Shop at Wal-Mart?
- Thread starter flavio
- Start date
flavio
Banned
Business Week--Is Wal-Mart Hostile To Women? Female employees paint a picture of a harsh, sexist culture
The San Francisco Chronicle--Suit against Wal - Mart can be heard in state / Possible class action accuses retailer of sex discrimination
Business Week--Welcome to Wal-Mart's Woes
CBS Story and Video--Gender Discrimination At Wal-Mart?
NPR(audio)--Women Sue Wal-Mart for Gender Discrimination
Forbes.com--Wal-Mart's Women Troubles
CMHT.com--Press Release Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., the Nation's Largest Private Employer, Sued for Company-Wide Sex Discrimination
The San Francisco Chronicle--Suit against Wal - Mart can be heard in state / Possible class action accuses retailer of sex discrimination
Business Week--Welcome to Wal-Mart's Woes
CBS Story and Video--Gender Discrimination At Wal-Mart?
NPR(audio)--Women Sue Wal-Mart for Gender Discrimination
Forbes.com--Wal-Mart's Women Troubles
CMHT.com--Press Release Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., the Nation's Largest Private Employer, Sued for Company-Wide Sex Discrimination
HeXp£Øi±
Well-Known Member
(for the sake of arguement)
There is a positive note to this. Granted the owners of these companies make more money by buying goods overseas but we are also spreading the wealth to those nations that need it(China for example). It all depends on how you look at it. Multinational companies aren't bad for the poor as the Michael moore's would have you believe, they're bad for the rich like you & i (& michael moore).
There is a positive note to this. Granted the owners of these companies make more money by buying goods overseas but we are also spreading the wealth to those nations that need it(China for example). It all depends on how you look at it. Multinational companies aren't bad for the poor as the Michael moore's would have you believe, they're bad for the rich like you & i (& michael moore).
flavio
Banned
There's a section on that topic at this site:
Bangladesh, Beximco factory--Young women making Wal-mart shirts forced to work from 7:30 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., seven days a week, 87 hours a week
Paid 9 to 20 cents and hour for 80 hours--lunch break is unpaid. And paid less than one-third the legal overtime rate
No health care--No maternity leave
Wal-Mart and Beximco are violating Bangladeshi labor law which sets the workweek at 48 hours and limits overtime to 12 hours a week, while also requiring overtime pay at double the standard hourly rate
More...........
Bangladesh, Beximco factory--Young women making Wal-mart shirts forced to work from 7:30 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., seven days a week, 87 hours a week
Paid 9 to 20 cents and hour for 80 hours--lunch break is unpaid. And paid less than one-third the legal overtime rate
No health care--No maternity leave
Wal-Mart and Beximco are violating Bangladeshi labor law which sets the workweek at 48 hours and limits overtime to 12 hours a week, while also requiring overtime pay at double the standard hourly rate
More...........
HeXp£Øi±
Well-Known Member
So should we help them by taking their jobs so that they are unemployed and forced to watch their children starve or by seeing to it that our companies pay and treat them properly? Most aren't forced to work. Most work because it's the only job they'll get and want to feed their children.
outside looking in
<b>Registered Member</b>
Jeez, so now what, we should regulate a sucessful company just because it works on an ultimately more successful business model than smaller family run or community businesses?
Why don't we just cut the crap, go straight to the communist state, and get it the hell over with.
Why don't we just cut the crap, go straight to the communist state, and get it the hell over with.
peterska2
New Member
Well I worked for ASDA before they were bought out by Walmart.
They weren't bad to work for then until I decided to go into full time education and they wouldn't allow me to change my shifts to allow me to do so. I ended up having to leave which I was gutted about at the time. Looking back though it was one of the best moves I ever made.
They weren't bad to work for then until I decided to go into full time education and they wouldn't allow me to change my shifts to allow me to do so. I ended up having to leave which I was gutted about at the time. Looking back though it was one of the best moves I ever made.
flavio
Banned
outside looking in said:
Where was that mentioned?
When you say "successful business model" are you referring to the gender discrimination or the sweatshops?
How does going to a communist state tie into the issue?
HeXp£Øi± said:
Interesting point, it is rare to hear encouragement for companies to buy goods from sweatshops. I think that a big reason that the working conditions develop in the first place is because of the high pressure from corporations for cost-cutting measures.
outside looking in
<b>Registered Member</b>
It's implied in the general nature of people who despise large companies like Wal-mart. Many won't shop there just because they think big businesses are destructive to the country. Wal-mart is a poster child for their "boycotts."flavio said:
Neither. Those things may make it more profitable, but they aren't the reason it is successful to begin with. Don't throw the baby out with the bathwater.
