Walmart - should I continue to support them?

This thread is probably going to get ugly, they always do. All I will say is that if you want some objective research done on Walmart and their impact on the local, state, and national economy, you can find a number of privately conducted research studies done by Universities from places as far apart (psychically and politically) as Louisville, KY and Berkeley, CA. There are a number of others, the most recent by the University of Michigan. There are also some studies done by the government of Canada, and a slew of court cases from the US and Canada regarding Walmart. They all come to the same conclusion.
 
This thread is probably going to get ugly, they always do. All I will say is that if you want some objective research done on Walmart and their impact on the local, state, and national economy, you can find a number of privately conducted research studies done by Universities from places as far apart (psychically and politically) as Louisville, KY and Berkeley, CA. There are a number of others, the most recent by the University of Michigan. There are also some studies done by the government of Canada, and a slew of court cases from the US and Canada regarding Walmart. They all come to the same conclusion.
 
boehljed said:
This may be a little off topic but I know a lot of people buy detailing products at Walmart. I came across this article today which disturbed me.



http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/ne...D68CD3BC09EC17C98625705F0015F59F?OpenDocument



Should I contiue to shop at Walmart knowing what is happening in this case? What do you think?
Click to expand...





Do what you think is right for you , I don't agree with what Walmart is doing. We could talk a long time about how Walmart conduct's business but in the end people are going to shop there no matter what.
 
boehljed said:
This may be a little off topic but I know a lot of people buy detailing products at Walmart. I came across this article today which disturbed me.



http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/ne...D68CD3BC09EC17C98625705F0015F59F?OpenDocument



Should I contiue to shop at Walmart knowing what is happening in this case? What do you think?
Click to expand...





Do what you think is right for you , I don't agree with what Walmart is doing. We could talk a long time about how Walmart conduct's business but in the end people are going to shop there no matter what.
 
We really don't know all of the details behind it, perhaps Walmart has some reason to believe that Shank incorrectly made that U turn in front of the semi... regardless, it's a sad situation.



At least one thing that I thought was laughable was Walmart suing her additionally for the cost to sue her.
 
Yes, shop there. I'm a shareholder :)



You can sit here for ages and go back and forth about corporate responsibility or their impact whether good or bad on our society.



Not shopping there based on a single incident is a bit ridiculous. Besdies I need my plush Eurow sheepskin mitts from them.



Do you like Altoids, Jell-O, Kraft cheese, Oreos, Maxwell House, Oscar Meyer, Philadelphis cream cheese, Raisin Bran and a BILLION other products we eat daily?



Well they all fall under the umbrella of Altria Group, the parent company of Kraft Foods, Philip Morris International, Philip Morris USA and Philip Morris Capital Corporation.



Yes the same folks that make Marlboros and knowingly for years, poisoned people's lungs (and lie about it under oath in front of Congress), directly contribute to the misearble pain and deaths of millions over the years and add a major burden to our health care costs; make the products we eat everyday.



Does that disturb you too? Should you continue to shop for these products?



My point is, do what you feel is right for your moral compass. It's almost impossibe to take a stand on one issue and then not do it for all other issues too.
 
I didnt read the article, but i hate Walmart, and i try not to go there.



In fact, i am trying to stay away from Circuit City, Home Depot, ect, all the chains.
 
I live in Stoughton, WI. They are trying to get a Supercenter built here. I used to shop at their current store(40,000 sq feet). I have not since November. They are basically telling us if you won't let us build a 150,000 sq foot store we will leave. Many people in the community have been led to believe if they leave they will not have a place to buy the basic supplies they need. It is getting very ugly. I won't support a company that is willing to drive out all the local competition. The locals keep their money in the community. Walmart sends it elsewhere.
 
Spilchy said:
Yes, shop there. I'm a shareholder :)



Does that disturb you too? Should you continue to shop for these products?



My point is, do what you feel is right for your moral compass. It's almost impossibe to take a stand on one issue and then not do it for all other issues too.
Click to expand...



