Thread: Boycott Walmart , help the local industry .

The Walmart's here and in VT are shitholes. The ones in Florida are amazing, specifically the Super Walmarts. So much room, so many products, and a good place to go at 3am when the bars close and you are looking for a nerf football.

Florida Wal Marts are awesome. I have a supercenter like 3 miles from me.. I avoid it, but I still go there time to time. Its hard to reason avoiding them since everything is made in China.. Cuz if you got to another store- its the same damn problem. I prioritize products by rank of North America, Then anywhere in the world but China, and, finally, China.
That aside, I have only 3 reasons to avoid walmart behind me..
1: They're a monopoly on.. everything. Sorry, but thats no good for the economy IMO.

2: Their food selection sucks. While Albertsons or Publix may be a bit more expensive, they have everything I need for a recipe, and.. they arent Wal Mart.

3: I bet you thought I couldnt find a reason that had to do with firearms! Damn straight I have! Wal Mart pussied up to the Brady Campaigne when they went on their,"assault weapons" tirade. Wal Mart wont carry $900+ AR-15 rifles, but they will carry other semi-auto rifles that cost 1/6 as much, because they're asthetically,"less menacing"

Ill continue avoiding walmart, but I cant say Ill boycott till I see more people making at least a small effort.. If you boycott something as huge as WalMart alone, you're just depriving yourself. They wont notice or care.

I will only shop at wal-mart from now on.

I shop there because they have everything and no one can beat their prices, however I do not like how Wal-Mart and many other big retailers put the little guys out of business. I guess I should boycott these retail giants but I don't.

but they also provide a large amount of jobs.

Originally Posted by P-funk

but they also provide a large amount of jobs.

very true.

Not really.. if Wal Mart didnt exist, there would still be demand for the wide variety of products they carry. Having more individual shops to carry differnt types of products would employ more people than just having a bunch of people to restock them at walmart.

Plus, WalMart doesnt generally move into a desolate area and create jobs, they move into thriving communities, and put the smaller companies out of business. Then Higher a few of their,"unemployees" for less money than they were making before.

Chain.. were you saying that everything at walmart is made in China? Because I have an associate, and he started a cookie company. Guess who buys his cookies? Walmart. BTW, the factory is here in Salt Lake.

I support Walmart. When I lived in Bentonville, AR(home of Walmart) thats all there were. Its a true monopoly there, but it doesnt really matter, because the stores were HUGE and really well kept. Not to mention most of the people in Bentonville are employed by them 20,000+.

Originally Posted by Chain Link

Not really.. if Wal Mart didnt exist, there would still be demand for the wide variety of products they carry. Having more individual shops to carry differnt types of products would employ more people than just having a bunch of people to restock them at walmart.

Plus, WalMart doesnt generally move into a desolate area and create jobs, they move into thriving communities, and put the smaller companies out of business. Then Higher a few of their,"unemployees" for less money than they were making before.

they move to thriving comunities because those people can benefit more from the lower prices and the amount of bulk you get for your money. I mean, they don't just move to thriving communities. I have seen some nice wal-marts in the state of New York, like right outside the city near WoodBury commons. Also, they provide people in those communities with work. The business feeds itself.

I don't think having a number of different shops carrying different products would employ more people than a wal-mart. A mom and pop type place is usually a small operation run by a lesser number of employ's.

Originally Posted by PreMier

Chain.. were you saying that everything at walmart is made in China? Because I have an associate, and he started a cookie company. Guess who buys his cookies? Walmart. BTW, the factory is here in Salt Lake.

I support Walmart. When I lived in Bentonville, AR(home of Walmart) thats all there were. Its a true monopoly there, but it doesnt really matter, because the stores were HUGE and really well kept. Not to mention most of the people in Bentonville are employed by them 20,000+.

I think statistically (according to something I read) either 95% or 90% of everything sold at walmart is made in China. Obviously things like most fresh food cant be made and shipped.. I mean, They can, they would just be some damn stale cookies

Originally Posted by P-funk

they move to thriving comunities because those people can benefit more from the lower prices and the amount of bulk you get for your money. I mean, they don't just move to thriving communities. I have seen some nice wal-marts in the state of New York, like right outside the city near WoodBury commons. Also, they provide people in those communities with work. The business feeds itself.

I don't think having a number of different shops carrying different products would employ more people than a wal-mart. A mom and pop type place is usually a small operation run by a lesser number of employ's.

I wasnt thinking so much of mom and pop stores, so much as the larger retailers.
Like the grocery department, I think there would be more jobs in opening an Abertsons(or something like that) instead of having a few department heads, a few specialists, and a bunch of people to restock.
Then the,"sporting section" Could be a seperate Sports Authority store or something.. In the sports section at the supercenter I go to, theres ussually 1, maybe 2(rarely) employees in charge of that section, and then theres the stockers. and of course, a department head.. compare that to a sports store, even a smaller one.. Would be more jobs than just that one. Also, there could be many small stores of these types spread out, instead of just one at the occasional walmart, which still draws in enough sales to damage all sports stores in a certain distance.

Then We have Car parts center, painting center(eh.. just leave that up to home depot and lowes), car repair facilitypharmacy, book store, toy store, pet store, gardening store, clothes store, video games and electronics, and.. and.. and..
Thats what I think anyways. Im not saying if its better or worse.. it would cost people more for the same products, but I think it would result in more jobs. I could be wrong though, I dont have any numbers or anything like that, just a guestimate
I guess one great thing about Wal Mart though.. You dont have to drive to all those ****ing stores to get what you need

I guess one great thing about Wal Mart though.. You dont have to drive to all those ****ing stores to get what you need

bingo.

