Posted on 03/19/2010 8:16:19 PM PDT by STARWISE
Wal-Mart Stores Inc will cut food prices and mount a new ad campaign over the next six weeks, a threat to other U.S. grocers that sent an industry shares index down more than 2 percent on Friday.
A Morgan Stanley analyst first reported the world's largest retailer's plan, calling it a major setback for other U.S. grocers, and the company confirmed the promotions in an email.
"While this helps address Walmart's traffic woes, we view this as a major setback for the grocery stocks, which have been rallying on hopes of a return to more rational pricing," Morgan Stanley analyst Mark Wiltamuth wrote in a note on Friday.
The Standard & Poor's Food Retail Sub-Industry Index closed down 2.2 percent.
Walmart has used aggressive pricing in grocery and other units to bring shoppers into its stores. The grocery business is particularly pressured by such pricing, as its profit margins are already low.
Investors in Walmart have been concerned about signs that shoppers who gravitated to its stores during the worst of the recession -- boosting sales and profits -- are returning to rivals. Traffic fell in Walmart's U.S. stores during its fourth quarter, despite the holiday season, when shopping is at its peak.
(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...
I'm with you - I always count on our legal system to keep me healthy and happy.
Under the new rules of engagement, this will be used to justify price controls. You know, to stabilize the economy and save union jobs. The "public use" type of logic that is used to justify eminent domain
Hmmm, a successful company. Well, we can’t have that! I wonder how long before the Muslim PIG and Chewy go after them?
I sure hope you don’t lose your insurance too. I really appreciate the info you gave me. Mighty lucky to just blindly stumble into that. Thanks again!!
Thanks!! It looks like they are mostly around the large DFW market. Maybe they’ll get down here soon.
Right ... the other grocers will probably
be ‘too big to fail.’
Can’t you just see it ?
Cheap but gross........
MMMMMMMMMM
MMMMMMMMMM
MMMMMMMMMM
They keep doing what their doing and the chain will be the next K-mart within less than a decade. The latest fiasco was the Great Value or nothing else stocking they tried to pull. I ocassionally go in to the nearby super store to pick up a few things to save me a longer trip. Each time I go in more and more shelves disappear. It's starting to look like a Target for some reason. I will say this much for Target. You can go into any Target and what they carried in stock on the shelves six months ago they still likely carry especially in high turnover items.
I used to buy the monthly groceries there but finally gave up. Two major canneries are in my area and are a major players in the local economy yet Walmart has taken most of their products off the shelf last time I checked & replaced with Great Value only. If anyone thinks I am making this up this policy was national news and there are at least two recent {withing a month or so threads FR threads} on that very topic.
I can go to Ingles and get food on the total about the same or lower and much, much more choices in name brands. When a Walmart can't even keep name brand 10W30 motor oil stocked they have a major inventory malfunction among other things. The new management does not understand that if you don't have an item on the shelf you can sell that item.
Walmart revamped their store layouts then revamped their inventory system to an on time delivery system of which is a major failure and will be their likely downfall. With a few exceptions like guns there is no merchandise in the stockrooms anymore except what comes in on nightly trucks and is put out that night. An out of stock item may not be delivered to the store for days and then in limited quanities so they run out the next day. It just doesn't make good business sense.
I’m in San Diego, stores are everywhere, but super walmart is not allowed, our wal marts don’t sell meat, produce and have aisles of canned goods. They are just dry goods stores.
Aldi’s Trader Joe’s chain is awesome.
The only food that I eat, has to be raised by communist virgins.
The sad thing is neither you or I are kidding.
So true! I miss Aldi's!
When we moved West, we were shocked that even though we moved to a much larger city, there were many fewer options for grocery shopping, including NO ALDI. I think it's due to the way grocery stores are unionized here.
BTW: Many people don't know that Aldi & Trader Joes are owned by the same German company. They serve somewhat different markets, but the way they run the businesses are the same - mostly private label & low prices.
I find some of my best bargains at a small chain called Sunflower Market, which is a lot like Trader Joes (which we also don't have). It's based in Colorado, carries a lot of in-house brands, and has some of the best produce at the lowest prices I've found anywhere.
W-M has been raising prices for the last year. Thus lowering them is just getting back to regular prices.
My local wallyworld charges $2.78 for 10 Oz of the honey wheat large pretzels that were $1.66 in Jan 09. My local HEB charges 1.99 for their similar pretzels.
Franzia Cabernet Sauvignon @ WM = $14.78 (5L).
Franzia Cabernet Sauvignon @ HEB = $12.97 (5L).
Grated cheddar is cheaper @ HEB.
Goya honey is 5.99 Lb. @ WM, $4.99 @ HEB.
Many things, however, are cheaper @ WM.
You're joking, aren't you?
K-Mart is out of Central Texas, except for the stores that they call "Sears" and "Sears Grand". Also, don't buy anything from K-Mart-Sears that needs an extended warranty, such as a water softener, they fix only certain parts of it, the parts that they "deem" to be covered. But they don't let you know what parts those are until they break.
What exactly makes you think that Great Value products are made in the USA? I'm sorry to have to deliver this news to you, but the label "Distributed by Wal-Mart Bentonville, AR" in no way guarantees that the product is made in the USA. ( Some types of products such as tilapia must say country of origin ). And some, or maybe even many GV products MIGHT be made in the USA, but "Distributed by" doesn't mean anything.
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