Wal-Mart plans 10 new stores in China

MSNBC News ^ | November 2, 2004 | Reuters

[Toddsterpatriot]

Wal-Mart plans 10 new stores in China Firm aims to profit from new rules for foreign retailers

Updated: 11:51 a.m. ET Nov. 2, 2004BEIJING -

The world’s biggest retailer, Wal-Mart Stores Inc., said it planned at least 10 new stores in China next year, joining other foreign retail giants in taking advantage of new rules letting them move into smaller cities.

...Snip...

Last year, it sourced $15 billion worth of goods in low-cost China, from bicycles to fish. Scott said Chinese products made up about 80 percent of imports sold by Wal-Mart at its more than 3,200 U.S. outlets.

Copyright 2005 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters

[1rudeboy]

I posted a link to walmarts Chicom operations yesterday which clearly stated that over 70 percent of the community goods (textiles, household appliances, etc) that walmarts sells are manufactured in China.

I scrolled through your posting history and couldn't find it, can you post it again, or direct me to the spot?

[stboz]

Where will Walmart find cheap goods to sell to the Chinese....the Chinese have no money.

Oops! Forgot! The Chinese have all our money. Nevermind.

[Toddsterpatriot]

Wal-Mart's China inventory to hit US$18b this year Last Updated(Beijing Time):2004-11-29 15:35

The world's largest retailer, Wal-Mart Stores Inc, says its inventory of stock produced in China is expected to hit US$18 billion this year, keeping the annual growth rate of over 20 per cent consistent over two years...snip....

Last year, the firm bought US$15 billion products from China, half from direct purchasing, the other from the firm's suppliers in China. ....snip.....

Xu declined to comment if the anti-dumpling measures of the US Department of Commerce have impacted the firm's procurement of textile commodities and household appliances in China, saying again that China is an important sourcing base for the firm.

So far, more than 70 per cent of the commodities sold in Wal-Mart are made in China......

Source:China Daily

© China Economic Net. All rights reserved. About us | Feedback | Contact

China Daily

Hmmmmm.... jspb said "I posted a link to walmarts Chicom operations yesterday which clearly stated that over 70 percent of the community goods (textiles, household appliances, etc) that walmarts sells are manufactured in China."

That's not what the article says. Is he making stuff up again?

[1rudeboy]

70% of commodities? What the hell is that supposed to mean? Dirt, fertilizer, and birdseed?

[1rudeboy]

Are you making stuff up? Did you confuse "commodity" with "community?" And what makes you think that an appliance is a commodity?

[jpsb]

		Company/Label	Factory in China	Wages Per Hour	Hours Per Week	Conditions
		Wal-Mart/Kathie Lee handbags	Liang Shi Handbag Factory	$0.13 to $0.23	60-70; 10-hr shifts 6-7 days a week	No factory fire exits; dirty, cramped dorms. 10 to a room; for 70 hours a week, warehouse workers earn $3.44; no benefits; no legal work contract; workers have never heard of a Code of Conduct
		Wal-Mart/Kathie Lee handbags	Ya Li Handbag, Ltd.	$0.18 to $0.28	60; plus overtime up to 16-hour shifts	Forced overtime-stiff fines for refusal; overtime premium of 2 1/2 cents an hour; some workers not paid 3-4 months; 12 to a dorm room; no benefits, no work contract; never heard of a Code of Conduct
		Wal-Mart/Kathie Lee	Li Wen Factory	$0.20 to $0.35	84; 12-hour shifts 7 days a week; mandatory 24-hour shifts during rush times	Forced overtime, severe fines for refusal to comply; no benefits, no overtime rate; no fire exits in dormitories; no work contract; workers have never heard of a Code of Conduct
		Wal-Mart	Tianjin Yuhua Garment Factory	$0.23	60	Wal-Mart is pulling out of this factory and other large publicly owned plants in the north to relocate its work to unregulated lower-wage privately owned sweatshops in the south of China
		Ann Taylor and Preview	Kang Yi Fashion Manufacturers	$0.14	96; 7 days a week 7 a.m. to midnight	Workers have never heard of a Code of Conduct; 6 to 10 workers in dorm rooms
		Ralph Lauren, Ellen Tracy/Linda Allard	Iris Fashions	$0.20	72-80; 12-to-15 hour shifts; 6 days a week	No union; workers paid a $0.06 an hour premium for overtime; paid $0.02 for each shirt collar sewn
		Esprit Label (Esprit Group)	You Li Fashion Factory	$0.13	93; 7:30 a.m. to midnight; 7 days a week	No overtime pay; no benefits; sometimes employees need to work 24-hour shifts; 6 to 8 people to a dorm room; dorm is dark and dirty; workers afraid; under constant surveillance; never heard of a corporate Code of Conduct
		Liz Claiborne and Bugle Boy	Shanghai Shirt 2d Factory	$0.25	66; 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.; 6 days a week	Employees fined if they don't work overtime; no union
		Liz Claiborne	Shanghai Jiang District Silk Fashions Ltd.	$0.28	60-70; 11.5-hour shift; 6 days a week
		J.C. Penney	Zhong Mei Garment	$0.18	78; 11-hour shifts; 7 days a week	No union; no benefits; workers have never heard of J.C. Penney Corporate Code of Conduct
		Kmart	Shanghai No.4 Shirt Factory	$0.28	70
		Cherokee Jeans	Meiming Garment Factory	$0.24	60-70	No benefits; workers have never heard of monitoring; 8 to a dorm room
		Sears	Tianjin Beifang Garment Factory	$0.28	60	Sears is pulling out to relocate its production in lower-wage, unregulated sweatshops in the south
		Structure/ The Limited	Aoda Garment Factory	$0.32	70	No union; 6 workers to a dorm room
		Nike Athletic Shoes	Wellco Factory	$0.16	77-84; 11 - to -12 hour shifts; 7 days a week	Workers fined if they refuse to work overtime; overtime rate not paid; hour shifts; most had no legal contract; humiliation, screaming, some corporal punishment; arbitrary fining of pregnant women and older (25 years old and up) women; fines if talking at work; approximately 10 children in the sewing section; most workers have never heard of Nike's Code of Conduct
		Nike and Adidas Athletic Shoes	Yue Yuen Factory	$0.19	60-84	Forced overtime, no overtime premium paid; excessive noise pollution, fumes in the factory; no worker had heard of Nike or Adidas Corporate Code of Conduct
		Adidas Garments	Tung Tat Garment Factory	$0.22	75-87.5; 12.5-hour Shifts; 6 or 7 days a week	Employees fired if late/resting/found talking; forced morning calisthenics; 8 workers to a dorm room

