NYT: Teaching Wal-Mart New Tricks

[DeepModem Mom]

Teaching Wal-Mart New Tricks
By TRACIE ROZHON
Published: May 8, 2005
Bentonville, Ark.




....Glasnost, Wal-Mart is starting to learn, can be unsettling. But after decades of battening down the hatches and refusing to deal with pesky analysts and reporters, the company has decided to open up and let a little sun in. The less confrontational approach to the outside world is part of its effort to repair a reputation that, especially in the last year, has suffered blow after blow, the latest being Mr. Coughlin's travails.

That is not the only big change taking place at Wal-Mart, the country's largest company ranked by sales. It is also beginning to rethink some of Sam Walton's most closely held tenets, including his determination to sell only the cheapest of merchandise to some of the least affluent Americans.

Why now? Because Wal-Mart suddenly seems, well, vulnerable - a word seldom associated with the $288 billion-a-year juggernaut that once swatted down rivals as if they were so many gnats. Its stock price has been flat for five years, and competitors like Target (whose name the cognoscenti love to pronounce the French way: tar-ZHAY) are giving it fits. "Which would you rather have?" one analyst asked. "A $1.99 plastic ice bucket from Tar-zhay or one from Wal-Mart?"

While Target long ago enlisted Isaac Mizrahi to design $19.99 giraffe-printed sweaters and Michael Graves to design tea kettles, Wal-Mart has been trying to figure out both its men's and women's clothing lines - with only limited success.

But now Wal-Mart executives say the company is getting its act together with apparel and home furnishings, which have been weak spots. In the grocery aisles, it is also experimenting with healthy frozen dishes and even organic food....


http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/08/business/yourmoney/08walm.html?pagewanted=all

[mcar]

1. Target is just a better all around store

and the prices are basically the same. WalMart's stuff is crap.

I have bought my kids' clothes from both for years and the Target stuff always holds up better. And then there's K Mart. If it makes it through one wash cycle, you're lucky.

[KissMyAsscroft]

2. Target stores have a superier layout.

That's partially what killed K-Mart. Their stores were a mess.

Consumers who are in the lower income bracket do not want to appear that they are shopping within their budget. They want to believe that they are not in a thrift store atmosphere and the company that provides this the best, in my opinion, will have an edge. (all other things being equal.) Everything from the size of aisles, to the color (red arouses) is in Target's favor. Add to this the fact that Target has many specialty designs that are affordable, which younger kids don't mind buying because they look fashionable, and MTV churning out house remodeling shows by the dozen doesn't hurt either.

[girl gone mad]

19. I read that Wal-Mart is struggling..

to get people in China to shop at its stores. The Chinese find Wal-Mart too ugly and shopper-unfriendly.

Apparantly, there is a Wal-Mart competitor in China that actually puts an emphasis on customer service and store layout/design.

Wal-mart was such a horrible shopping experience for me that I actually believe the executives and employees must spend a lot of time trying to come up with ways to make it look bad and make it impossible for people to find what they want.

[yorkiemommie1]

4. i shop at target a lot

it's within walking distance, clean and the prices are good.

did i read that it's a 'red' store? i mean, other than the color scheme ( which on the exterior of my store is offset by Purple panels )


edited to add : i don't care WHAT merchandise Walmart puts in their stores; until and unless I hear of deep fundamental changes in the was it treats its employees and downline suppliers, Walmart gets not one cent from me.

discouragingly enough, whenever i mention why i boycott walmart, my co-worker pipes up that she 'CAN'T WAIT' for it to open up here. she voted *, doesn't read the papers (except sports), listens to talk radio. it must be hard for her to be one of only two bushies in a heavily bush-bashing work environment!


we spend WAAAAY more at Costco than at Target, though! Plus, if you go to Costco at the right time, you can have lunch there from all the samples, lol.

[3waygeek]

5. Probably not red

Target is part of Dayton-Hudson, as in Minnesota Democratic Senator Mark Dayton.

[w4rma]

13. Thanks for that info! (nt)

[DeepModem Mom]

30. Welcome to DU, 3waygeek!

[flygal]

34. Right - and one of the heirs ran for MT Governor on the Dem ticket

They get my business anyday over wallofchina-mart

[TheFarseer]

8. They just meant the color scheme is red

I'm actually starting to get people to turn against Wal-Mart. My dad is a repub and he even hates Wal-Mart.

[cprise]

15. it is a 'red' supporter...as big as walmart

please do not kid yourselves.

