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I have seen many a hardware store and lumberyard go out of business when Home Depot came in.
My friend has small hardware/bicycle/lawn mower store, I wouldn't say these large stores haven't affected them but they are 30 minutes away. He can't compete against their prices if someone was going to go buy 20 boxes of screws but if they only need one box they end up his store. He also has the higher end merchandise for bikes and lawnmowers.
As far as the lower end merchandise let me put this into perspective, the local Little League was seeking some bikes to raffle off. He wasn't going to give them $500 bikes so he went to Wal Mart and bought them, he doesn't carry them because can't make any money on them.
I've never understood the hysteria about Wallmart that some have. It's a truly great American success story about a rural Arkansan that became the world's richest man fulfilling the needs of millions with a singular focus on cutting costs and making the supply chain super efficient.
If you don't like Walmart, shop elsewhere instead of arrogantly blocking everyone from getting low prices.
I've always believed that Walmart affected small businesses, I don't have factual proof, but really, how could it not?
Walmart is testing the convenience store market...wonder how this will impact small businesses.
Your wish is my command. From an article published 4 days ago in the Commie rag, FORBES:
Objective enough for you? I have had the experience of watching a Wal Mart arrive in my small rural town. We used to have a vibrant Main Street with all sorts of different stores. Wal Mart's arrival was the death knell for many small businessmen here. I now have the choice of shopping at Wal Mart or else driving about 100 miles to shop in a city which offers several large malls with a variety of department stores and other shops. Many people here don't have the money to make a 200 mile round trip several times a month to avoid shopping at Wally World. Personally, I do a lot of shopping online to avoid giving Wal Mart my hard earned dollars. If for some reason I want to support the Communist Republic of China, I'll make a charitable contribution for the construction of a new sweatshop in Shanghai after the next one burns down.
Frankly, that Walmart utilizes (exploits as your source says) a lot of tax breaks is no surprise. Why shouldn't they? I do.
As far as your example of your small rural town, I can give a counter example. When Walmart came to the small rural-ish town next to mine some 25 years ago or so, there was no downtown left, not there or in my town, either. People had long ago abandoned d/t shopping for the malls conveniently located 10-15 miles away. I think that is the true story of many a Walmart. Walmart gave us a way to buy locally. As for Chinese goods, what do you think Target or for that matter, "Mom and Pops" sells?
The same kinds of things were said about Sears, Roebuck when they launched their catalog business.
I don't care for the business model, corporatism and some of the management princiciples of walmart. However I try not to let my perception and opinion affect the reality of what it is and like to make objective decisions rather than jump on band wagons and perpetuate myths and deceptive judgments.
Some people say walmart eliminates retail "small business" jobs in the area that they move into. Does anyone have any first hand experience with these small business jobs being eliminated in an area that it built its store? I think it has an effect of lowering prices to some degree. I have seen some large retail stores go out of business where a wal mart has been built but not sure about the small business aspect.
Some people say walmart underpays their employees and doesn't give them enough benefits. Is walmart really supposed to be a career type job? When I rarely go into a walmart store to see what i haven't been missing I don't see a lot of work being done. The workers in walmart stores don't seem to be working all that hard for the most part. It seems as long as they do what they are told they have a job. Productivity is not a priority. So are they really under paid for what they do?
Some people think wal mart sends more money overseas than it keeps in America. If people can get what they need in one stop and save some money doing it won't they have more money to spend elsewhere on other items?
I do notice that where there is a walmart there are usually strip malls and other businesses that seem to do okay. These other businesses give people jobs.
To the people who can't stand walmart with a passion, what is your solution to the wal mart "problem"? Do you ever shop there? What first hand experience do you have being adversely affected by it? You really think retail shopping in America would be better overall if not for them?
About two years after Sam Walton died, Walmart changed forever. They successfully destroy my families businesses (office supply chain, and a Christian book store) when they decided to put in a Super Walmart in the small town of Eufaula, AL. After about six months of being open, I guess they decided to scout the local businesses because they saw opportunities to not only start carrying a whole aisle of office supplies that they hadn't carried before, but yep you guessed it, they also started carrying Christian based books in a larger number.
