Posted on 12/01/2006 11:51:30 PM PST by JohnHuang2
Nice story about the baseball gloves. How many other American manufacturers received similar treatment from Walmart, I wonder.
That case highlights one problem with giant retailers like Walmart, their purchase orders are so large that only large manufacturers can supply them. And if a manufacturer raises output to fill their needs, then that manufacturer is placed in the position of relying on more orders to keep the increased plant and workforce busy. At that point, Walmarts' got them just where they want them.
Not always. Wal-Mart also caters to local tastes, and often stocks items that are only of interest to customers in a specific area (or even a specific store). This generates sales opportunities for even the smallest businesses.
Remember when we were being told that manufacturing wasn't all that important, that the USA would be even better, relying on the "SERVICE ECONOMY"? Now it's apparent that the wages paid for service work aren't so good.
Maybe the future belongs to "Process Servers".
Can you provide some examples?
And...can a small business get paid the same for its goods from Walmart, as it gets from small retailers?
- Sportsware with local team emblems (down to the high-school level)
- Souvenirs for local tourist attractions (postcards, mugs, coasters, etc.)
- Maps for local fishing holes and hunting areas
- Certain flowers/cacti/plants which only thrive in very specific parts of the country
- Certain ethnic foods (only sold in areas with large populations of that ethnicity)
IIRC, Methodists have Stewards; Baptists (and several others) have Deacons. But I never heard of a Methodist Deacon.
I have a friend who works for one of the largest Drug Store Companies in the U.S. and he says 90% of the non drug items they carry are from China. Sam is not the only one buying from China.
If you can't find many products made in America ask the environmentalists and the unions who drove business out of the country.
" i'm stressed trying to find ANYTHING "made in America" at my local Wal Mart now "
Your point overlooks alot of American companies that have products at Walmart,
Doritos, Coke, eggs, milk, Purina, ect.
Most of the food products are from America,
and the rest of the stuff I don't normally buy anywhere.
You have post a small statement with few words but, it explains volumes with Americas manufactures.
A lot of things at Walmart come from local suppliers, especially in the garden department. I wonder if there shouldn't be a patriotic buy American push on cars.
If you can't find many products made in America ask the environmentalists and the unions who drove business out of the country
You can still find many, many products made in America. They tend to be very high quality and the vast majority of Americans cannot afford them.
I can not think of Pat anymore without thinking of his ill-fated heavy metal album!
As soon as they step up quality control and produce a quality product.
Nice op-ed by one of America's nicest people. But I still can't get over his heavy-metal album and especially "Stairway to Heaven" which might be one of the funniest things in history. At first, I thought it was Tom Jones, which was hillarious, but then learned it was Pat, which made it insanely funny...
Note the "real story" about the -0.1% at Walmart.
Me too, but my stress is relieved by shopping elsewhere.
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