[TheFarseer]

10. Walmart has cheep trash clothes

it looks like to me anyways. You'd have to be a redneck from the trailer park to wear most of the stuff from Walmart. Target has clothes I could see myself wearing although I have never actually went to Target for the purpose of buying clothes.

[heidler1]

18. I get concerned when I read Dems put down those that buy at WALMART.

I thought that the Democratic Party was and is the party of those who settle for less because of their financial circumstance. The ELITE are the Republicans.

[TheFarseer]

20. hold on there, nothing in my closet costs over $30

I'm an Old Navy and J.C. Penny's kind of guy. Just because you're poor doesn't mean your only options are NASCAR T-shirts, rodeo gear and camouflage everything else.

[heidler1]

31. If OLD NAVY suits you that's fine and by the same token if NASCAR T-shirts

suit some other guy or gal that is equally fine. I don't have either and what I do have is also fine.

[lolly]

23. If you're not a member of the "elite"

Then you may have Wal-Mart to blame.

They drive down salaries everywhere they go.

Their benefits are so bad that they hand out food stamp and Medical applications to new employees, putting another burden on taxpayers.

Gobble up tax bases--they always wrangle all kinds of tax breaks from every area they take over.

And, most comparison shoppers I've heard from agree that they don't really save you anything. Their advertised prices are loss-leaders; on comparable merchandise, Target and K-Mart match them.

The only super-cheap stuff they have is worthless plastic crap that no one really needs--I suspect working-class moms who shop there with the kids to save money end up squandering 4-5$ per trip on useless toys that end up in the landfill by the next week.

[heidler1]

32. In MHO Target is trying very hard to mimic the Walmart store model.

This model is basically a above average grocery store with a DOLLAR store attached and Target's newest stores are doing about the same. With the price of gas where it is one stop shopping is here to stay. Kmart which was like an above average Dollar store with no groceries and Sears which Kmart has bought out was a superior tool, washer, dryer, refrigerator and failing store model with no groceries. I predict that without the groceries they will both soon be history. If Walmart goes belly up, which there is no real sign of, the new successful store model will be more mall like with all of same stuff in one store plus maybe building materials. By the way Home Depot is into the hiring of retired seniors much like Walmart.

[jsw_81]

12. Agree wholeheartedly

Target is great. Wal-Mart, on the other hand, is always (at least in my experience) dirty, noisy, crowded and chaotic.

[Zorra]

3. Our boycott of Wally-World has worked. Treating workers like dogs,

busting unions, supporting republican fascists, and selling sweatshop made goods cost them.

If we all unite, and boycott all republican sponsoring businesses, we will weaken the thugs and economically empower our own.

Boycotting businesses that donate heavily to republicans is a win-win situation.

[KissMyAsscroft]

6. Ummmm...sorry to burst your bubble.

But the boycotts had no effect. They post record gains every single quarter. The boycotts are like spitting into the ocean. They are a monolith of a company and their factories in China gurantee them the lowest prices on all goods.

I don't shop at Wal-mart, unless I absolutely have to. I get my oil changed there because they do it for about 35 dollars less than Jiffy Lube, who are a complete joke. I would do it myself but I have nowhere to do it, and I don't have to special tools for my car. Other than that, I never shop there. I buy organic foods from the local co-op and bulk items from Costco.

[TheFarseer]

9. Jiffy Lube charges 19.99 here!

They used to have that deal just before 9 AM but now it's all day. Of course it's more for synthetic oil. I once had my battery changed at Walmart. I was desperate, if I shut off my car it wouldn't have started again so I had to be damn sure the place I stopped at could hook me up with a battery!

[KissMyAsscroft]

25. High mileage oil....

And it comes to like 54 bucks here. It is 20 bucks plus lots of tax for a regular change. But they try to sell you all this shit you dont need, and than they try to tack on all of these taxes that they will remove if you bitch about it. Basically they try to rip you off.

At Wal-Mart, they just shut the hell up and change your oil almost at cost.

[Zorra]

11. Yes, I'm sure that the hundreds of thousands of people that are

boycotting Wal-mart are helping their business immensely.

[KissMyAsscroft]

24. Compared to the exponentially growing millions, no.

nt

[Zorra]

28. Same store sales have slowed, and stock prices have been flat for

5 years. It takes a while for boycotts to gain momentum, and more people are joining this boycott every day. I recently convinced my 62 yr. old formerly republican uncle, who was a Wal-mart addict, to not shop there anymore.