It obviously wasn't just my family's businesses that were effected, Eufaula is known for manufacturing fishing lures, plastic worms, etc and all of those businesses were affected.
It was during these times that I decided to never shop at Walmart.
Here's the problem with that decision. Walmart has made us slaves. They have made it economically tough for us to shop anywhere else. Even with my disdain for walmart, the alternatives like Publix are twice as expensive and so it makes sense to shop at Walmart.
The Walmart I remember as a kid bought and sold American. It used to be a theme throughout their stores. Sam Walton was PROUD to be an American selling American products. Once he passed on, the corporation decided to sell out this core value they had for more profit by buying products from child labor camps in communist countries. You can't blame Walmart. Blame our legal system and the laws governing corporations. By law they have to plunder. They have to turn the max dollar they can to their shareholder. They must do so without regard to feeling or who they step on to do so, they just consume and plunder... Until the laws change, the corporations won't change.
I have proposed an extreme tariff on imports, this would most certainly create a war with China as they would immediately come calling on the credit we owe them, but this is probably going to happen eventually because of the debt we are piling up, so let's go ahead and get it over with. Once it becomes more expensive to buy imports, I feel that by default our manufacturing sector will start to revive itself out of a need and demand for products. Perhaps we cheat like the Chinese do, and we subsidize our manufacturing wages so that we can offer products equal or better in quality than the imports, and we do so for pennies on the dollar but don't hurt our employees doing the work. I'd rather see my tax dollars going to subsidize the minimum wage than being blown on green energy or entitlement programs.
It's going to take some really tough decisions to get us going again as a country. It's going to take a leader with guts. But I'm ready to step up and fight for our pride, to see some change and regulation, for people to quit bickering and get focused on us the USA again.
Walmart gave us a way to buy locally. As for Chinese goods, what do you think Target or for that matter, "Mom and Pops" sells?
In years past, Mom and Pop stores were willing to pay suppliers a fair market price for their products. It was a symbiotic relationship that benefitted everyone -- stores, manufacturers, and customers.
Wal-Mart conducts meetings every day with their vendors at the Bentonville HQ where they harass and intimidate them into manufacturing their products at whatever low price Wal-Mart thinks is fair to WAL-MART, not the supplier. I don't see Mom and Pop stores behaving like this.
In years past, Mom and Pop stores were willing to pay suppliers a fair market price for their products. It was a symbiotic relationship that benefitted everyone -- stores, manufacturers, and customers.
Wal-Mart conducts meetings every day with their vendors at the Bentonville HQ where they harass and intimidate them into manufacturing their products at whatever low price Wal-Mart thinks is fair to WAL-MART, not the supplier. I don't see Mom and Pop stores behaving like this.
I don't think so! Many "Mom and Pops" sell over-priced goods, and virtually all stores sell much merchandise from China.
I don't think so! Many "Mom and Pops" sell over-priced goods, and virtually all stores sell much merchandise from China.
May I ask what mom and pops? There are none left because Walmart and Target and other big box stores have effective eliminated the competition. Sure there are a few "over-priced" boutique shoppes still around for folks who want to splurge, but there are no small competitive stores in town offering what Walmart offers. The reason they are "over-priced" is because they can't compete with Walmart's strong arm tactics of extorting suppliers.
I don't think so! Many "Mom and Pops" sell over-priced goods, and virtually all stores sell much merchandise from China.
I'd rather pay an extra $30 for a lawnmower made in the USA vs. in China because at least I know the American workers who made that mower will be spending their wages in America and contributing to our taxbase and improving roads, helping our military vets, building schools, etc.
When you buy cheap junk at Wal-Mart --- you're just feeding our enemy so they can cyberattack us more frequently, steal our secrets and buy up more of our debt to cripple us in an economic Armageddon.
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