Walmart is the root of all evil!

[Flatrater]

I found this article about Walmart and it is very interesting just want to see what you guys think of this!

READ THIS!!!!

[DGB454]

Actually I heard someone talking about this today. In a way it makes some sense. If Walmart forces their suppliers to sell at a set price and that set price is too low for the supplier to operate at a profit then that supplier is forced to cut cost. One of the easiest ways to cut cost is in the work force or to force their own suppliers to cut their cost. The easiest way to cut labor cost is to move where labor is cheaper.(ie Mexico) If that supplier of Walmart is forcing their own supplier to cut cost then the cycle starts all over. In a world economy cheap labor will always win out. Even in Mexico the Companys that move down there only stay for an average of 5 years. The reason for this is that there is cheaper labor in another country. After the first move each subsequent move gets easier. Their is no loyalty to a country or it's people. The only loyalty is to the dollar.


I have rambled enough.

[MR2-AW11]

The wonders of capitalism..!

[DGB454]

Nothing to do with capitalism. It has to do with a world market. If you think this is only a US problem then think again.

[goat_launcher]

Don't diss Wal mart. If they ever kill Wally World, all the rednecks, inbreds, single mom's, Nascar fans, and other degenerate's will have to shop at the same place we do.

[xjoeharperx]

LMFAO at goat launcher

[YogsVR4]

Yeah the last thing we'd ever want to do is save money any money. Its easy to say its about the almighty dollar when its someone elses dollar. Just remember that then next time you're in a store complaining about the prices their charging.

[taranaki]

So you think that working people should have to compete agains Phillipinos who live in tin shacks with bare earth floors and no running water or sanitation?

Would you like to try and have a lifestyle on the wages that these people are forced to accept?

Any civilised country would refuse to buy from countries that treat their workers as slave labour.

[YogsVR4]

I would like workers to be able to have decent working conditions and decent wages to live their lives. That is a seperate issue from trying to keep cost to consumers at a 'resonable' level.

We've all gone from store to store to compare prices on the exact same items. I doubt the concern, when looking at those price tags, was what the labor rate was of the person who made it.

Does Walmart have some questionable practices. I don't doubt it. Does it mean that their prices drive labor rates? Not a chance. No company that wants to sell their products can operate at a loss. Those prices are going to be dictated by competition and consumers and not by a retail outlet. The fact that cheap labor in China reduces costs is not a product of Walmarts business practices.

What walmart is doing is no different then any other retailer. They carry what their customers want. In the case of walmart - cheap. If cheap isn't how you do your business, you go through a different distrubutor. Theres a reason why you don't see Levis, GAP and Craftsman at walmart. High among them is quality and cost.

Finally, I should also point out that there is a walmart across the street. Their grocery prices are not always lower then the other markets in town. They just give the impression that they are. So when I hear claims of manufacturers saying its walmart thats making demans on them I have to laugh. Their products are sometimes cheaper at Glens Market (local stores) then at Walmart.

[DGB454]

A couple of things...

So you think that working people should have to compete agains Phillipinos who live in tin shacks with bare earth floors and no running water or sanitation? Would you like to try and have a lifestyle on the wages that these people are forced to accept? Any civilised country would refuse to buy from countries that treat their workers as slave labour.

I agree with you on this one Taranaki. I don't think they should have to compete with them. I also think it's a disgrace that the people doing the work can't afford what they are producing. The problem with refusing to buy from countries that treat there workers as slave labour is that we have tried that. Remember the slogan "Buy American" ? It Didn't work. It get's too hard to find anything that is only from countries that only have good labor practices. For instance GM. They are an American company but how many parts are shipped in from overseas? I use American companies as an example. The same could be said for any other company in any other country. Any country who has opened their borders to free trade is going to go through this. There is no way to stop it that I can see.

What walmart is doing is no different then any other retailer. They carry what their customers want. In the case of walmart - cheap. If cheap isn't how you do your business, you go through a different distrubutor. Theres a reason why you don't see Levis, GAP and Craftsman at walmart. High among them is quality and cost

.

I have to disagree with you on this one. Through work I have come to know many suppliers that sell to Walmart. They all say the same thing. Walmart dictates to them what price they must sell their product for and what percentage Walmart will recieve from each transaction of their product. In many cases the product goes into Walmart at 0 net gain whatsoever to the supplier. This forces the supplier to cut cost in order to make a profit or not to put their product on Walmart shelves. When the supplier cuts cost one place they look is to their supplier which is my employer. I can't remember the last contract we signed that didn't include some sort of overall cost reduction plan over the life of the contract. We operate at an extremely low contribution margin already and it's hard to reduce our prices any further. The only way we are able to do this is through layoffs which doubles up workloads on those of us that are left. Also we begin forcing our suppliers to reduce their prices.
It never ends.......