Don't you think it is a good common sense idea not to support the company that is the largest contributor to the republican party?

[KissMyAsscroft]

35. I never said it wasn't a good idea, I just said it isn't effective.

I hate Wal-Mart.

You are suffering from the "false consensus" effect. For every boycotter like you, there are thousands upon thousands who don't care and want the lowest prices and best value.

Even if the mainstream media ran a story that Wal-Mart was killing ponies, they would still make a profit. Their shares have been stagnent because they have grown so much and sort of hit a peak for awhile. It has nothing to do with any boycott. Their stock will rise again soon.

[jmowreader]

7. Our district safety guy just LOVES Wal-Mart!

He says it's his favorite bad example.

What he likes to do when he's bored or trying to think of a topic for the next safety lecture is to go to Wal-Mart and count the number of safety violations he'd terminate a Home Depot employee for committing. Once he hit a hundred in an hour.

As for shopping there, he says he would never do that--he's afraid he'd get run over by a speeding electric pallet jack or something, and he's a good Democrat. But their entertainment potential is real high.

[gizmo1979]

14. They both suck

Same store different packaging.

[silverlib]

16. WalMart, Walgreens and China

are my biggest boycotts.

Walgreen's was just added because of the 'freedom for pharmacists choice in prescription drugs' policy.

Since Target carries mostly China imports, which I boycott, I've moved what few prescriptions my family has to Target, as they aren't totally blue, but (I hear) do give to the democratic party and contribute to the community.

[ovidsen]

17. Target is no prize

Try to live on these wages...

http://www.targetunion.org/node/8043

'nuf said. ;(

[insane_cratic_gal]

21. Target Also donated heavily

to the Republican party



BuyBlue.org's Rating:
(What do the ratings mean?)
Rating: Dark Red - 17 %


BuyBlue.org's Position:
Target currently has a 17% BuyBlue rating due to political contributions for the 2003-2004 election cycle. Target executives contributed solely to Republican candidates and Target's Chairman and CEO contributed fairly heavily. Target also has a Political Action Committee which contributed very heavily in the 2003-2004 election cycle weighing in at $173,240 (21.00% D, 78.00% R).

[DeepModem Mom]

22. Oh, man -- I thought Target was blue! nt

[insane_cratic_gal]

26. I know, me too!

but alas they are as red as the neck that doesn't buy from them.

That's what I don't understand, from a consumers point they aren't targeting the trash sector, walmart has done that. The are going for the low to middle class America, which is generally democratic?

Maybe I got it all wrong and they were more interested in the slave labor of over seas goods.

I've written to them and expressed my dissatisfaction with their contributions, told them to send me a flyer when they start donating 50/50 or not at all.

[cprise]

33. Yeah, lets keep that corporate goodness in the Democratic Party (TM)

[lolly]

27. Target is definitely the lesser of two evils

They do donate a significant amount to communities (1% of everything I buy there goes to my daughter's high school).

Their pay isn't going to get you into a luxury condo, but it's better than WalMart. They do offer many employees minimal health benefits after a year of employment (not perfect, but like I said, lesser of two evils).

I've also never heard of Target locking employees in overnight OFF THE CLOCK, or pressuring managers to squeeze off-the clock hours out of their already underpaid employees.

If you don't have kids to clothe and can afford Macy's, go there. Target and WalMart are in the same marketing niche, so if that's your level, you're better off at Target.

If someone came along in the same niche that donated to Dems and paid better, I'd dump Target and shop there.

[scarletlib]

36. Here's my Target experience:

The Target in my neighborhood has been open for about 10 years. During that time a number of people working there have been long term employees of the store. This is a metropolitan area with a Walmart, K-Mart, etc. nearby.

You can go into this Target and see the same faces month after month and year after year. This tells me that this Target is not a bad place to work.

I worked part time one Christmas Season at this store (1997) and they treated me very well. THey wanted me to stay and come on full time. Told me I could make more money with them than I could at my regular state job.

So at least locally Target treats its staff well.

[Straight Shooter]

29. Target has a much better advertising campaign.

They have a better selection of products, more contemporary.

The closest of either store is 75 miles away from me. Sometimes I shop online at Target, but wild horses couldn't drag me into a Wal-Mart. I can't boycott a store for the reason that they contribute to one party or another, because both Dems and Repubs work at all stores across America.

I can and will, however, boycott Wal-Mart because I think it's just plain evil. Wages in department stores will never be fair, but Wal-Mart is abusive.

And one more thing: their aisle structure stinks.