Source: "Company Profiles/Working Conditions: Factories in China Producing Goods for Export to the U.S.,"
"Made in China: Behind the Label," Charles Kernaghan of the National Labor Committee, March 1998. Wages are in U.S. dollars.

[1rudeboy]

So you did make it up? And what's with the National Labor Committee? Comrades of yours?

[jpsb]

Can't wait untill you are forced to work in conditions similar to those bought about by abandionmant of all but profit motive. It will be a just reward for you.

[1rudeboy]

Catchy slogan. Is it Marx?

[Mase]

"Where will Walmart find cheap goods to sell to the Chinese....the Chinese have no money"
________________

Maybe you missed this.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1344738/posts

[jpsb]

Nope it's mine, you see I have a brain and I know how to use it beyond just remembering talking points.

[Mase]

"Oops! Forgot! The Chinese have all our money. Nevermind."
___________

We have a $160 billion dollar trade deficit with China and a $11.7 trillion economy. How do you figure they have all our money? Or, are you just getting emotional like so many others on this thread?

[investigateworld]

You have to understand that some our our fellow FReepers are young and do not YET understand the words of Jesus of Nazareth:"As you sow, you will reap"
Or "payback is a bitch"

[1rudeboy]

. . . you see I have a brain and I know how to use it beyond just remembering talking points.

Talking points, huh? Such as the following, that you pulled out of your arse?

"I posted a link to walmarts Chicom operations yesterday which clearly stated that over 70 percent of the community goods (textiles, household appliances, etc) that walmarts sells are manufactured in China."

[1rudeboy]

I would hope that you understand that you cannot guess someone's age from their posts on an Internet bulletin-board. Can I?

[Mase]

"So you did make it up? And what's with the National Labor Committee? Comrades of yours?"
__________________

I think he (jpsb) is just another one of the many on these threads who think it is better for these laborers to beg on the street for food and watch their families suffer than to work for a few dollars a day and provide their families. The first option offers no hope, the latter does. But, somehow, it's not acceptable.??

Millions of Chinese are pouring into the cities begging for the kinds of jobs jpsb condemns. Unemployment in the rural areas of China is 50% or more. I guess these people should just rest in comfort, even though they aren't eating, knowing that they haven't been exploited and that jpsb is feeling better about himself 10,000 miles away. LOL

[investigateworld]

I have special powers. :^)

[1rudeboy]

It's more than that. It is argued up and down these threads that the Chinese are poor, and don't have the money to buy stuff. If that was truly the case, then why does Wal-Mart have 40+ stores in China, and plans to open 10+ more?

[Toddsterpatriot]

Oil and iron ore.

[Mase]

"It is argued up and down these threads that the Chinese are poor, and don't have the money to buy stuff. If that was truly the case, then why does Wal-Mart have 40+ stores in China, and plans to open 10+ more?"
___________________________

Amazing isn't it? A 1.65 trillion dollar economy growing at 9+% a year and no wealth is being created. The Chicom leadership are many things but they are certainly not stupid. They know that if this wealth creation does not start reaching the average Chinese and create some sort of middle class then they will have another Tianeman Square x 10.

I have not been there in more than a year but on my last visit I spent most of my time sitting in traffic jams because they have so many automobiles now. There was no such problem 10 years ago.