[boingo82]

Further, Walmart NEVER advertises through the local newspapers or coupon distributers, they print all their own inserts and distribute them to save costs. Therefore supporting the local economy less.
Target on the other hand distributes inserts through the newspaper and has prices as low as wal-mart, whilst still smelling good and looking pretty inside. And they donate money to local schools. And their clothes aren't as crappy. And they actually have *gasp* clearance, not stupid "rollbacks".

Shop at Target. Man, I LOVE Target.

[DVS LT1]

Originally Posted by DGB454

Through work I have come to know many suppliers that sell to Walmart. Walmart dictates to them what price they must sell their product for....This forces the supplier to cut cost in order to make a profit or not to put their product on Walmart shelves.....

BINGO - This is the root evil of the mega stores, and why the medium sized chains and mom & pop stores are doomed in the future (UNLESS they become very specialized or high end retailers). I worked in the consumer electronics industry for a few years (in a fairly high end store) and can attest how Best Buy not only hurt business here but brainwashed consumers since coming to Canada over a year ago. But the biggest looming disaster for the AV industry is indeed going to be WALMART. They have now pasted Curcuit City to become the number 2 AV retailer in the U.S. (we don't even have CC's here in Canada and Walmart isn't even on the AV map but everybody's already bracing themselves).

The big chains are a catch 22 for suppliers, and like you DGB454 I have heard them at work. As a sales rep (usually a regional rep or VP), you go into a meeting with these chains and try not to shit your pants when they agree to buy 1 or 2 MILLION units from you. WOW! The sale of my career!! - but the catch is like you said, "you're going to sell them to us for 15% bellow dealer cost...take it or leave it". Usually companies may be able to swallow or even profit from one-time inventory purges, but the problem is these big chains ALWAYS get their product cheaper. If not from you, then from somebody else. Now you're fighting with your other suppliers for what??? VOLUME. Problem is the more volume goes up, the more quality & reliability go DOWN!

EDIT: Thats not what I meant to say - quality and reliability go down when volume and price points become your goal.

Originally Posted by DGB454

The only way we are able to do this is through layoffs which doubles up workloads on those of us that are left.

I agree that supplier employee's often end up suffering from this type of deal with the devil, but I can tell you in the case of the AV market nothing is suffering more than QUALITY!!! For AV suppliers its often easiest to cut costs on parts. Instead of using crappy metalic hinges from Japan in these receivers they'll use crappier plastic pieces from China or Malasia. Or getting back to the increased employee workload you mentioned, they'll use the same parts as before but instead of pumping out 500 decent units per day they'll make 1500 half-assed & rushed units instead). In both cases everybody, both you me and the employee suffer because the product is now shit.

I'd be lying if I said I don't shop at Walmart. A Litre of Mobil1 synthetic motor oil is by far the cheapest from them and thats where I go to get it. And the truth is besides carrying a lot of crap Walmart does have some great stuff. But the way things are going it won't be long until everything Walmart carriers becomes pure shit. Its the suppliers who are going to have to smarten up and make a big time, long-term decision - sell our livelihood and integrity to the devil, or realise its not ALL about moving more boxes but taking care and pride into marketing a decent product that people will actually appreaciate and respect.

[spooleffect]

Originally Posted by goat_launcher

Don't diss Wal mart. If they ever kill Wally World, all the rednecks, inbreds, single mom's, Nascar fans, and other degenerate's will have to shop at the same place we do.

Dude FUCK YOU! My mother is a single mom and a nascar fan. Does this mean she is a inbred redneck? Or am I one because I shop at Walmart because I can spend $100 on food that would cost $170 at Smiths or Albertsons. I like companies that save me money because I frankly don't have a lot of money to spend.

Walmart isn't destroying the economy either, just because its more profitable than other companies they are gonna complain. I dont have a problem with Walmart because they offer good products at good prices. They are so profitable because of this and it is VERY hard to be incredibly profitable in retail simple because people don't need to go to Walmart. You do however need Power and Water in your home and these resources are generally provided by one company in your area. Sierra Pacific is the one Power company in my area, from that they can keep increasing my rates every few months because they know I can't take my business elsewhere. I have my biggest problems with this type of company.

[DVS LT1]

There's no doubt that the bigger the store (chain), the better the savings. Do any of you guys have those Sam's Club in your area? They just started opening up those Walmart membership stores here and already Costco is rushing to open as many new warehouses as possible in response.

NOW the war for the most inexpensive products has begun! Shopping at a place where they make their money from membership fee's and can afford to sell product at an even greater discounted price.

Small retailers without a clear mission and quasi-box movers better hang 'em up, cause the end is coming.

[RACER D12]

My family shops at costco a lot... god I love that store