Wal-Mart Sales Fall

[maseman]

http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Investing/Dispatch/061127markets.aspx

The megaretailer says same-store sales declined in November for the first time in a decade, and its cutbacks for holiday shopping backfire. Investors fret over the retail environment. Lowe's gets an upgrade.

But for America's biggest retailer, the picture was black indeed. Wal-Mart's (WMT, news, msgs) efforts to slash prices did not draw the numbers of shoppers the retail giant expected, and the company estimated that November sales fell 0.1% for the month -- its weakest performance in 10 years.

(more)


Boo-hoo for Wal-Mart. I hear people say that Wal-Mart is the real barometer for the common man's retail spending habits. If Wal-Mart drops, the retail environment must be bad.

I have to disagree with this. I am a dealhound as is my wife. But we NEVER make Wal-Mart a destination. We have to do the occasional stop-in in her rural home town since most of the local stores have dried up. But we find ourselves at Target, Kolhs, KMart and Dollar General to go for the cheap stuff.

I think people are fed up with the clogged aisles, messy stores, asshole attitude workers, long lines, slow cashiers, etc.

[dubykc]

1. Pity...It's been over 4 years since I've set foot in a Wal-Mart and...

I hope a whole lot longer before I ever do again. Though it's probably easier here in Los Angeles than in many other parts of the country where Wal-Mart has all but destroyed the local competition.

[Beausoir]

2. Their website was down for most of BlackFriday. Idiots.

I shopped at out super Walmart once...3 years ago. I bought a beef roast that was pale white. I served it (duh..how stupid) amd my kids said "Thanks for the chicken, Mom!"

Still revolts me. Their quality is crap.

[maseman]

6. Maybe it was a porkroast

About five years ago before my wife and I were married she needed new tires and didn't have any money. I didn't have much myself, but I had more then she did and I wanted her and her kid to be safe driving. I bought her four tires and installation at a Sam's Club.

I made a reference to her that the people working in the automotive section looked 13 years old. She told me I was being overly cautious. They ended up tightening the lug nuts so tight it broke two terminals. I've worked on enough cars to know that you need to apply some serious torque to make that happen. Bottom line is the staff had no idea what they were doing.

[Boxturtle]

26. They used an impact wrench to tighten the lug nuts.

This is standard practice, but should never be done because of the chance of breaking the studs. I always use a torque wrench.

[maseman]

28. I know some impacts have a torque

buffer that can be set for certain foot-pounds but obviously they didn't have one in this case. Assholes.

[goclark]

3. Went once and will never go back

Their politics bothers me and their unfair treatment to employees.

I love the American flag but they fly such a huge one at our local Walmart that it is hard to see the birds in the sky.

While I'm at it about our beautiful flag, why does Regis Philbin still sit the flag right in the middle of his podium?

The "Mission has been Accomplished" and that symbol has never been taken away from the set decor.

[madrchsod]

4. target,kolhs,kmart,and pennys

have the same pricing points as walmart. the dollar stores and walgreens are beating walmart on the dollars per square foot. oh yes costco is beating sam`s club in the dollars per square foot..

[Demit]

5. I've never encountered 'asshole attitude workers', or even slow cashiers

the times I've been in Wal-Mart. Though considering how badly they are paid & how pressured they are to perform, I wouldn't be surprised, or unsympathetic. The store in your wife's hometown might be different, but the people in mine are friendly and helpful, god bless them.

[maseman]

8. That's good to hear

The last time I was there I needed some boots as we had a huge three day rain and some trees came down at my parents-in-laws house. I had the chain saw with me but no boots. We went to Wal-Mart and they had one line open on a Wenesday evening about 6PM. There were probably 9 people in line (remember they have about 18 check-out lines). I saw another employee and asked if they could opne another line. She looked at me, snarled something about idiots who don't show up to work and told me if I couldn't wait I could always come back later.

[Demit]

13. Sometimes I think checkout lanes in all the big-box stores are just props.

Or maybe they function as an obstacle course in front of the exit, to impede quick getaways, I don't know, but I have NEVER seen every one, or even most, manned all at the same time. Electronic stores, home centers, supermarkets—they all know that once you've invested the time into shopping for the merchandise you want, you're likely to meekly stand in line for as long as it takes so as not to waste the time you already invested. I have put down stuff and walked out in disgust, but it still leaves a lingering negative feeling. I mostly vow to only shop at those places when I can't easily get what I want elsewhere. And then I go into a Zen thing while waiting in line :)

[THUNDER HANDS]

25. i work with a lot of them

a lot of people who work at my store could give two shits about the customers. I'm not going to toot my own horn of anything, but if I had a dollar for every time a customer told me 'you should be a manager' or 'you should get a raise' I'd make twice as much money as I do now.