It ties in the above mentioned belief that large businesses are inherently evil, dangerous, destructive, or something of that nature. There do exist a large number of people that would like to see restrictions placed on such corporations that would be in direct conflict with the ideal of a capitalist economy. I'm not sure they are aware of where that road ultimately leads.
Just a few random thoughts of mine that are only mildly related to your posts... I doubt I'll have any more thoughts to share on this.
ris
New Member
i have nothing against large corporations per se but i find that the larger the corporation gets the less ethical they seem to get. microsoft, for example, started to undertake anti-competitive practices to protect its 95% share in the market.
it is when the companies start becoming involved in things that benefit them alone and not a wider spectrum that i get frustrated. my town has no town centre, for example. it has a large plot of land set aside for it that tescos owns and agreed to be used for the building of the main shopping area and other local buildings needed by a town of 20,000 people.
beside this area of land is the largest tescos for 5 miles, built when the estate first got going. they already have a monopoly of shopping in the area as a result. the deal at the start was that they would get established and be the major retail force in the area before the centre was established.
the council asked for the development of the designated area to start. tescos submitted a design that doubled their store and reduced the amount of other shops and spaces. they used thier position of power not to help form a coherent and functioning town centre for people who need it but instread to reduce competition and ensure their continued dominance.
that dominance would be against small retailers most likely selling or doing things they can't or won't do. things the community needs like key cutters, clothing retailers, specialist shops, electrical retailers, mechanics etc. but rather than offer us a useful town centre that would make our lives better they serve their already dominant position.
thankfully the council threw it out, an enlarged tescos and twice as much parking wasn't in thier vision for the people of bristol.
it is when the companies start becoming involved in things that benefit them alone and not a wider spectrum that i get frustrated. my town has no town centre, for example. it has a large plot of land set aside for it that tescos owns and agreed to be used for the building of the main shopping area and other local buildings needed by a town of 20,000 people.
beside this area of land is the largest tescos for 5 miles, built when the estate first got going. they already have a monopoly of shopping in the area as a result. the deal at the start was that they would get established and be the major retail force in the area before the centre was established.
the council asked for the development of the designated area to start. tescos submitted a design that doubled their store and reduced the amount of other shops and spaces. they used thier position of power not to help form a coherent and functioning town centre for people who need it but instread to reduce competition and ensure their continued dominance.
that dominance would be against small retailers most likely selling or doing things they can't or won't do. things the community needs like key cutters, clothing retailers, specialist shops, electrical retailers, mechanics etc. but rather than offer us a useful town centre that would make our lives better they serve their already dominant position.
thankfully the council threw it out, an enlarged tescos and twice as much parking wasn't in thier vision for the people of bristol.
Inkara1
Well-Known Member
The reason so many downtown businesses fail when Wal-Mart shows up is because they got complacent and didn't use common sense. It's not that hard to compete with Wal-Mart, really. Stay open later than 5 on weekdays. Open on the weekends. You don't necessarily have to beat Wal-Mart on prices, but be competitive. Offer customer service that the people in the blue vest seem to not care to. Know something about what you're selling, and what's the best for the customer's individual situation. Accept checks. Offer specialty products and/or services to use Wal-Mart's position as a "jack of all trades, master of none" to your advantage. Sell higher-quality products.
Key cutter? Wal-Mart uses the Axxess+ system, which can be used by a three-year-old but makes middling-quality cuts and doesn't have blanks for all kinds of keys that are more common than you think. Wal-Mart can't make a key for someone who needs one for an early-1980s Honda or who needs to duplicate one of those apartment complex mailbox keys with a picture of a windmill on it.
Shoe retailer? Millions of people can't wear shoes from Wal-Mart (or Payless Show Source for that matter) because thier feet require something known as support.
CD retailer? Parents might love Wal-Mart's "clean versions," but the people who actually listen to that kind of music don't. Offer a real selection, and don't charge $18.99 per disc, and you're good to go.
You can even use the example of the big discount retailers themselves to learn that you have to find your market niche and fill it to the best of your ability. Wal-Mart has a reputation as a hangout for welfare mothers and back-woods buck-toothed hillbillies... but you find low prices all over the store. Target is generally viewed as a step up, but the prices are a tad higher as well. KMart tried to offer Target's style with Wal-Mart's prices, and ended up failing on all counts. If you've been inside a KMart in the last couple of years, it should be obvious why the company went bankrupt.
Key cutter? Wal-Mart uses the Axxess+ system, which can be used by a three-year-old but makes middling-quality cuts and doesn't have blanks for all kinds of keys that are more common than you think. Wal-Mart can't make a key for someone who needs one for an early-1980s Honda or who needs to duplicate one of those apartment complex mailbox keys with a picture of a windmill on it.
Shoe retailer? Millions of people can't wear shoes from Wal-Mart (or Payless Show Source for that matter) because thier feet require something known as support.
