[Roots]

Ping for later (late for class)

[Balding_Eagle]

I'm sure none of this is true. I know because I've read so not only at DU, but here at FR many have told me so too.

[wideawake]

Good article. When you can't compete on price, you differentiate.

Or you bitch and moan until you can convince the local government to outlaw your competition.

The former strategy is worthy of Americans.

[Keith]

what? Capitalism and competition work in America?

Heresy!

[FReepaholic]

...But something interesting has happened: many new businesses have sprung up...

Wal Mart is a business magnet. Thousands of folks go to Wal Mart and other businesses know that and put their stores near Wal Mart.

In a community near me, Wal Mart build a Supercenter near the interstate in an area basically void of businesses.

Now, there are tons of restaraunts, office supply, hardware stores and car dealerships.

If Wal Mart builds it, they will come.

[Straight Vermonter]

Vermont was the last state in the US to have a Walmart. The state government and the lefty elites fought to keep Walmart out because they said it would be detrimental to downtowns. I think it was actually because to these elites Walmart's employees and customers are "undesirables".

A Walmart representative was questioned about why they were not willing to locate downtown where people had access to busses and the bike path. The representative responded that he could not imagine anyone buying a 64 pack of toilet paper and then riding home on his bike. The place cracked up!

[SamAdams76]

When Wal-Mart first came to our area about 10 years ago, we used to make a family trip out of it. That's because we saved so much money buying our household goods at Wal-Mart that we all went out to eat afterwards at one of the half-dozen restaurants that immediately opened up all around it. We didn't get out to eat that often in those days as money was tight, but Wal-Mart put the extra money in our pocket to do things like that on a more regular basis.

[Machines Are Us]

"The Wal-Mart effect may be destructive from time to time, but it's also profoundly creative."

Pure comedic gold.

I can't wait until the author’s next article, "Prostate cancer: biological meanie or WONDERFULLY FABOULOUS WEIGHTLOSS PLAN!!1!1one"

[Gabz]

He makes some very excellent points.


(bookmark for later)

[FateAmenableToChange]

It left out the most important thing - by selling 9mm (WWB) at $11/100, Wal-Mart forces the local gun shop commandos (who used to sell the same stuff at $10/50) to think about focusing on quality firearms, quality gunsmithing, and knowledgable counterfolk.

[HKTechBoy]

Well, the speciality shop theory will only work when you have a fairly rich and educated segment of the community. If the college wasn't there, dumb-@ss overpriced nonsense wouldn't be sold.

Or if we look at simple capitalism. Walmart comes in, Mom&Pop goes out of business, Landlord has to lower rents, Dirty Hippies with more money than sense opens a business. With the success of the hippie shop they start to contribute money to the DemoRATS, the DemoRATS take over. America is doomed.

[downtoliberalism]

but i think there are a lot of "conservatives" out there who really do only look at the rosy picture because anything that makes money is okay with them.

---

*Wal-Mart paid more than $39.7 million in state and local taxes in the state of Missouri last year.

*During the past year, Wal-Mart spent $4,909,653,426 for merchandise and services with 2,309 suppliers in the state of Missouri. As a result of Wal-Mart's relationship with these suppliers, Wal-Mart supports 122,497 supplier jobs in the state of Missouri.
Supplier figures provided by Dun & Bradstreet

*In Missouri, the total number of Wal-Mart associates is 41,854 (as of 10/15/04).

*Teacher of the Year Grants: $138,000

*Safe Neighborhood Heroes Grants: $199,200

*Literacy Grants: $133,250

I realize that Wal-Mart is bad for the US, but how much of these items were being supplied by mom and pop stores before Wal-Mart ran them out of business?

[Paulus Invictus]

Nevertheless you still cannot avoid knowing that multiple Chicom missiles are still aimed at us, thanks to the billions per year that W-M et al send along to China with nary a worry about how that mega-money is used. All other pro-W-M arguments are insignificant when compared to this truth.

[ken21]

there's an amusing poll on the da vinci blog of the denver post which asks which organization would you trust to issue their own money. examples include wall mart and harvard university, wells fargo. i chose wal-mart. wal-mart's ahead at this time at 16%.

http://www.impactlab.com/modules.php?name=Surveys&op=results&pollID=19&mode=&order=&thold=

[SaltyJoe]

Sam Walton is dead.

Wal-Mart is now corporate as it has been for a while.

Find another innovator and we won't have to read as much "capitalism is the devil" articles.

or...

Shift the industry of products being made in Red China for products being made in South America. Why?

1) stops funding anti-American Communist Beijing;

2) strengthens the Western Hemisphere via business and relations;

3) keeps my Hispanic side of the family still living in Central and South America from sneaking into Estados Unidos for a yob and a life;

4) moves industries away from cocaine to real products that the world needs;

5) South America is physically closer than China so the transportation cost is much much less (marine grade bunker C and/or diesel is expensive to burn).

[MHT]

Wal-Mart came to two towns near mine; one is 9 miles away and one is 8. Now, my hometown (which had earlier supported two major supermarkets, an expanded convenience store, and neighborhood delivery green grocerer) has one supermarket, which stocks a limited amount of goods (mostly booze).

This is the REAL WAL-MART EFFECT: If Wal-Mart doesn't have it, you can't buy it. There is no place in town to buy a more exotic meat (like lamb) or canned goods (like hearts of palm). But Wal-Mart doesn't carry these things either. An Easter dinner other than traditional ham was not possible--period.

Sure, we've got plenty of dress shops, art galleries, and antique stores--but if you need a wrench set, you have to drive 8-9 miles. And, if Wal-Mart is out of them, forget it. If you need 2" drapery hooks and they only have 1", get used to it.

Worst, worst, worst of all, if your taste isn't Wal-Martized--you're screwed. I looked for a tablecoth for Easter. I got something--white when I wanted pastel, round instead of rectangular, but I got something. (Yep, the better dry goods store in my hometown that used to sell linen napkins, etc., went out of business because they couldn't compete with the prices Wal-Mart charged for gift items, a more profitable product.)

I know that Wal-Mart is the ultimate demonstration of the marketplace at work, but shopping based upon item supplied rather than price alone doesn't recommend the merchandise or its vendor.

Thank God for mail-order!

[TChris]

The question becomes: do we really need small, inefficient and expensive shops to supply us with our shaving cream and plastic laundry baskets? How vibrant is a downtown where such items are being hocked? Since Wal-Mart consolidates these kinds of goods into "big boxes," we, like John Blundell, can get them for dirt cheap all in one place. Charming downtown areas can then evolve into gorgeous window-shopping and restaurant-hopping districts for both locals and tourists. In the meantime, everyone knows where to go to get the bare necessities quickly and at a lower cost.

This sums it up pretty well. Other stores can still compete effectively with Wal-Mart, by not taking them head-on. WM really doesn't have a huge selection in any particular area. They just have a lot of areas, and ensure low prices in those areas. If a competing store just specializes a little, catering to the more specific needs/tastes of local customers, for example, they will get business.