Originally Posted by Robert DiMaggio

I shop there because they have everything and no one can beat their prices, however I do not like how Wal-Mart and many other big retailers put the little guys out of business. I guess I should boycott these retail giants but I don't.

You bring up a good point Rob,

It is true that Wal-Mart pretty much burys the retail outlet competition, but have you ever noticed the massive number of other businesses that spring up around existing Wal-Mart stores?

We have 3 Wal-Marts here in my city and every one of them is surrounded by a host of small businesses. Beauty Salons, Resteraunts, Car Dealerships, Book Stores, Gyms, etc.

I suppose another example I could give is when a Wal-Mart closed down to relocate to a new Super Center. EVERY small business that surrounded the old Wal-Mart location died offwithin a year of the Old Wal-mart closing date.

So, I think it could be argued either way. Personally, I'll continue to shop at Walmart. I'll also continue to shop K-Mart, Target, Kohls, Garden Ridge, and every other retail outlet that suites my needs.

Originally Posted by Dale Mabry

The Walmart's here and in VT are shitholes. The ones in Florida are amazing, specifically the Super Walmarts. So much room, so many products, and a good place to go at 3am when the bars close and you are looking for a nerf football.

Hell yeah and then you unleash the cage of rubber balls in the toy department and start spreading them around and security starts torward you so you dodge through the aisles and out the door and then you and your friends have shopping buggy races, the place is an amusement park some people call it Wally World

I still dont see Walmart as a threat to all stores. As they said above, when a Walmart moves in, a veritable host of other companies put up shop next to them. In our instance, in the Walmart shopping center there is also a Home Depot, Staples, Pet Store (dont know the name), Barnes and Noble bookstore, Bed Bath & Beyond, and quite a few others. Then you have to have food sources to support all those hungry shoppers, and so you have the Chinese food place, a Qdoba, etc. Last but not least you need a tanning salon so girls that spend a long period of time in Walmart dont come out looking like Powder.

Too add to that, less than a mile away there is a Kroger food center... and within two miles of the Walmart there are two other supermarkets. They all seem to be running rather decently. Perhaps they have just learned that you dont try to compete with Walmart head to head on price alone. Sure, have a good price, but aim for different customers/treat your customers differently that Walmart customers get treated and you'll have a different crowd that religiously supports your store.

Originally Posted by simbh

Have some of you might of read in the news , a few days ago Wal-Mart announced that it would be closing its first syndicated store , which is located it Jonquiere (Quebec) in Canada. The official reason is because the store will no longer be profitable . Although Wal-Mart do not want to reveal the store numbers. No reason to say how sceptical I am of that . Economists tend to say that Wal-Mart closed this store to show other stores that are in process of being syndicated (US and Canada) that Wal-Mart will not negociate with unions. Wal-Mart is a very profitable company , it makes billions in profits . It is the first company to have revenues of over 1/4 of a trillion dollar . I for one , will be boycotting Wal-Mart , because in my opinion , seing the financial situation that Wal-Mart is in (very good) , the actions of Wal-Mart are inexcusable. By doing this , you also help the local industry whereever you live ...

I am aware that some may not agree with me , so feel free to post your opinions on this ...

Hi Simbh,

I do not like walmart and I do not buy anything from them. I do not like their business practices or how they treat their employees.

Walmart reminds me of the company stores they had in the southern states for the coal miners. You had to buy from the company store everything you needed and at the price set by the company and at the end of the month when you went to collect your pay you had none - the company had it all. Walmart is heading that way real fast. It will end up being the nation's company store and no others will be left. Oh, by the way, walmart loves making money at anyone ELSE'S EXPENSE, NOT THEIRS though. THEY would NEVER work for the wages they expect others to work for and they would never except less PROFIT for themselves - you see making profit is for "only a select" (meaning ONLY walmart) few at the expense of all others.

And they are "religious". They WILL have their place IN HELL.

Take Care, John H.

Take Care, John H.

Originally Posted by cfs3

On a side note, the busiest store in all of Vegas has to be the Fry's Electronics on the south end of the Strip.

You ain't kidding. That place is PACKED almost every day.

So, how do you know about Fry's?

I was there over New Year's Day. On the day after Thanksgiving, that store did about 1.5 million dollars in business.

Oh yes, and they did it at prices that a mom and pop store couldn't do. Capitalism is great.

Most of the Mom and Pop stores near our Wal-Mart are still there and will remain there most are High quality Jewelery stores, japanese/korean video stores or exotic clothing for strippers which I know Walmart will never specialize in. If anything Walmart has brought more attention to these places. Before they built it people picketed because they claimed there would be no parking, now that it's built you can go there on the busiest day and the top 2 parking structures are only half full and the parking is for a Walmart/Sams Club combo.

i shop at wal-mart, and I assume that we're all at some level mis-informed or ill-informed of the situation (surely there's no way any one person can no all sides of a debate as large as this) and I am likely shorter on info than most people here, but I feel that the pros outweigh the cons. I feel that for every negative opinion, there's an equally positive reaction to it that puts it in a different light. Although it could be said that that works both ways what the hell do I care, I'm an unmotivated mook, let me have my greeting, $9.99 bed sheets, and sloppy customer service and be out of there

I do, however, always buy my electronics (video games, CD's, etc.) from other, electronic specific stores- because I feel that my beloved video game stores need the extra help and the prices are cheaper anyway

There's no Walmarts in L.A.

I like Target better and would never go to Wal-Mart if we had one here.

Target is okay, but for the most part I prefer the prices and selection of Walmart. There are a few things I go to Target for, but its only a 3 or 4 times a year thing.

I always shop at wal-mart.