NYT: WalMart, a Nation unto Itself (subject of U .Cal. conference)

[DeepModem Mom]

Wal-Mart, a Nation Unto Itself

By STEVEN GREENHOUSE

Published: April 17, 2004


SANTA BARBARA, Calif., April 13 — We already know that Wal-Mart is the biggest retailer. (If it were an independent nation, it would be China's eighth-largest trading partner.) We also know that it is maniacal about low prices. (Some economists say it has single-handedly cut inflation by 1 percent in recent years, saving consumers billions of dollars annually.) We know that its labor practices have come under attack. (It charges its workers so much for health insurance that about one-third of them do not have it.)

But the more than 250 sociologists, anthropologists, historians and other scholars who gathered at the University of California here on Monday for a conference on Wal-Mart came looking for more than the company's vital statistics. Like archaeologists who pick over artifacts to understand an ancient society, the scholars here were examining Wal-Mart for insights into the very nature of American capitalist culture. As Susan Strasser, a history professor at the University of Delaware, said, "Wal-Mart has come to represent something that's even bigger than it is."

Indeed, with $256 billion in annual sales and 20 million shoppers visiting its stores each day, Wal-Mart has greater reach and influence than any retailer in history. "In each historical epoch a prototypical enterprise seems to embody a new and innovative set of economic structures and social relationships," said Nelson Lichtenstein, a history professor at the University of California here and the organizer of the conference. "These template businesses are emulated because they have put in place, indeed perfected for their era, the most efficient and profitable relationship between the technology of production, the organization of work and the new shape of the market."...

***

"In short, the company's management legislates for the rest of us key components of American social and industrial policy," Mr. Lichtenstein said....


http://www.nytimes.com/2004/04/17/arts/17WALM.html

[JCMach1]

1. Sam Walton's business model has been corrupted

--Stack 'em high and sell them cheap was his motto... that was Sam Walton's motto...

Now, the goods Walmart gets from China and other CHEAP sources are sold at the MAXIMUM possible price.

It only takes a trip outside of the country to confirm this. Chinese goods here in the UAE are about 1/10th the cost one would find at a Walmart.

They are using there virtual monopoly position to artificially INFLATE prices NOT keep them low.

That's the secret to their HUGE profits. That, and the fact Americans keep lapping it up.

Walmart, bad for business and bad for the U.S. economy...!!!!

[Divernan]

2. You're right.

I just got back from a trip to six Eastern Carribbean countries and found comparable quality clothing/linens/towels at 1/3 to 1/4 US prices.

[unblock]

3. speaking as someone in the receivables securitization business,

walmart is first and foremost a monopsonist. the monopoly part came later. by monopsonist i mean that they are such a huge buyer of goods that they are in a position to distort the market by squeezing their suppliers.

many a small company with a successful teddy bear or some such has thought they finally hit it big when they got that call from walmart ordering huge quantities of their wares. only after sinking a ton of money into fulfilling the walmart contract do they find the sad truth, that walmart rarely pays suppliers 100 cents on the dollar. walmart's specialty is in complaining to suppliers that they got something wrong. shipped an hour late; shipped an hour early(!); wrong color; loaded on the truck in the wrong order(!); you get the idea. any deviation from perfection and walmart dings the supplier by paying less, sometimes radically less, than the full invoice price. even when they do pay, they often pay very late -- sometimes placing a second, third, even a fourth order before paying the first one.

indeed, many a small company has actually gone bankrupt just when they thought they were hitting it big, simply by failing to execute to walmart's standards.

walmart is so good at saving money on the backs of suppliers that i argue that this is their real profit center.

[MadHound]

4. Actually, they are a monopoly

They are a vertically integrated monopoly, as opposed to the traditional, and now nominally illegal horizontal monopoly. In a HM, for instance the old Standard Oil, you buy out you retail level competitors and integrate them into your company. As a vertically inegrated monopoly, you buy up the distributor, their distributor, and the producer above that. Perfectly legal, but a monopoly nonetheless.

[unblock]

5. i'm not disputing that they are also a monpoly

just that the monopsony came first. they are not mutually exclusive.

[No Mandate Here.]

6. A friend's brother is comptroller...

...of a company that used to sell swing sets and the like to Walmart. They were told right out what they would be paid for their products- not one penny more. This was below their cost, so... they lost a big customer and are struggling to replace the business.

Will there ever be enough of us who see the obvious connection between Walmart's cost bullying and the loss of jobs? Our local, brand new Supercenter (which replaced a ten year old store) is packed all the time. But so are the Goodwill stores. Is this a statement on the PA economy? (what economy?)

Around here, Walmart has enough clout that Penn DOT moves intersections and installs traffic lights for them.

[saigon68]

7. Its a product of the devil

Laugh at me if you want. The "religious crap" they sell is over the top.

If the devil exists on earth.
This is his creation.

[sam sarrha]

8. that is a standard practace EVERWHERE

[nodictators]

9. Aldi beats the hell out of Wal-Mart prices

Examples:

Aldi charges 99¢ for 200 sq. ft. of plastic wrap
Wal-Mart charges $2.68 for 130 sq. ft. of Saran Wrap
Note: The Aldi wrap is thicher than Saran Wrap and clings better.

Aldi charges 79¢ for a 1-lb. bag of salad mix
Wal-Mart charges $1.50 for their 1-lb. bag
Note: These are essentially identical

Over all, Aldi prices are significantly cheaper than Wal-Mart, with few exceptions.

Aldi began in Germany in the early 1960s. They have over 700 stores in the US and more than 5,000 stores in Europe and Austrialia, combined.

http://www.aldi.com

[Citizen Daryl]

10. Aldi = Essential Shopping

They are my store of choice, and have been for nearly 10 years. Aldi's products, nearly all store brands, are always top notch.

[Kellanved]

11. I was slightly shocked to see Aldi bags stateside

I knew that Aldi had expanded stateside (Trader Joe's) and even knew that they had stores over in the USA. However seeing people carrying Aldi bags seemed almost like home :-) .