That's only when you're comparing similar issues. I personally have no problem with Phillip Morris - they can poison people who choose to smoke all they want. This isn't apples to apples like vegetarians that wear leather shoes. What I have an issue with is a company that is a detriment to local and state economies, which Walmart most certainly is. There is currently no other major North American company that can make that claim. It's all about choice. You choose to smoke, you choose to eat meat or wear leather, you don't choose to open a Walmart store in the local plaza. I don't like when my life is impacted negatively based on someone else's choices, which is why I don't shop at Walmart.



I'm not condemning you for shopping there or owning their stock. Sometimes I stare at teenage girls' butts, we all have out vices. :)



Vincent Vega said:
I live in Stoughton, WI. They are trying to get a Supercenter built here. I used to shop at their current store(40,000 sq feet). I have not since November. They are basically telling us if you won't let us build a 150,000 sq foot store we will leave. Many people in the community have been led to believe if they leave they will not have a place to buy the basic supplies they need. It is getting very ugly. I won't support a company that is willing to drive out all the local competition. The locals keep their money in the community. Walmart sends it elsewhere.
Click to expand...



That's how Walmart works. In Vancouver the local Walmart unionized so Walmart closed the store. It cost them $150 million to build it, and they closed 21 months after opening because they didn't want to deal with unionized workers.



Sorry this sounds "ranty", I'm all for people choosing where to shop and am cool with the folks that do shop at Walmart.
 
WalMart is a benefit to the community as a whole. It may be disasterous for a handful of business owners - it's capitalism and free trade folks, get over it, but the community as a whole wins especially poor, working and middle class folks.



Their grocery prices as ONE example of many (a large portion of family income) on average are WAY cheaper than other local places, and that means poor people save.



With cheaper products comes more money in your pocket (when multiplied over an entire state means BILLIONS in extra disposable income) which means you spend it elsewhere helping the economy which leads to more folks becoming employed in other areas.



Why should I have to pay higher prices because you don't want a WalMart? So you can inhale the musty smell in an old hardware store or shoot the breeze with Sal the produce guy at the corner shop?



I'm willing to sacrifice the jobs and solvency of local businesses (if that TRULY occurs) to help the MILLIONS of local residents while providing hundreds of jobs at the WalMart (offsetting local business job loss), not to mention the job creation to build a WalMart and the positive ripple effect that has on all the industries that supply the matrial for construction.



I have a Home Depot and WalMart in the towns next to me. All the local businesses are still there selling their goods. I know of one hardware store that went under, but the other two are still flourishing. In fact, the street the Home Depot is on is scheuled to go under a major beautification project funded by State money which will TOTALLY help the local businesses with new store signs, sidewalks, roadway and lighting fixtures.
 
Our Community is roughly 12,000. Add another 5,000 for rural residents. Our local business owners will not be able to compete with WalMart pricewise. Hardware, Grocery, Pharmacy, Optometry, Appliance, etc.. all locally owned and employed will suffer. Some may lose their entire business. The part timers and students can get new jobs at Walmart. They also want to open the new store a mile further out of town. They plan to add a strip mall and more restaurants. What little fast food we have will most likely relocate there. All the abandoned real estate will be hard to lease. The buildings will deteriorate. Who will want to lease their current 40,000sqft store? Who can compete with Walmart? Big Lots? Dollar General? If they backed off and opened a store more appropriately sized for our community I would support them. I don't see that happening. Spin the Capitalist angle all you want. It's true. They have a great business model. They don't care who gets in their way.
 
I personally do not shop at Walmart for various reasons.

However, I have been there once in a blue moon.

I did notice that they do seem to cater to lower-income people.

I certainly would not condescend to tell people where to spend their hard-earned $.



But I must say the worse part of me has a soft spot for any corporation/organization with ability to make those neo-left/anti-globalist foam at their mouths. :D

(The neo-con/right already went from foaming to rabid so I don't think they need any help in that department.)
 
