seem more well behaved then the typical shopper at Walmart. Ever see that site people of Walmart? Scary when you look at it.
In our little town of 4,000, we have a Super Walmart, a Home Depot, three other small pharmacies including a CVS and two grocery stores thriving. I see no evidence of Walmart having any impact on local business. I agree that Walmart has an abundance of low-income shoppers and some scary ones too. Our Chief of Police told me that he runs a shuttle service every day transporting shoplifters to jail but I have yet to see a fight. He also told me that Walmart has a more effective loss prevention program than the other stores.
If you don't mind paying an average of $1 more per item, we have a Ingles grocery store. If you want to pay more for your prescriptions, we have CVS. Once I made a comment to a cashier at the Ingles about the high prices and she said couldn't afford to shop there and that most all their employees shop at Walmart. The only other choice in groceries is a store that sells items about to expire. So, I am selective about the groceries I buy at Walmart and the times I shop. I avoid peak hours. Our choices are limited unless we want to drive to the closest larger town of 25,000+ that is 25 miles one away..... We will have additional choices once we return to Charleston....hopefully as early as next year.
See as much as I don't like Wal-Mart, I would never wish such a thing on any business that provides services and goods to such a large population. That's just hateful.
I don't care for the stores, so I avoid them when possible. Same thing I do with Save-A-Lot. I don't go there. But I would never wish for ALL LOCATIONS to close, considering the amount of people who depend on them.
Well I still wish they would all close in the long run they hurt a community more than help them.
It is possible to hate Walmart on soooo many levels. Poor quality, jobs hustled overseas, businesses bullied, small town economies ruined. Congrats wallyworld, your chickens are finally coming home to roost.
My feelings about Walmart are mostly negative. It has disseminated small towns and Mom and Pop businesses through out the US. It's business practices are less than stellar.
With the money that Walmart earns, they can certainly afford to pay each and every employee a living wage - and it would not affect Sam Walton's heirs one bit.
But they choose not to do that. When they have the power to be a force for good, they chose the low road.
And, like Wegmans, maybe they should pull out of cities entirely.
I realized most people do not know St Louis geography. Fenton is not north St Louis County. It is a long ways away from all the killing and other violence in a firmly middle class and blue collar area. But the Walmart still draws crime there like a magnet.
In our little town of 4,000, we have a Super Walmart, a Home Depot, three other small pharmacies including a CVS and two grocery stores thriving. I see no evidence of Walmart having any impact on local business.
Unless your town is over 100 sq miles, 4,000 is not that little.
These effects people are talking about are in areas with under 40/sq mi. Once you get around 50/sq mi, you have enough density to avoid these big box effects.
Our local Walmart has a pretty good selection of fresh meat and vegetables.
However, we usually buy meat at Costco and freeze it. Cheaper still. Paper goods too.
Point is, nobody should have 'loyalty' to a store. You go where the prices are best, where you like the quality, where you can get what you want and where it is convenient.
We buy at Costco, we buy at Walmart, we buy at Safeway, we buy at the IGA and we buy at Whole Foods. It all depends.
thanks Arcenal. And Jaggy that's exactly what I meant. I find Walmart more expensive, worse service, worse products, but that is just me. There is no horse.
Not saying they don't have PR people. Just saying they have something that brings people into the store and makes them want to come back to the store even though they have other options.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Katarina Witt
Both you and the above poster are quite judgmental about other people, I see. Do you not think "those people" have to shop as well? I have never seen a fight in any retail store. Plenty of hits for shoplifting at both stores on Google.[/i]
You can call me judgmental if you want. I was telling you my actual observations. I have seen at least three fights at various Walmarts over the years. One was two guys who got into an actual fist fight in the parking lot. The cops were called. I'm not sure if anyone was arrested although they did separate them. Another was two women in the toy department yelling and cursing at each other. Another was something going on at the front end. I missed most of the show and security showed up to escort them out so I don't have any more details.
I've heard several shoplifting stories from a security guy who used to work at Target. I know it happens there. I've just never blatantly witnessed it there. I've seen it a few different times at Walmart. It's mainly small things like jewelry and other small things you can put on or fit in your pocket. Had a guy walk out with us once who was shoplifting. We had a huge cartload of stuff. He timed his walk through the detector so we would get searched. The lady grabbed him first and he gave back a watch in his hand. We were directed to go through and he set it off again and started walking and wouldn't stop. We walked through and there was nothing in our cart setting it off.
Unless your town is over 100 sq miles, 4,000 is not that little.
These effects people are talking about are in areas with under 40/sq mi. Once you get around 50/sq mi, you have enough density to avoid these big box effects.
The places with under 40/sq mi are already struggling to support retailers. There simply isn't enough traffic to support a retail network that would have the quaint little mom-and-pop's that people romanticize about. Wal-Mart is a god-send in those areas. For one thing, even a small Wal-Mart can offer a variety of goods that the mom-and-pop's could not. Spices, teas, oils, even organic foods can suddenly be available to people who once only had staples and off-brands available at their one-grocery-store-in-town at exorbitant prices. The Wal-Mart can offer Haagen-Dasz ice cream, and gluten-free products, that the one-grocery-store-in-town did not offer. The Wal-Mart can bring in a wider variety of produce, and other shelf goods.
While the one-grocery-in-town may go out of business, the employees find new jobs at Wal-Mart, new jobs with benefits, that pay MORE than the old business. And the unique businesses, the quilt shop, the farmers supply, the lumber yard, actually see an uptick in business, because Wal-Mart attracts people from further away. Mom and pop more likely paid minimum wage. Wal-Mart is starting people off at $10/hr, and giving them regular raises. Mom and pop didn't even offer insurance. Wal-Mart does. Mom and pop didn't offer vacation time, or pension programs. Wal-Mart does. And Wal-Mart offers employees store discounts, and stock options.
The people in these small towns that embrace the new Wal-Mart weren't stupid. They embraced Wal-Mart because it was a good deal.
And for some, some not all, of these small towns, it sucks that their Wal-Mart's are closing. It sucks that the town's budgets, which were probably put together back in October for 2016, aren't any good anymore, since the towns will be losing that tax revenue. It sucks that people will have to go back to driving 10-15 miles to pick up groceries and medicine. It sucks that these closings will make life harder for some people.
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And, like Wegmans, maybe they should pull out of cities entirely.