Wal-Mart: Our shoppers are 'running out of money'

I realize the sheep will not be on the ats site for the most part, not including the ones paid to be here...
but if anyone has seen the tv series "Til Debt Do us Part" - its a damned good show.

Gail Van Oxleze (sp?) goes through a couple's spending over the course of the last 6 mos., then shows them where they have been spending their money and why (sigh) they are so much in debt.

She has a section called "discount dept. stores" and the incredible amounts that people are spending at "discount dept. stores" is appalling and embarrassing. You should see the looks on their faces - $300/$400/$500 per MONTH

So what came first - the chicken or the egg?
Were we born stupid?
Or did society and the need for greed make us so?

reply to post by beezzer


I think you are right. And that should give us the right to hold them as "enemy combatants" in Guantanamo for life without trial.

Wouldnt THAT be fun, using the rules they wrote into law against the very politicians who have been selling us out to multinational economic interests. That would make my millennium.

Well I worked at Hell-mart while in college. I have fortunately found a job in my field of study and as of a few months ago been done with that job. I have had quite a few unappealing jobs in my life, as I am quite old to have just finished school. But I can say honestly Walmart was the worst job I have experienced and could tell you quite a few stories. But for the sake of leaving a shorter post I will highlight the basics. In the past year, they "remodeled" the super store, they were trying to appeal to Target shoppers. More room to move around, cleaner black shelves, more sophisticated wall colors, etc. They expanded the areas that recieved the most sales, such as dry food goods, and pet products. They got rid of the fabric area, and really downsized crafts. As an employee I recieved 10 percent off non-food products. They only gave a 10 percent discount on food during the thanksgiving - chrismas holiday season, this was our holiday bonus. I worked in grocery for three years. During this time they revamped the shelves so there was smaller spaces between each level. This was because the products were becoming much smaller and they wanted distract from that fact. Prices are rising (and will continue to rise) but also note the product size is shrinking. It is perhaps most apparent in cereal boxes, and coffee. After working there I no longer ever look at the retail price but the unit price. Many do not realize they buy a bag of great value sugar because they think its cheaper, but it also 4 pounds instead of 5. A note on the food though, I will never buy "fresh" produce or meat products from walmart. Having seen/smelled the massive amounts of pesticides that rotten food exumes in the backroom, it is quite disgusting. Also the that same rotten food gets shipped to pig farms for feed. Where do you think they sell the pork products? Do you want to eat an animal that has been fed pesticide filled rotten food from walmart? Anyway I got out of there just in time. They have cut everyone hours. They have new system in which an employee must swipe there badge for every task they do. This is to keep track of every employees movements and time spent on appointed tasks. This is too weed out the older employees who can not keep up with the younger folks. I suppose I could just keep typing away on the unabashed, unapoligetic reality of wallmart but this post has already become too long.

Originally posted by Thunder heart woman

Well, up here in Montana, if you're in the city, more than likely you are going to go to walmart. I'm lucky because I'm rural and 30 min away is a mom and pop chain grocer.

We go there because I don't like going to town unless I have to. But people are going to walmart because it's cheap. If you can buy a child's short sleeved summer shirt for $3, compared to a $10-15 shirt at Penny's, where will you go? But I agree, Walmart is evil and I detest their business practices.

Do consider what you actually mean by cheap, as many had been fooled to believe such theory by corporations.

That Slave-Mart shirt may cost only $3, but it would only had cost 30cts to produce in China, including the cheap fabric that would either lose its color fast or turn threadbare within weeks. Add in the freight charges in bulk to the Slav-Mart store near you, it would cost under a dollar. And then add another 10cts for the slave wages they pay for staff there and the Corporations made $2 pure profit on one shirt.

As it is cheap, it is meant to be sold in quantity, around 100 shirts per day = $600 dollars a day or $18000 a month, just on one product in a city store. You will still continue to buy the same shirt weeks later, as it is still 'cheap' to you. 10 same shirts a year =$30

Buy from Penny's or american quality product at $15, it will last you more than a year despite numerous washing.

So which is cheaper?

And not to mention, at $10 a shirt, it will cover Penny's cost to sell it and pay better wages, so that it can be circulated in US, touching every citizen along the way, unlike Slave-Mart where the profits are unconscionably hoarded up, biz model refined to corporatist style of hire and fire, pick and relocate, without a damn to the nation's economy except for the mantra of 'globalization'/greed.

