"Ever compare the working innards of a fishing reel or firearm bought at wally vs. a sporting goods store. Wally's is inexpensive plastic junk vs. metal from the sporting store. This is the basis of wally's low prices."
But don't ignore his other point.
Remember if you buy a Ruger rifle from Walmart it will melt if you leave it in the car during the summer. It isn't like the Ruger you buy at other stores.
"As I look at the three years Snapper has been with you," he told the vice president, "every year the price has come down. Every year the content of the product has gone up. We're at a position where, first, it's still priced where it doesn't meet the needs of your clientele. For Wal-Mart, it's still too high-priced. I think you'd agree with that.
"Now, at the price I'm selling to you today, I'm not making any money on it. And if we do what you want next year, I'll lose money. I could do that and not go out of business. But we have this independent-dealer channel. And 80% of our business is over here with them. And I can't put them at a competitive disadvantage. If I do that, I lose everything. So this just isn't a compatible fit."
The Wal-Mart vice president responded with strategy and argument. Snapper is the sort of high-quality nameplate, like Levi Strauss, that Wal-Mart hopes can ultimately make it more Target-like. He suggested that Snapper find a lower-cost contract manufacturer. He suggested producing a separate, lesser-quality line with the Snapper nameplate just for Wal-Mart. Just like Levi did.
http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/102/open_snapper.html
What's sad about this thread, regardless of the position you take, is one could have bought anything online, from an American owned company, manufactured in the U.S, using U.S. citizens, paying U.S. taxes ---- in less time than it took to post a comment.
[Remember if you buy a Ruger rifle from Walmart it will melt if you leave it in the car during the summer. It isn't like the Ruger you buy at other stores.]
How true. I had the same problem with the "Glad" trash bags I bought at WalMart as well as the "Sony" car stereo and the "Kodak" film. They were less expensive than at any other store so I shouldn't have been surprized when all these items fell apart so quickly.
:^)