H&M and Wal-Mart destroy and trash unsold goods

Shine ^

[Scythian]

This unsettling discovery was made by graduate student Cynthia Magnus outside the back entrance of H&M on 35th street in New York City. Just a few doors down, she also found hundreds of Wal-Mart tagged items with holes made in them that were dumped by a contractor. On December 7, she spotted 20 bags of clothing outside of H&M including, "gloves with the fingers cut off, warm socks, cute patent leather Mary Jane school shoes, maybe for fourth graders, with the instep cut up with a scissor, men’s jackets, slashed across the body and the arms. The puffy fiber fill was coming out in big white cotton balls.”

The New York Times points out that one-third of the city's population is poor, which makes this behavior not only wasteful and sad, but downright irresponsible. Wal-Mart spokeswoman, Melissa Hill, acted surprised that these items were found, claiming they typically donate all unworn merchandise to charity. When reporters went around the corner from H&M to a collections drop-off for charity organization New York Cares, spokesperson Colleen Farrell said, “We’d be glad to take unworn coats, and companies often send them to us."

[metalurgist]

Just sick and tired of hypocritical slimy socialists that stick their big unwanted schnoz into everyone Else's business and attempt to force everyone else to conform to their idea of morality.

You're no better than a stinking Kennedy. Forced charity and then puffing out your chest and taking credit for coercing others to perform what you consider good deeds.

DU is where you belong.

[SunkenCiv]

Wal-Mart spokeswoman, Melissa Hill, acted surprised that these items were found, claiming they typically donate all unworn merchandise to charity.

[Irish Eyes]

What is H & M ??

[Cacique]

btt

[John D]

Just sick and tired of hypocritical slimy socialists that stick their big unwanted schnoz into everyone Else's business and attempt to force everyone else to conform to their idea of morality.
You're no better than a stinking Kennedy. Forced charity and then puffing out your chest and taking credit for coercing others to perform what you consider good deeds.
DU is where you belong.

I could not have said it better.

[Marty62]

Take your meds or stop drinking.

[Jeff Chandler]

Nobodies getting paid. Retailers destroy much of what they cannot sell. Sometimes they are reimbursed by the manufacturer and sometimes they eat the costs.
 
They destroy because otherwise they get sued or find people returning the items for refunds.
 
Sometimes you have to provide proof of the destruction to get reimbursed as well.

Don't start stating facts on this thread.

[Jeff Chandler]

This type of behavour is a SIN.

Why not invest your money and buy out Walmart? Then you could run it more virtuously.

[driftdiver]

Long ago when I was in high school I was the one that was destroying. It only bothered me when it was something cool.

[driftdiver]

One thing Walmart is good at is squeezing every last dime from their inventory.

They destroy it because they have to. They give something away, someone is unhappy and they sue the company with deep pockets.

Or they turn around and bring it back to the store for a refund so they can get something they want.

I worked in retail when I was a kid and saw it first hand.

[eyedigress]

Philips destroyed at least 1000 HD projection TV’s. Oh Well.

[Marty62]

Finally someone makes a rational argument for what WM did.

Especially the fake returns.

[Jeff Chandler]

Stores such as Walmart, Home Depot, Costco, etc., operate on razor-thin profit margins on their merchandise. They really only make a few cents on each dollar invested. The way they make a reasonable return on their stockholders' investment is by turning that dollar over and over throughout the year. Therefore they have to get rid of any product that their customers don't want. A coat hanging on a rack does not make money and so must be replaced with a product that their customers will buy.

This is the process which enables such low prices to their customers.

If they decide that storing, processing, and shipping unsold merchandise costs more than destroying it, then that's what they do.

Again, that is the process through which their customers are able to purchase what they want at low prices.

Also, many products are bought through what is called guaranteed sales. The retailer doesn't pay for any of these products that don't sell quickly. Since storing, processing, and shipping products that the public does not want is unprofitable for the wholesalers, they often only require proof of the product's destruction. Magazines, for instance, only require the cover to be returned, and the rest is thrown away.

Previous posters have already pointed out that the costs of liability for donated products and the costs of paying for illicit returns of donated products are prohibitive.

As for discounting unsold products, large chains generally determine their sales strategies in advance of ordering products from the suppliers. As proviously stated, unsold merchandise takes up valuable floor space better used for displaying profitable merchandise.

Suggested reading:

Basic Economics at Amazon.com

[Marty62]

I always carefully chose merch for my stores.
Ran a 4 turn rate. That is where the real profit is achieved. It takes a thorough knowledge of your customer base and providing the proper amount of Inventory per space allocation.

[Jeff Chandler]

Then you understand better than anyone how difficult it is to make a profit in retail.

Walmart’s system works and allows them to continue providing low (and medium) income customers with affordable clothing. If they didn’t earn a profit, their investment capital would go elsewhere and Walmart would go out of business. Then watch their former customers’ clothing budgets skyrocket!

[phil_t]

This is a classic “Hate Walmart” article.. there are NO WalMarts in Manhattan or anywhere nearby. If New York City environs would allow a WalMart to be built, then this story would have a basis for being written.

Using the Walmart.com store locator, here’s a list of “nearby” WalMarts:

1. Secaucus, NJ 07094
2. Kearny, NJ 07032
3. North Bergen, NJ 07047 Opening Soon
4. Saddle Brook, NJ 07663
5. Valley Stream, NY 11581
6. Linden, NJ 07036
7. Union, NJ 07083
8. Westbury, NY 11590
9. Uniondale, NY 11553
10. White Plains, NY 10601
11. East Meadow, NY 11554
12. Woodbridge, NJ 07095
13. Riverdale, NJ 07457
14. Boonton, NJ 07005
15. Watchung, NJ 07069
16. Suffern, NY 10901
17. Cedar Knolls, NJ 07927
18. Edison, NJ 08818
19. Old Bridge, NJ 08857
20. Piscataway, NJ 08854

I question how the writer was so sure WalMart had anything to do with the damaged merchandise she found. If Walmart had sold the stuff to H&M, then WalMart has no further role in the matter.

As an earlier poster noted, businesses face big losses from scams whereby people bring merchandise back for credit.. the merchants in most cases give a dollar credit for returned items even though the customer has no evidence of having ever paid anything for the merchandise. I personally know of several businesses that folded due to the excessive losses sustained by merchandise being returned for credit which had been purchased elsewhere at a sharp discount. That’s why, for example, booksellers mark books to show they have been remaindered and thus will not be accepted for full refund, since the book was purchased elsewhere for 5-10% of the list price.

Rather than bashing WalMart, we need to put Walmart in charge of running the country:

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/opinion/opedcolumnists/item_K8hD47GcZBkh1v3SjNYldI

FLY ON THE WAL: UNDERCOVER AT WAL-MART, THE HEARTLAND SUPERSTORE THAT MAY SAVE THE ECONOMY

[Marty62]

Absolutely, it is job that is constantly in flux.
I am a believer in freshness. Plus I liked being able to put a personal touch in the business. I would not be happy in a mega store like WM.