It is a good thing that the US dollar had fallen. At least now the imports are more expensive. You only buy what you need, and make sure of the difference of what is truly 'cheap'.

China's yuan will have to value upwards soon, and goods will be even more expensive to be exported out of China. Worse when their goods are of scary quality such as tainted milk and other toxins in their goods, so much that even their own citizens would rather buy foreign quality goods.

They have more problems than the rest of the world now, but is only problem of their own making, for kissing corporations butts and allowing their own citizens to become slaves, to hell with other fellow humans around the world while depressing wages to attract 'globalists'. Reality has come a' knockin. Lies and deceptions cannot last forever.

Unfortunately i worked for Wally World (as a manager and no longer) and they sent us an email saying they made 440 Billion in one year and that was in 2006 and that not to get complacent and that this is still not enough.
They made more than the entire GNP of 5 Central American countries put together and was said that if they were their own country they would be ranked 55 in the world.
On top of that they cut all overtime and people were called into the office and reprimanded if they even had 1 minute overtime.
On top of that Mrs Walton spent 45 MILLION on a painting at Southeby's in New York which was the most ever paid for a painting ( i posted the article by the time clock and of course reprimanded for it) and yet most of the workers are on Husky insurance supplemented by , you guessed it the tax payer and they even have a form now to sign that hiring certain people that are on government programs they get a huge tax break for these individuals.. As Karma would have it she died a year later and they didn't even have a moment of silence or anything for her, i guess the one minute would disrupt sales.
You'll also be glad to know that the whole trying to unionize Wally World was a sham as the Union took a $500,000 bribe to stay out of the stores. Somehow i think they could've or did get more of the bribe money.
America is not a country but a corporation and THEE ONLY SOLUTION in a Nation wide strike to shut down and bring this corporation to it's knees.
This corporation of the States of America can not do without it's main HUMAN RESOURCE, you are worth more to this immoral, unethical and evil corporation than all the money, oil, or gold in the world and all it would take is a ONE DAY NATIONAL STRIKE to prove this to be true and put an end to the gluttony.

Unfortunately i worked for Wally World (as a manager and no longer) and they sent us an email saying they made 440 Billion in one year and that was in 2006 and that not to get complacent and that this is still not enough.
They made more than the entire GNP of 5 Central American countries put together and was said that if they were their own country they would be ranked 55 in the world.
On top of that they cut all overtime and people were called into the office and reprimanded if they even had 1 minute overtime.
On top of that Mrs Walton spent 45 MILLION on a painting at Southeby's in New York which was the most ever paid for a painting ( i posted the article by the time clock and of course reprimanded for it) and yet most of the workers are on Husky insurance supplemented by , you guessed it the tax payer and they even have a form now to sign that hiring certain people that are on government programs they get a huge tax break for these individuals.. As Karma would have it she died a year later and they didn't even have a moment of silence or anything for her, i guess the one minute would disrupt sales.
You'll also be glad to know that the whole trying to unionize Wally World was a sham as the Union took a $500,000 bribe to stay out of the stores. Somehow i think they could've or did get more of the bribe money.
America is not a country but a corporation and THEE ONLY SOLUTION in a Nation wide strike to shut down and bring this corporation to it's knees.
This corporation of the States of America can not do without it's main HUMAN RESOURCE, you are worth more to this immoral, unethical and evil corporation than all the money, oil, or gold in the world and all it would take is a ONE DAY NATIONAL STRIKE to prove this to be true and put an end to the gluttony.

i hate to say it, but everyone one on this website is middle class. there may be a few people online for free at their local libraries, but trust me. you are not that 1% of elites.

All hail the fall of mass-production!! Yayyyy!!!

Walmart should start downsizing their outlets if they want to survive

reply to post by heavenlysouldier


Chinese mass production suits the majority because it's cheap, but if they were to disappear tomorrow and everything was American made, the majority will never be able to afford it.

Originally posted by lastidealist

On top of that they cut all overtime and people were called into the office and reprimanded if they even had 1 minute overtime.

