Posted on 01/17/2005 10:28:09 AM PST by jb6
All this article says is that Walmart doesn't fit the left wing socialist template and instead it operates like a capitalist corporation. No wonder the liberals hate them.
I know that Levi's "social responsibility" is the same corporate, politically correct communism so many of us loathe and despise. This writer equates their Bolshevism with honor.
It's called capitalism. The commies will never get it.
I suppose not shopping at Wal-Mart is out of the question.
So what?
Don't sell to Wal-Mart if you can't handle their good negotiating skills.
In the meantime, I will continue shopping there to get the best deal on some things, and will shop elsewhere to get the best deal on other things (movies etc...Wal-Mart is too expensive, though better than the super rip-off joint called Hastings Books and Music.......talk about a HUGE markup there...the bastards try to milk it for all they can).
If Vlasic wished to maintain its profit margins, whatever they were, it had the option of not selling pickles by the gallon to Wal-Mart.
At least, he and the other heirs lost out too , along with the rest of the stockholders---
Sorry, I already knew that Wal-Mart. I choose to shop there anyway. If I can buy the same product for less, I will.
A Porshe sells for a lot more then the cost of making one, it's a status symbol.
Walmart should declare that they are a "French" company. That would make the criticism majically disappear.
I read this article last year I think when it first came out, and my question is the same as it was then: What FORCED Vlasic to sell it's pickles through Wal-Mart? If they were confidant that they had convinced people to pay a premium for their pickles, and that said people had brand loyalty, why not just stick to supermarkets or specialty stores and quit their yammerin'?!
tSG
I must have missed the part where Vlasic is having its arm twisted to be one of Wal*Mart's vendors.
And what of the savings of the Wal*Mart customer, where does the additional money of that consumer's budget now go? More spending, more investment, more savings? Don't tell me that their wages are being reduced (during the entire Wal*Mart period not just the last three years), the numbers from the BEA and BLS do not support that claim.
I stopped reading at this line:
"A gallon-sized jar of whole pickles is something to behold. The jar is the size of a small aquarium. The fat green pickles, floating in swampy juice, look reptilian, their shapes exaggerated by the glass. It weighs 12 pounds, too big to carry with one hand. The gallon jar of pickles is a display of abundance and excess; it is entrancing, and also vaguely unsettling. This is the product that Wal-Mart fell in love with: Vlasic's gallon jar of pickles."
Duh. Our "Hometown Food Store" has gallon jars of pickes, mayonaise, soup, beans etc...
It's for small institutions: schools, caterers, churches etc that use such things, but can't afford to ship in supplies by regular shipping.
For example, if the Baptist church holds a supper, they will often buy large jars locally instead of going 100 plus miles to buy wholesale. Big deal.
Heck, even large families will buy large jars to save money.
I wouldn't get too in love with Walmart as a conservative. Remember they often get land below market value with the help of local governments. In addition, they do have the ability to bully most of their suppliers into keeping in line, which isn't very good for a market economy.
Of course, if someone complains about jobs being shipped overseas, _and_ shops at WalMart, they are quite the hypocrite. They do contribute quite a bit to manufacturing jobs being shipped overseas. Is that a good or a bad thing? I don't really know.
The current execs at Wal-Mart leave a lot to be desired, at least one of which is serving time for running a prostitution ring.
On the other hand, they usually do a lot to help local communities and special needs people. Of course organized crime often did these same things (large gifts to charity, helping people publicly and privately, etc.) so that's not the only criteria of a good company.
Anyway, there is a lot of valid criticisms of WalMart, and I wouldn't just pooh-pooh it all away as a nasty liberal conspiracy.
Good for Wallmart. That said, I seldom shop there because most of the stores don't keep enough checkers on the line. I only que so long for low prices.
My local WalMart has less business than local Mejer or Cosco.
Wal Mart, at least in my area, does have serious competitors... including other WalMarts popping up and canibalizing each other.... which infuriates already instated WalMart managers.
WalMart may auto destruct... however, after the KMart-Sears stupid expensive useless deal, WalMart has a lot of margin to grow still... with a stupid competition like this which listens to bankers and not customers, that is.
I stopped reading at this line:
"A gallon-sized jar of whole pickles is something to behold. The jar is the size of a small aquarium. The fat green pickles, floating in swampy juice, look reptilian, their shapes exaggerated by the glass. It weighs 12 pounds, too big to carry with one hand. The gallon jar of pickles is a display of abundance and excess; it is entrancing, and also vaguely unsettling. This is the product that Wal-Mart fell in love with: Vlasic's gallon jar of pickles."
Duh. Our "Hometown Food Store" has gallon jars of pickes, mayonaise, soup, beans etc...
It's for small institutions: schools, caterers, churches etc that use such things, but can't afford to ship in supplies by regular shipping.
For example, if the Baptist church holds a supper, they will often buy large jars locally instead of going 100 plus miles to buy wholesale. Big deal.
Heck, even large families will buy large jars to save money.
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