I can't really blame management, because it's not so much that they themselves treat the employees bad. It's just from corporate on down - they set the pay levels and no person with more than half a brain and/or the work ethic to give a shit about helping people, will apply to work there.

When I was first hired, I had a choice of about three retail places. I chose WM because it actually paid the best. But the store had just opened and I had a lot of previous retail experience. I don't think they're going to start out paying $10 an hour like they did 2 years ago.

You pay people better, better people will want to work for you.

[Auggie]

7. Yes, their stores are just disgusting. Maybe people won't put up with

retail crap just as they won't put up with Republican crap.

[nancyr]

9. Like a trip to the stockyards.

[Buzz Clik]

10. This is the price Walmart is paying for selling the shittiest merchandise on the planet.

I entered a slow spiral of avoiding more and more Walmart products due their rock-bottom quality. It is unthinkable that a store would knowing sell a product that is designed to be of the absolute poorest construction. Their passion to force decent stores out of business and to grab manufacturers by the balls has superceded any attempt to sell a reasonable product.

[sallyseven]

11. Luckey me. I have never been in a Wal-Mart.

Never intend to.

[partylessinOhio]

12. This couldn't happen to a more greedy family than the Waltons!

I hope they go out of business and free their slave workers.

[Mudoria]

15. You mean Wal-Mart goes out

and forces people to work for them? I've never heard that.

[uppityperson]

19. wage slaves Mudoria, wage slaves

Did you know that WalMart has gotten in trouble for it's poor employee benefits? Some places their employees make up a large percentage of people on gvt subsidized health care. Meaning you work at walmart and all you can afford for health care is medicaide.

Here are some articles for you, first ones found quickly with a quick google search. There are lots more and lots more in the last yr if you want to do some research.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A28219-2005Apr5.html

Md. Passes Rules on Wal-Mart Insurance
Bill Obligates Firms On Health Spending

By John Wagner and Michael Barbaro
Washington Post Staff Writers
Wednesday, April 6, 2005; Page A01

Maryland lawmakers yesterday approved legislation that would effectively require Wal-Mart to boost spending on health care, a direct legislative thrust against a corporate giant that is already on the defensive on many fronts nationwide.

"We're looking for responsible businesses to ante up . . . and provide adequate health care," said Sen. Thomas M. Middleton (D-Charles), the Finance Committee chairman, as the Senate approved the measure with a majority wide enough to survive an anticipated veto. A similar bill has cleared the House of Delegates, and legislators expect to reconcile their differences easily...(more)

http://money.cnn.com/2005/10/24/news/fortune500/walmart_healthcare/index.htm

Wal-Mart to offer new health plan
Paper reports the retailer will unveil more affordable coverage for workers; some say it's overdue
October 24, 2005: 8:27 AM EDT

NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Discounter Wal-Mart, which is often disparaged for its employee benefits, is set to unveil a cheaper health insurance plan aimed at expanding coverage for its low-income workers, according to a published report Monday.

The New York Times reported that the new "Value Plan" will have monthly premiums as low as $11. Additionally, Wal-Mart (Research) is offering health savings accounts, which the federal government introduced last year, the paper said.

"We are lowering the costs to make health insurance more affordable," Wal-Mart spokesman Dan Fogleman was quoted in the paper as saying. However, Fogleman declined to say how much the plan would cost the world's largest retailer.

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Under the plan, monthly premiums would run between 40 percent and 60 percent less than those for any existing Wal-Mart insurance policy, the report said, and individuals could visit a doctor three times before paying a deductible. ...(more)

http://www.wakeupwalmart.com/news/20050627-alter.html

Thousands of low-wage Wal-Mart workers are on public assistance. Many state lawmakers say it's time the megastore was forced to provide affordable employee health insurance.

When Susan Mediger-Paul went into labor in 1995 and gave birth prematurely to her third child, she knew the health insurance provided by her employer would not cover the cost. Nor would it pay for the birth of her fourth and fifth child later on, in 1998 and 1999. She said she relied on Minnesota Care, the state's public assistance healthcare, to pay for the multiple hospitalizations of her children, two of whom suffered from asthma.

Mediger-Paul seems an unlikely candidate for public assistance healthcare. She held a good-paying job as an accountant at Wal-Mart, the infamously profitable company and the largest private sector employer in the nation. ...(more)

[Systematic Chaos]

14. My company gives Wal-Mart gift cards for incentives.

My wife made a stack of over sixty $5 gift cards last year, one for each hour of overtime during the post-Christmas madhouse. I also earned a couple for good job performance. We used them to buy a TV, a PlayStation 2, some games and a bit of food. But as for spending our own money there, I insist on Target whenever possible and we get our groceries delivered by Albertson's for $10 and based on our experience so far, that is an unbeatable deal.