Yes I too can vouch for that fact. If anyone was on the clock for even 1 minute more than there scheduled hours you were immediately "coached" by your manager. A "coaching" remained active on your file for a year. During which time you were not allowed transfer, whether it be to a different department or store. They also changed the evaluation pay raise guidelines the past year. In which expectations were notmet, met, exceeds, or above exceeds. Each term represented an number, and no one was above exceeds, it was told by my managers that it was frowned upon to evaluate at above exceeds. This was so raises were limited to 35 cents an hour. The store I worked at was one of the top money makers in New England. Yet they refused to buy much needed equipment, such a hand jacks that didn't break your back while trying to pull pallets full of thousand pounds of freight. One poor guy had a massive heart attack while pulling a pallet to the ice cream freezer. They found him dead with his head crammed between a pallet and shelf in the freezer sometime later. I will never forget that night, with him laying there and the managers standing around like deer in the head lights, not knowing what to do. When I asked why they were not performing CPR they just looked at me like idiots. I felt horrible for his wife who also worked there as a cashier. It was never mentioned after. There was no big fundraiser for the family. There was just nothing, like it didn't happen. As far as I know the wife did not return to work. So much for the "family focused" atmosphere they try so hard to advertize. It should also be mentioned even say the evil word "union" and you can be immediately terminated. You are forced to watch an anti-union video on hire, in which walmart is shown a family run business and the union as an evil enity that will ruin your life.

Originally posted by bluemirage5
reply to post by heavenlysouldier

 

Chinese mass production suits the majority because it's cheap, but if they were to disappear tomorrow and everything was American made, the majority will never be able to afford it.

Expand your mind a little and reconsider.

Should China end its productions, who else would produce necessary goods?

Other nations would.

And if US is smart, this time they will focus on using technology to produce mass QUALITY goods that the world will buy, more so with its low dollar value now.

With Qualtiy goods, it would be better wages, so long as the corporations will share their profits fairly, and with better wages, more money will circulated, touching everyone, from electronic stores to burger chains to the doorman who welcomes you into the restaurant or hotel, leaving none behind.

With better technology, it can be shared with fellow human around the world to improve such technology on other sectors such as construction, agricultural, etc, etc, and thus money will be circulated again, benefitting all.

The illegitimate gov of China had attempted to do humanity in, but a miracle has occurred. They had only selfishly done themselves in, and a correction is on the way soon.

Originally posted by compwiz32190
While I'm sure gas prices and other economic factors are part of the problem, Walmart overall has not been doing so good as of late.

A few years ago, they decided to reduce inventory, and make stores more organized (due to extra space from lack of product). They remodeled many regular-sized Walmart stores and replaced higher profit items (sporting goods, crafts, garden, etc.) with low-margin groceries. What was left was a store that was mostly groceries (and prepackaged meat and produce that doesn't look real good) and a very slim selection of everything else. What was on the shelf was mainly Walmart brands.


So guess what? It seems to me that people have simply decided to go elsewhere. Target has had fairly decent profits. People also seem to be getting tired of the whole Walmart experience. Dollar General and Family Dollar (for those unfamiliar, these are more of a '5 and Dime' variety store and are not strictly a $1 store) have been expanding like crazy and bringing in record profits.

And just a a few days ago, this article came out, as Walmart is adding back in the items they shouldn't have gotten rid of in the first place.

Yes I noticed the Walmart that was opened last December in my community is a lot smaller than the Walmart 10 miles away. Since January my husband and I had been taking note of the nearly weekly nickle and dime rising of prices at Walmart. In March Walmart was selling bell peppers for $1.37 each, the same small bell peppers they sold 3 for a $1.00 in November (at the store 10 miles away), so as for this store maintaining it's dominance that's a fantasy and they know it.

Thanks to Walmart more people are stretching what money they have and are actively seeking out farmers' markets and roadside merchants for fresh fruits and veggies.People who have never shopped at flea markets, second hand, and discount stores are now doing so for survival sake. Like you I also noticed more Dollar General and Family Dollar stores in and around my community, which I must say I have always frequent those stores for certain products. I know many people want things to go back to the way they were, (monopolies like) Walmart included, but there's no going back. A system founded on scams, corruption, lies, greed, and deceit must crash and burn financially.

Originally posted by bluemirage5
reply to post by heavenlysouldier

 

Chinese mass production suits the majority because it's cheap, but if they were to disappear tomorrow and everything was American made, the majority will never be able to afford it.