CD retailer? Parents might love Wal-Mart's "clean versions," but the people who actually listen to that kind of music don't. Offer a real selection, and don't charge $18.99 per disc, and you're good to go.
You can even use the example of the big discount retailers themselves to learn that you have to find your market niche and fill it to the best of your ability. Wal-Mart has a reputation as a hangout for welfare mothers and back-woods buck-toothed hillbillies... but you find low prices all over the store. Target is generally viewed as a step up, but the prices are a tad higher as well. KMart tried to offer Target's style with Wal-Mart's prices, and ended up failing on all counts. If you've been inside a KMart in the last couple of years, it should be obvious why the company went bankrupt.
chcr
Too cute for words
The US has been exporting jobs at an alarming rate for years. Wal-Mart is huge, that makes them an easy target. It's a symptom of a much larger problem, but typically the press focuses on what sells, not on the actual issues. There have been sweat shops in third world countries for years. Since they're profitable for big business, nothing is done about them except the old "tsk, tsk, how can they treat those people that way." I don't really have an answer, i just don't think you're adressing the true problem. Maybe by the time we become a third world nation, everyone will figure out what the real problem is.
Mirlyn
Well-Known Member
I'm afraid its not that easy beating WalMart...
Staying open increases business expenses. If you can't hold the business to pay for staying open that extra hour, you won't be open at all for long. Most businesses (around here) close at 9 for a reason. Any later and a majority of the customers are at home. They can stay open, but if they would have to make enough money to be profitable. That means covering the labor and overhead for that hour.
Beating WalMart's prices? Possible, but highly unlikely. WalMart is EXTREMELY agressive when it comes to carrying products. Company A sells toothpaste. They offer it to WalMart reps, and give them a selling cost and inventory offer. The reps say, no, we will sell X amount for Y price (significantly lower). Company A declines. Reps say fine, they'll walk. Company A just lost business with one of the biggest retailers in the nation. It'll be very hard for Company A to stay exclusively brick-and-mortar retail having lost the potential business with WalMart and its millions of customers. I'm not saying its the end of the world if you don't sell through WalMart, I'm saying that companies know WalMart has the large customer base and thus large exposure, so its a good way to the market.
Offering specialty products is fine and all, but there's a limit before becoming a specialty store for a particular trade (in which case WalMart becomes somewhat less of a competitor). You can't possibly have everything for everything. Part of WalMart's convenience factor is that you can find most everything you'd need at nearly any hour (24-hr stores in most cases). You can't go in and expect to find the PCV valve for a 1986 F150 or a carrying case for a GPS, but most of the basic stuff they have. Sure you have to go elsewhere for a specialty product, but WalMart doesn't care. Nobody can ever have everything, so you might as well cover as much as you can. It gets you in the store thinking they might have it. Once in the store, people tend to buy something else.
Don't really know what I think about WalMart. I'm still pissed they started locking down the bikes and bolting their display furniture to the shelves. They made such fun late-night toys.
Staying open increases business expenses. If you can't hold the business to pay for staying open that extra hour, you won't be open at all for long. Most businesses (around here) close at 9 for a reason. Any later and a majority of the customers are at home. They can stay open, but if they would have to make enough money to be profitable. That means covering the labor and overhead for that hour.
Beating WalMart's prices? Possible, but highly unlikely. WalMart is EXTREMELY agressive when it comes to carrying products. Company A sells toothpaste. They offer it to WalMart reps, and give them a selling cost and inventory offer. The reps say, no, we will sell X amount for Y price (significantly lower). Company A declines. Reps say fine, they'll walk. Company A just lost business with one of the biggest retailers in the nation. It'll be very hard for Company A to stay exclusively brick-and-mortar retail having lost the potential business with WalMart and its millions of customers. I'm not saying its the end of the world if you don't sell through WalMart, I'm saying that companies know WalMart has the large customer base and thus large exposure, so its a good way to the market.
Offering specialty products is fine and all, but there's a limit before becoming a specialty store for a particular trade (in which case WalMart becomes somewhat less of a competitor). You can't possibly have everything for everything. Part of WalMart's convenience factor is that you can find most everything you'd need at nearly any hour (24-hr stores in most cases). You can't go in and expect to find the PCV valve for a 1986 F150 or a carrying case for a GPS, but most of the basic stuff they have. Sure you have to go elsewhere for a specialty product, but WalMart doesn't care. Nobody can ever have everything, so you might as well cover as much as you can. It gets you in the store thinking they might have it. Once in the store, people tend to buy something else.
Don't really know what I think about WalMart. I'm still pissed they started locking down the bikes and bolting their display furniture to the shelves. They made such fun late-night toys.
CydCharisse
New Member
I've always prefered Target over Wal-mart