Next, We’re Going to Wally-World

Special to FreeRepublic ^ | 17 February 2007 | John Armor (Congressman Billybob)

[Congressman Billybob]

Nope, in our household that is not the equivalent of Payton Manning saying after the Superbowl that he’s going to Disney World. It has nothing to do with Disney World. It has everything to do with Sam Walton.

Sam Walton’s creation, WalMart, initially flew below the radar of Wall Street and the national press. It did so in part because of its business model. Beginning in Bentonville, Arkansas, its stores were located in small towns, where no one in his right mind would deliberately locate a chain of stores. And by doing that, and succeeding at that, WalMart created the largest, most successful business in the history of the human race.

But that’s not what I came to talk about. I’m looking at this from the other end of the scale, as a retail customer.

There are two Super WalMarts within easy driving distance of our home. The “Supers” are the newer, larger ones with full grocery departments and pharmacies built in. One is in Clayton, Georgia; the other is in Sylva, North Carolina. Which one we go to depends on whether we intent to buy a tank of gas – NC gas taxes are the highest in the region at 17 cents a gallon – or whether we intent to have lunch during the trip – a Sonic “soda” shop is across the street from the one in Sylva.

We live in a very small town, Highlands, North Carolina, population about 1,000. It has two and a half grocery stores, a couple gas stations, etc.. Everything for sale here has to come up an hour’s drive on winding mountain roads from any direction. Everything here costs more. So we do our occasional shopping here, but “go off the mountain” for major shopping.

That means a trip to Wally-World First, we buy an Atlanta Journal-Constitution for its coupons, and throw the rest away as journalistic trash. Then, we head off to WalMart for a two-cart raid on all its departments. What we do illustrate why Sam Walton was right.

At the beginning of my checkered career, I worked for a company that produced brochures for the Rouse Company, which was then developing the first closed mall shopping centers in the US. At the heart of each brochure was a map showing hundreds of thousands of potential customers within a 20-minute, or 40-minute, drive of the location of the mall. What Sam Walton realized was that folks would come from an even longer distance, and buy even more stuff per trip, if you gave them the opportunity and incentive to do that.

We spend about $500 to $600 a trip. That multiplies out to roughly $6,600 per year. Multiply us by the 100 million Americans who regularly shop at Wally-World, and the key to its billion-dollar success is apparent.

Why do people come to Wally-World? For the same reason that millions of people come to McDonalds. The name on the door is the guarantee you will get a decent product at the lowest possible price. Always. Only in Wally-World, you find not just a handful of products, but tens of thousands of products.

So, why is WalMart under attack in some jurisdictions? The enemies come from two different camps. One is the steadily dwindling union movement which wants to get its hands in the pockets of the most successful business in history. The other enemies are those who neither understand nor respect a free-market economy. They think, against all evidence, that life gets better when the government runs things. WalMart is the primary example that they could not be more wrong.

If WalMart was so bad for communities, why would most communities welcome and appreciate a new WalMart? If WalMart was so bad to its employees, why would people line up around the block for a chance to work there, whenever they open a new store? If WalMart was such a failure for ordinary citizens, why would millions of us be planning our shopping habits around our visits to Wally-World?

Success speaks for itself. Only those who resent success, or seek to mooch off it, falsely deny it.

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About the Author: John Armor is a lawyer specializing in constitutional law, who may again be a candidate for Congress in the 11th District of North Carolina. John_Armor@aya.yale.edu

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[capt. norm]

My understanding is that some of the pre-packaged meats are using carbon monoxide as a preservative.

Not only does the carbon monoxide preserve it, it also enhances the red coloration.

You may remember from first aid courses that a person suffering from carbon monoxide poisoning have "pale skin with cherry red lips and ear tips". Maybe it does the same thing to the meat and makes it look more red than it should.

[Nathan Zachary]

Carbon monoxide? Car exaust? LoL!

I don't think so. Processed packaged meats (no matter where you buy them) use MSG, and are high in nitrates.

[Nathan Zachary]

You may also be thinking of sulpher dioxide.
WHAT'S THAT STUFF? food preservatives

[conservatism_IS_compassion]

I mention Washington state because I have a friend there who tells me that their best apples are shipped out of state and are not easily available locally. Same thing is true of our local red snapper catch...it's on ice and on its way to larger markets before the fish stop flipping

Economics 101 - the produce that's shipped is gonna cost more at its destination location than it does locally. If you are gonna have to charge more, you make the sale easier by shipping the best quality. The distant market is the premium market.

[deport]

Carbon monoxide? Car exaust? LoL!

---

Not that it matters.........

(AP) Shoppers who judge the freshness of meat by its pink color may be deceived by a relatively new industry practice of treating meat with carbon monoxide, critics say.

The meat industry defends the use of carbon monoxide to help meat retain its pink hue, saying large sums of money are wasted when sellers throw away meat that is still safe to eat but is not as attractive because it is slightly brown.

"Color is the number one indicator that's used" in selecting meat, said Don Berdahl, vice president of Kalsec Inc., a maker of natural food extracts in Kalamazoo, Mich. Last November Kalsec filed a petition with the Food and Drug Administration seeking a ban on the use of carbon monoxide in meat packaging.