Once upon a time the majority of products were american made. There are towns where I'm from (and I'm sure around the country) they lay dead like ghost towns. They were built around mills where generations of families worked and made lives for themselves. And those people turned around and spent their money on other american made products. There was a sense of pride in that back then. We lost it, that wonderful cycle of commerce, when big corp. like wallmart forced outsourcing to China and other countries. And those towns still stand lifeless while the people left long ago, where homes remain unoccupied and unsellable. It could come back. And if it did it would good for all of us.

Originally posted by compwiz32190

So guess what? It seems to me that people have simply decided to go elsewhere. Target has had fairly decent profits.

That's crazy because Target is expensive.

Originally posted by TheRemedial
Walmart is not evil at all. Walmart is an opportunist. They had the legal right and ability to buy product from China and undercut everyone else. ..../You have to look to the regulatory bodies and politicians, not Walmart to find this "evil" you speak.

An opportunist to me is someone who takes advantage of a situation, not creates the situation, as WalMart etal corporate lobbyists who lobby for those regulations and legally bribe politicians to do their bidding.

Of course, this definition of opportunist could apply to WalMart...."One who takes advantage of any opportunity to achieve an end, often with no regard for principles or consequences". hahaha the consequences of lower sales to them....no laughing matter to all those customers/former customers who can no longer afford even WalMart prices...

Lobbying for lower taxes for the wealthy
Lobbying against American food products
What DIDN'T they lobby for?

Wal-Mart isn't at all happy that its shoppers have been frequenting Dollar General stores either. To counter this competition the multi-billion dollar corporation is about to open a new style of Wal-Mart, a kind of "Mini-Wal-Mart".

(AP) NEW YORK (AP) — Wal-Mart says it's considering buying out retailers with smaller stores to help turn around its weakened U.S. business.

The world's largest retailer also told investors at a Bank of America investor conference Thursday that it plans to build hundreds of smaller stores in coming years.

Wal-Mart is facing stiff competition from dollar chains and drug stores, which often are more convenient for shoppers.

It said last month that it will open 30 to 40 small stores this year faster than originally planned. Some are as small as 15,000 square feet.

Wal-Mart's revenue is still rising overall, but its sales at U.S. Walmart stores open at least a year, a key retail indicator, have fallen for seven quarters.

I guess killing small towns, and putting millions out of business wasn't enough.

Originally posted by thorazineshuffle
reply to post by liejunkie01

 

Where do you find gallon of milk for 3 dollars? It is 5 dollars here, north Carolina.

Five dollars for milk? It was $3 a few years ago in the Dallas/Fort Worth area but now I can usually get it for $1.99 a gallon.

reply to post by lastidealist


My friends wife got fired for being 2 minutes late for lunch. She did not make it to the time clock in time.

That is communist my friends.

Originally posted by thorazineshuffle
reply to post by liejunkie01

 

Where do you find gallon of milk for 3 dollars? It is 5 dollars here, north Carolina.

I don't understand this. We live outside a little mountain town in CO. When we first moved here the local grocery store was way higher than what we paid back in Chicago. We accepted it because of our location. Right now locally we're paying $2.50 for a gallon of milk. Walmart milk is going for $3.

We are like an island here. There are no Walmarts only small mom/pop stores which we support. Everything has to be shipped long distance. I expected prices to go up considerably but our prices are better than Walmart and obviously better than what you're paying in NC.

I have noticed the Walmart in the large city north of us, where there are 3 stores, has empty shelves and the selection is ridiculously limited. We always waited in long lines to check out now the checkers are hanging out flagging people in. The Walmart south of us, where there is only 1 store, has an abundance of everything. The variety is unbelievable. We used to avoid this southern store because it was smaller and very limited. Variety was something only large cities enjoyed.

Walmart is so far away it's a last resort for us. We use them only when we can't find things online or locally. Something is definitely going on with Walmart. They seem to be fully stocking the small town stores as opposed to the large mega Walmarts. Imo they're going to start targeting rural America. Our town begged for Walmart/McDonald's years ago but they laughed at us. We learned to live well without them and prefer mom/pop stores.

Our area is so desperate for jobs I'm afraid local officials will roll out the red carpet for Walmart. As it is the local headlines state shell oil is looking for water to start drilling. We only just recently kicked out a methane drilling operation for ruining local wells and contaminating the river. Now we got shell oil slinking around.

You know we rural people have lived quite differently from city dwellers and we like it that way. Our isolation has always somewhat protected us from corporate interest. Now I'm afraid they are looking at us as an untapped resource ripe for the taking.