It's the lawers! kill all the lawers and things will become better. I think that Benjamin Franklin said something like that.
 
Welcome to Walmart where we only cater to the lowest common denominator. We have only the cheapest products and don't care about their quality. Their customer service cetainly relfects this, too. Ever try to find an employee to ask a question? Ever find an employee who can actually answer your question? They don't proivde sufficent employee training or staffing and that negatively affects the whole buying experience. I don't mind paying slightly higher prices for competent, helpful employees and leaving the "hey, I work at Walmart, what do you expect" attitude behind me.



Walmart's move-in and conquer philosophy hurts more than just local businesses. It hurts you and me by limiting our choices as consumers. Say you want to buy some spray starch. Well, I hope you like Faultless spray starch because it’s the only brand cheap enough for Walmart to carry. You see this all the time with them limiting your choice as a consumer to compare similar items in their stores because they only stock one or two brands of many of these kinds of items. Call me crazy, but I like to compare multiple brands of products and prefer several choices not just one.



It never fails whenever I do go there that they are out of one item that I really need. It could be deodorant or toothpaste or whatever, but their stocking/inventory practices often allow them to run out of common items. They would have you believe this is because of their “quest� to always have the lowest prices, but I think it’s just a cleaver scam to get you to return to the store again and again. They’re counting on your return visit and they know no one will only buy just the one item they are really in search of.



My wife and I liked a certain low-carb soup that we had found at Walmart roughly one month ago. Yesterday, my wife went in to buy more soup and guess what�they no longer carry it. It’s typical Walmart practice. They give X feet of shelf space to a certain item. If said item doesn’t generate Y dollars/store per month, then said item is dropped and replaced with something that will make Sam Walton’s heirs more money. They have elaborate computerized inventory tracking systems monitoring these variables all of the time. Your favorite item may be next on the hit list. Better stop by now and buy it by the case load if you want it to be there next week.
 
I feel torn, I can see the capitalist issues, but living in a small town with a Walmart supercenter, I have seen it's effects. Now, I'm not going to say that Walmart killed my town, it didn't. It may have killed Kmart, but that was as much their own fault as Walmart ( Kmart had the worst stocking problems I have ever seen). But, K mart is still here (barely), as are most of the other businesses. I can only think of a few that have closed, and most of them were trashy everythings-a-dollar place. Not that I don't like dollar stores, they have some great stuff, but a town of 15,000 doesn't need a dozen of them.



When Walmart came in, almost a decade ago now, it really wasn't that bad. They we're cheaper, and carried seemingly quality goods. When we got the grocery store, we loved it (side story, we had 2 grocery stores in town, a glen's and and IGA, the guy who owned the IGA bought glen's and promptly closed it, so ppl were kinda miffed 'bout that ) because we now had more competition. It might be just our Walmart, but their meat sucks, as does most produce. As far as I know, most of the town gets their meat and produce at the independent grovery store.



Anyways, lately, it seems Walmart has been getting cheaper and cheaper and cheaper. Their stuff is all the generic stuff, very few name brands, and what is name brand is in so small quantity, that I'm surprised they even have any on the shelves. The county has 30,000 people in it, and we are the largest city for over 120 miles, so a lot of people come here to shop. I am just disappointed that Walmart feels the need to dictate so much of the brands and what we buy. I mean, let's face it, every large retail chain does the same, but when you are so limited to the one specific store, you feel it more.



That said, I don't hate Walmart, but I wish there were other alternatives around. I can't bash them for being good at what they do, because they are. From an economic stand point, they are an almsot perfect model. But, they are not flawless, or as squeeky clean as they would like to think. What it comes down to is how you feel. If enough people get mad (and eventually enough will) Walmart will be forced to reform if they want to survive (look at K Mart), but I don't see that in the near future. So, shop where you will, and follow what you feel is right.



And shop at Meijer's .... j/k
 
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