Not quite, but give them 25 years.
Not quite, but give them 25 years.
I'd consider it more of a monopsony.
What is this monster I've created!?
Being a hard core capitalist I hold nothing against Walmart or its business practices. They got it right. So right that it is indeed difficult to compete with them. Walmart's annual revenues exceed the GDP of most countries on the planet. Success breeds success and Walmart is a poster child for that.
That said:
As I often say to my wife, Walmart is a land of evil temptation.
Practically everything anyone could ever need or want under one roof. And it's all setup to catch your eye and make you believe (wrongly in most cases) that you are getting a really really good deal.
I'm weak. Go in planning to spend $10 on something and walk out having spent $100 on many somethings.
I don't save money by going there so I just don't go there.
NOW! If I could just convince my wife of that...
That said:
As I often say to my wife, Walmart is a land of evil temptation.
Practically everything anyone could ever need or want under one roof. And it's all setup to catch your eye and make you believe (wrongly in most cases) that you are getting a really really good deal.
I'm weak. Go in planning to spend $10 on something and walk out having spent $100 on many somethings.
I don't save money by going there so I just don't go there.
NOW! If I could just convince my wife of that...
If you grab a car or handbasket, you are VERY likely to fill it. It's a psychological thing.
When I was there, they upgraded the handbaskets to be about 1.5" deeper. That raised the average value from $30 to $51. They also changed to longer, wider, and deeper shopping carts. Those went from $96 to $240. At least those are what they were telling us. By the way, the carts are designed to make it easier for you to catch a glimpse of what someone else has in theirs so you can keep up with the joneses.
You'll also notice the the newer carts have a narrower "grip" on them (the piece of plastic on the handle that always gets broken). It pulls your elbows in so the store feels less crowded.
Except for candy and toys, most of the highest markup items are at eye level for a 5'5" woman. Candy and toys are located on the bottom shelves so that walking 3 year old of yours will notice them better.
Coke, beer, bread, milk, eggs, and chips are in the back so you walk past the whole grocery department. Freezer stuff is near the front so you do your shopping on your way back.
Those cameras? Their primary purpose isn't loss prevention, although they do come in handy when you have a known thief in the store. They are for patterning the behavior of shoppers.
I've found that if I don't get a cart when I only have a couple of things to get, then that's all I get. When grocery shopping, I take a list. That list is ordered by aisle from the back to the front. If it's not on the list (and on most items, if it doesn't also have a coupon), I don't get it. It's gotten me in trouble a time or two ("you should have known we were almost out of that"), but the grocery line-item on our budget dropped nearly 60% by sticking to the list.
I get very focused when I go shopping at Wal-Mart. I try to make it in and out as fast as possible. I choose my parking spot based on what I will be shopping that day, and proximity to likely places for people to just leave shopping carts. I then enter the store with a plan of attack, and follow that plan to the letter. I know that if I stray from that plan, the mission will fail.
I'm the same way VM. I go in with a plan and get only what I need. My wife and I make a very accurate list each time we go shopping but I'm with a woman, the list is irrelevant. We would probably spend 150 every two weeks at wal-mart for groceries if it wasn't for baby food/formula.
Our online banking lets us rename each transaction instead of having to look at the fancy code they give. So we label everything "Wal-Mart" "Wendy's" "Quiktrip" "Kyle's Gas" etc. I printed off 5 months worth of statements and added up my amount of spending at wal-mart. I was sick when I was done. I only added up the extra trips that were not included in our bi-weekly grocery shopping. We have cut back big time but its still hard to avoid wal-mart for a whole two weeks.
Our online banking lets us rename each transaction instead of having to look at the fancy code they give. So we label everything "Wal-Mart" "Wendy's" "Quiktrip" "Kyle's Gas" etc. I printed off 5 months worth of statements and added up my amount of spending at wal-mart. I was sick when I was done. I only added up the extra trips that were not included in our bi-weekly grocery shopping. We have cut back big time but its still hard to avoid wal-mart for a whole two weeks.
"I get very focused when I go shopping at Wal-Mart. I try to make it in and out as fast as possible. I choose my parking spot based on what I will be shopping that day, and proximity to likely places for people to just leave shopping carts. I then enter the store with a plan of attack, and follow that plan to the letter. I know that if I stray from that plan, the mission will fail"
When I was a boy (best Grandpa Simpson voice) we'd go to the courthouse square. If we needed a Sunday shirt we'd go to Manner's Mens Shop... then get a fountain coke at the Rexall around the corner.
The gas station a block over had at least 3 guys working.... they'd fill your tires, pump the gas and do a "tune up" in the garage if you dropped the car off.