[Bobbieo]

16. Looks like the influx of 99 cents stores are

putting a dent in their sales! They are in my town.

[Systematic Chaos]

17. Yeah, those too!

We have some truly awesome 99 cent stores in Vegas. They are almost full-service grocery stores, but the quality of some of the items is kinda dubious, and many of the snacks are things that I love but am forced to stay the hell away from for my health. There are some great deals if you take the time to read labels and stuff though. I know more than a few people who eat only things from those stores. And while it's great that they're saving money short-term the risk of diabetes and malnutrition just ain't worth it.

[Strathos]

18. Well, no one has ever been rude to me at a Wal-Mart

I'm a proud liberal and work hard for liberal issues, but to me Wal-Mart is a place to shop. I'm kind of tired of people telling us where to shop and where not to.

In the south, Wal-Mart is about the best choice. I love Target too. I don't like K-Mart because to me they are just a Wal-Mart knock off. BUT, for anyone to assume that because I shop at Wal-Mart I'm not being or doing all I can for "the cause" is stupid.

You don't want to shop at Wal-Mart, don't, but please stop telling others where to shop.

That's as bad as these "Christians" trying to convert everyone to their way of thinking.

Oh, the sales drop, I'm afraid, will make Wal-Mart think these religious assholes who were upset that Wal-Mart wasn't "Christian" enough were the reason for the drop and might discontinue their support of gay families.

You can find evil anywhere you look.

[Virginia Dare]

20. I have to disagree with you Strathos...

Wal-Mart is the most ruthless retailer in the business, bar none. They set standard for all other retailers. They have been directly responsible for the loss of 10's of thousands of American jobs and businesses.

I'm not going to tell you where to shop, but there is no comparison between the business practices of Wal-Mart and any other retailer, including KMart and Target. Everybody in retailing has had to adjust for what Wal-Mart does over the past 15 years or so just to stay in business.

[trogdor]

23. Uh, K-Mart has been around LOTS longer than Wal-Mart.

Shopping in one is like going back in time about 30-40 years.

[Tight_rope]

21. They got $68 bucks outta me on Friday at 5:30am...

[high density]

22. My local Wal-Mart is what I call the "terrorist Wal-Mart"

Mohamed Atta shopped there on September 10... They're closing this store soon, though, and moving across the street to a "Super Walmart." :eyes:

[Generic Brad]

24. So what will they call the new one?

"Super Terrorist Walmart"?

[Joe Bacon]

Costco Rocks

Nicer people and better bargains. Screw Whore*Mart and Go Costco

http://www.costco.com

[Joe Bacon]

27. Costco Rocks

Nicer people and better bargains. Screw Whore*Mart and Go Costco

http://www.costco.com

[Renew Deal]

29. The rest of the retail sector was up 5% in November

from what I read I few days ago. It's Walmarts problem.

[earth mom]

30. In the past few years, our area went from one Walmart to three and

two of them were recently converted into superstores with supermarkets in them. I've tried to totally boycott Walmart but I haven't completely because there are a few things I like to get there that I can't find anywhere else. I probably shop there on average of once a month, whereas I shop weekly elsewhere. The employees at the stores (we hit which ever one we're closest to when we're out) are all pretty nice considering their lousy working conditions and I actually do feel sorry for them because I know the job market in this area pretty much sucks for the working class.

I do think that Walmart has been hit financially, as I noticed that their clothing section has really shrunk this year. Not in square footage, but rather in quantity of choices. For example, in previous years, the racks were crammed so closely together, you could barely move, now it's easy to wheel around with a cart. Also, there always used to be a huge selection of winter coats in the ladies department. This year, it was just a couple of racks. Considering I was there a couple of weeks ago, well before the holiday shopping started, the entire clothing department looked odd and bare to say the least! :wow:

Edited to add that the oddest part of all is that they have like 25 or is it 30 (?) check stands across the front of the store, but there are NEVER EVER enough checkers and ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS a long line. That should be their new slogan: Walmart: Always a Line, never enough help because we are too damn cheap! :mad:

[theophilus]

31. I heard they did away with layaway. Does anyone know? If they

did that might be part of the problem. The poor need layaway sometimes. Even if the item is more somewhere else it might be easier to pay if off on layaway. Thanks for anyone who knows and posts on this......

[RamboLiberal]

32. Yep they did away with layaway this year

That might be one factor. I really believe another is I think that the publicity about Wal-Marts employment practices, the fact their employees eat up a lot of tax dollars for medical care not provided by Wal-Mart, their relationship with China, the way they drive companies here out of business both manufacturing and retail, etc. are catching up with them. For instance I used to shop quite a bit there but as I wised up from DU and other progressive sites I might stop there and buy something I absolutely need maybe once every few months.