[Kaslin]

Tell me of a store where you will find anything that is not made in China?

[conservativefromGa]

low prices
shoddy commie merchandise

[CharlesWayneCT]

I don't mind Walmart, but spend a lot more money at Target, because I just enjoy the atmosphere better there, its brighter and less crowded. And they speak english.

[Nathan Zachary]

Sodium nitrates are bad for your heart, so next time you bite into that advertized as "healthy" lunch meat packed "fresh" subway sandwhich, listen quietly and you can hear your arteries being preserved.
meat coloring is usually done by a dye, one of which (number 17, I think) was banned years ago because it was found to cause cancer.

[Nathan Zachary]

I guess your right, I never heard of it before. You learn something new every day on FR.

FDA Is Urged to Ban Carbon-Monoxide-Treated Meat

Fact Sheet: Modified Atmosphere Packaging Using Carbon Monoxide A "Safe" Packaging Option

[Nathan Zachary]

I think the language they speak at your local walmart is reflective of the language most people speak in the community which surrounds it, not a hiring practice.
There aren't any foriegn language speaking people at my local walmart. There are, as another post mentions, some people with disabilities working there.

[Ruy Dias de Bivar]

***Wallyworld=Chinaworld.***

So is K-Mart, Fred's, Dollar store, Dollar general, Dollar tree, Atwoods, Ace Hardware, Radio Shack and too many others to mention.

[deport]

That means a trip to Wally-World First, we buy an Atlanta Journal-Constitution for its coupons,

---

How do you use the coupons at a Walmart?.....

[Nathan Zachary]

From the fact sheet link:

"Red meat tends to change from a bright red color to brown or gray after being exposed to oxygen. This is a natural change in color but does not mean that the product isn’t fresh or edible. The product is still safe and wholesome despite this change in color. By adding minute amounts of carbon monoxide at levels permitted by FDA and USDA to red meat packages, products like ground beef can maintain their natural appearance throughout their shelf life.

Now you know, the hamburger that turns a bit gray is the GOOD stuff.

[PJ-Comix]

WALLY WORLD

Take a hike you leftwing liberal lunatic!!!

[Ruy Dias de Bivar]

In NW Ark, Sam Walton was the one who broke the economic stranglehold the CHICKEN MAN had in this area.
Back then you worked for the CHICKED MAN or his CHICKEN CATCHER at what ever they wanted to pay you which was not very much.

Thank's Sam!

The CHICKEN MAN now imports labor from guess where! se ablay espanyol?

[daviddennis]

Wegmans looks like a great market, but sadly the Pittsburgh area doesn't have even one :-(.

Pittsburgh people as a general rule don't seem to go for fancy stuff, which is one reason I feel like a fish out of water here.

But at least Market District is better than nothing.

D

[Bahbah]

First, we buy an Atlanta Journal-Constitution for its coupons, and throw the rest away as journalistic trash.

LOL. Loved this line.

[Richard Kimball]

There are two reasons that WalMart is so successful that are rarely mentioned. First, it's not just that Walmart has thousands of products, it's that they have just about every product anyone would need to purchase regularly. Think of anything you purchase weekly or monthly. If it's legal, it's probably at Walmart. The other thing is that most Walmart's are now open 24/7, except on Christmas Day.

A couple of notes from a marketing class I took eons ago:

If a store doesn't have something you're looking for, you're about 10% less likely to go there again.
If a customer goes to a store and it's closed, they're about 30% less likely to ever go back.

Walmart has captured two important tendencies to get people in the Walmart habit. First, they've got it. Second, they're open. Low prices is certainly part of the Walmart strategy, but they're not always the cheapest. They are always open and they've probably got what you need.

[David_G_Burnet]

I enjoyed shopping at Wally World and other Jumbo-sized stores over Christmas vaca at my folks.

Going to one of those superstores always feels a bit like the scene in Moscow on the Hudson where the Russian defector (played by Robin Williams of all people) goes to an American supermarket for the first time, sees a WHOLE AISLE of coffee, and faints in amazement, mumbling "coffee, coffee, coffee" and fumbling with the cans.

My GF at the time didn't believe things in the Socialist Worker's Paradise of Russia were that bad, or that people actually waited in multi-block lines for toilet paper, as accurately depicted in the movie. I'd been to Berlin before the wall came down and knew better. She didn't get to enjoy my company for long after that (a darn shame, the whoopee was great).

Unfortunately, the sad truth is that most Americans have no concept of the bounty we enjoy in this country, and like the previously mentioned GF, mindlessly drink whatever flavor-du-jour apocalyptic koolaid the liberals are serving up, then vote Democrat.

If they haven't already, I'm afraid the NEA is winning the mind control war. Unless the Republicans get some iron in their backs, fight fire with fire, and slap a turbo on the Truth Propaganda Machine, they'll continue to win (don't EVEN get me started on the NEA GF I once had).

If I was in a suburban environment, I'd shop at Walmart more often, but I live in the inner city and it's just not worth the time and effort of trying to find another street parking space, LOL.

It's a little more expensive, but walking to the neighborhood Mom & Pop store located on every other block makes more sense, and you actually get to talk to real people, not worker bee drones. That reminds me, I need to find out how to say bodega in Italian...