Our little town had 3 shoe stores... all of them stocking good quality American shoes... most of them made in places like Clarksville Tennessee or some little town up East.
Most everyone I knew growing up was paying on a simple house they could afford, worked one job (mom was home) and most of us kids worked for a farmer, tossed newspapers or had a part-time gig stocking or selling stuff at a Mom and Pop store. Most of the folks I knew could buy a new car every 3 years or so too.
Our TV was a Zenith. Motorala build our car radio and our home stereo came from the "Voice of Music" company in SW Michigan. GM built our Refrigerator and the washer came from Whirlpool ... USA
Take a ride through any Midwestern town... even OKC. Read those faded painted signs on the brick. WE USED TO BUILD EVERY QUALITY THING NEEDED RIGHT HERE... and we sold it here too.
1930? 1955? How bout 1978? Things have really gone downhill in 35 years....
When I was a boy (best Grandpa Simpson voice) we'd go to the courthouse square. If we needed a Sunday shirt we'd go to Manner's Mens Shop... then get a fountain coke at the Rexall around the corner.
The gas station a block over had at least 3 guys working.... they'd fill your tires, pump the gas and do a "tune up" in the garage if you dropped the car off.
Our little town had 3 shoe stores... all of them stocking good quality American shoes... most of them made in places like Clarksville Tennessee or some little town up East.
Most everyone I knew growing up was paying on a simple house they could afford, worked one job (mom was home) and most of us kids worked for a farmer, tossed newspapers or had a part-time gig stocking or selling stuff at a Mom and Pop store. Most of the folks I knew could buy a new car every 3 years or so too.
Our TV was a Zenith. Motorala build our car radio and our home stereo came from the "Voice of Music" company in SW Michigan. GM built our Refrigerator and the washer came from Whirlpool ... USA
Take a ride through any Midwestern town... even OKC. Read those faded painted signs on the brick. WE USED TO BUILD EVERY QUALITY THING NEEDED RIGHT HERE... and we sold it here too.
1930? 1955? How bout 1978? Things have really gone downhill in 35 years....
I hate shopping at Wal-Mart but I don't hate Wal-Mart. I'd like to let the Waltons run our country for a while. We'd be back on top where we should be and out of debt. Sam Walton is the very definition of what is right with capitalism. Walton held himself to a different standard and looked for handouts from no one. He was hard working, competitive, frugal (was still driving a 20 yr old pickup when he passed away) and intelligent.
I once heard the CEO at Wal-Mart talk about his first encounter with Sam Walton. He said they were getting ready to open a new Wal-Mart when Sam asked him to ride with he and his brother over to a local Gibsons store. When they left the store, Sam asked him what he saw. This young up and comer began to talk about how the Gibsons store was dirty, had an unfriendly staff, etc., etc. Sam replied that he noticed their pillows were 2 for $5 and they were 2 for $7 at Wal-mart. He looked for all the things Gibsons was doing better because he always respected his competition and pushed himself to do better.
Without Wal-mart, the average American would probably have a $40 bucks less in the pocket every week, or $40 more on their credit card, or $40 less on their food stamps card. Even if you don't shop at Wal-mart, things are cheaper elsewhere just because they exist. Wal-mart makes every effort to buy products made in the USA when they can. Unfortunately, our American work ethic ain't what it used to be.
I once heard the CEO at Wal-Mart talk about his first encounter with Sam Walton. He said they were getting ready to open a new Wal-Mart when Sam asked him to ride with he and his brother over to a local Gibsons store. When they left the store, Sam asked him what he saw. This young up and comer began to talk about how the Gibsons store was dirty, had an unfriendly staff, etc., etc. Sam replied that he noticed their pillows were 2 for $5 and they were 2 for $7 at Wal-mart. He looked for all the things Gibsons was doing better because he always respected his competition and pushed himself to do better.
Without Wal-mart, the average American would probably have a $40 bucks less in the pocket every week, or $40 more on their credit card, or $40 less on their food stamps card. Even if you don't shop at Wal-mart, things are cheaper elsewhere just because they exist. Wal-mart makes every effort to buy products made in the USA when they can. Unfortunately, our American work ethic ain't what it used to be.
What jobs we do have... we are still the most productive Nation on the planet.
GM is bringing some work back from Mexico -- and some other countries have found out that those "other cultures" just dont worry about production or QC like we do.
You got the problem of "blaming the worker" down pat... you cant go to WORK when the PLANT MOVED for a TAX CUT given to the HOLDING COMPANY thats going to AMORITIZE the place and shut it down when its NO LONGER AN ADVANTAGE TO REINVEST in it.
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