Mom & Pops: Don’t Blame Wal-Mart
Overheard in the September issue of Business 2.0: “I’m sick of hearing about big, bad Wal-Mart. Sure, mom-and-pop stores eventually closed after Wal-Mart arrived in my town 20 years ago. But all of these stores were selling products at much higher prices than Wal-Mart. Now the shopping center where Wal-Mart is located has more stores and more competition, which means better prices. This is the American way. Remember that Sam Walton started with one store. The opportunity he seized still exists today. Blaming Wal-Mart isn’t entrepreneurialism. It’s sour grapes.” – Doug Sce, Yardley, PA
I can’t think of any other store where I feel as good as I do after leaving Wal-Mart. While everyday low prices are the catalyst, the real achievement is the great feeling of walking out of Wal-Mart thinking you didn’t pay enough. That keeps people coming back. That feeling of, “holy crap, I just saved a buttload of money, and it feels good. What else can I buy here?”
What do you think of Wal-Mart? Answer in terms of where you spend your money rather than the weak brand the company might have.
11 Comments
I almost never shop at WalMart: the closest one is too far away, and the prices aren’t significantly better than Macey’s, Costco or Sam’s Club (same company, I know), all of which are closer. For non-food items, I can generally do better than WalMart shopping online, too, and have things delivered right to my door.
I had a roommate who refused to go to Wal-Mart on principle (I think the sweatshop principle), so we spent four months avoiding the store. Then she started going back and I hardly ever do . . . strange how it works out.
Amen, Brother Snow
It’s funny how people love Wal-Mart for low prices and don’t like other places for high prices when both stand on principles of capitalism.
Something is never worth less than what you pay for it. It’s never worth what you pay for it either. Something is always worth more than what you pay for it because at the moment of purchase, you wanted something more than your dollars you gave for it. That means it was more valuable to you than the dollars or you wouldn’t make the exchange.
I love Wal-Mart because it’s the only place I can get something at 3:00AM (to usually finish a project that I procrastinated working on). Not only that, but once I’m there at 3:00AM, I’m amongst my night owl “friends.” I love Wal-Mart in the middle of the night — it’s the best.
JibJab has a funny, but fairly accurate take on Wal-Mart
http://www.jibjab.com/JokeBox/JokeBox_JJOrig.aspx?movieid=122
This was a great post — what a refreshing quote from Doug Sce. I agree 100% I, too, love shopping at Wal-Mart in the middle of the night. That’s the main reason I like Kroger stores, too. I mean, what are insomniacs and 3rd-shifters supposed to do? For them, Wal-Mart is probably absolutely necessary.
I don’t know about the ins and outs of Wal-Mart’s production policies. I don’t know about them “not giving back to the community.” I did read in my college paper once that Wal-Mart had donated some money for a university event. Sounds pretty nice to me.
My main thought about Wal-Mart and chain stores in general, is that there was once a time for “mom and pop” shops. I miss them, too, and I didn’t even really know them. But the world is covered with about 6 billion people — mass production is perhaps necessary. Maybe some business practices should change. But what I don’t understand is that people dismiss the huge conglomerate that is Wal-Mart, yet they don’t say, “Hey, let’s boycott the pornographic Abercrombie & Fitch, or quit buying Playboy magazine, or shut down the strip clubs in Vegas.”
Perhaps the argument would then be, “Sara, it’s a capitalist society; they can do what they want.” That’s true, I guess. But let’s be fair and make the playing field even. Why does seemingly everyone single out Wal-Mart? Because it’s so successful? Because it is so great? I just don’t know. I’m going to think about this some more, though.
There’s a Neighborhood Market down the street from me. That’s where I do my grocery shopping… Actually, it’s just a rebranded Wal-Mart that only does groceries. It’s designed to draw in the crowd that doesn’t like to go to Wal-Mart. They do this by making the Wal-Mart logo smaller on the store front and Neighborhood Market really big under the Wal-Mart logo…
It’s strangely effective.
Nicholas –
I have the same by my house. I don’t shop anywhere else.
Wikipedia has a good article called “Criticism of Walmart” that seems fairly balanced and presents both positive and negative information about Walmart. There’s also a book I’d like to read called the “Walmart Effect”. The bottom line appears to be that measuring the effect of any such company upon the economy, etc. is difficult, at best, because there are so many variables. It does seem to be easy to jump on the band wagon of criticising anything successful, and maybe there are more worthy objects of our condemnation. I think that much of the criticism of Walmart is a result of jealousy, but much of it is also deserved. Walmart is driving prices down to be sure, but at what expense? Subtle decreases in portion size, reduction in product quality, and poor customer service seem to be among the casualties.
The other complaint I hear about Wal-Mart is that its low prices encourage sweatshops in 3rd world countries, but I believe the capitalism and foreign investment, quite on the contrary, are good for poor countries.
I also admire that Wal-Mart sells the “clean” versions of CDs and doesn’t sell pornography, on principle.