The Man Who Said No to Wal-Mart

[mykevermin]

http://www.fastcompany.com/subscr/102/open_snapper.html

Way too long to C&P here. A fascinating read on one business' fear of its own undoing by continuing to sell with Wal-Mart.

My favorite quote: "The Wal-Mart vice president responded with strategy and argument. Snapper is the sort of high-quality nameplate, like Levi Strauss, that Wal-Mart hopes can ultimately make it more Target-like. He suggested that Snapper find a lower-cost contract manufacturer. He suggested producing a separate, lesser-quality line with the Snapper nameplate just for Wal-Mart. Just like Levi did."

 

[MrBadExample]

I read that yesterday too. It's nice to see someone stand up to Wally World.

 

[PittsburghAfterDark]

There are many vendors that don't find value in selling to Wal Mart. It's also not unusual for vendors to produce models, products or lines with their name on it for specific retailers. If you compare electronics for example you will find that not every Sony, Panasonic, Samsung or PC line has the exact same model in Best Buy that Circuit City has.

It's also a pretty common fact that Wal Mart will string along invoices for 88 days before paying someone, in full, netting them that many months of in effect "free" financing. There's a risk that doing business with Wal Mart can be financially challenging if you can't afford to string along AR's that long but if you can deal with the slow pay the money you can make can be substantial.

Why is it you don't see Sony, Panasonic and Samsung TV's in Wal Mart despite them wanting to compete more directly with Best Buy? Because they won't eat the contratct they put forth.

 

[Metal Boss]

[quote name='PittsburghAfterDark']

Why is it you don't see Sony, Panasonic and Samsung TV's in Wal Mart despite them wanting to compete more directly with Best Buy? Because they won't eat the contratct they put forth.[/QUOTE]


Thank you, wal-mart insider.

 

[Drocket]

[quote name='PittsburghAfterDark']There are many vendors that don't find value in selling to Wal Mart. It's also not unusual for vendors to produce models, products or lines with their name on it for specific retailers. If you compare electronics for example you will find that not every Sony, Panasonic, Samsung or PC line has the exact same model in Best Buy that Circuit City has.[/QUOTE]

This really isn't the same thing Walmart does, though. A lot of stores like to carry 'exclusive' models, and do that by asking the vendors to tweak an existing model by adding a feature or two. That's a common, age-old business deal, and one that I really can't see any problem with.

Walmart, though, has ushered in a whole new era of 'cooperation' between stores and manufacturers. Normal businesses figure out how much they'll pay for a product by figuring out how much they can sell it for, then figuring out expenses and the best profit they think they can get away with. Walmart figures out how much they'll pay for a product by calculating how much it would cost to pay Chinese slave labor to make a shoddy copy of the product, and that's how much they pay and not a dime more.

The fact that Walmart has destroyed small retailers is probably the LEAST bad effect they've had on the American economy. Any time you're wondering where all the American manufacturing jobs have gone, you can pretty much just look at Walmart to figure out the answer. They couldn't have done a better job of destroying the American economy if they directly working for the Chinese instead of merely being partnered with them.

 

[Blade]

I've said no to Wal-Mart numerous times, but it always ends up with me on my backside.

Once he even knocked on my door. I denoted that his fly was unzipped, to which he replied with "It'll be quicker this way."

 

[Sarang01]

[quote name='PittsburghAfterDark']There are many vendors that don't find value in selling to Wal Mart. It's also not unusual for vendors to produce models, products or lines with their name on it for specific retailers. If you compare electronics for example you will find that not every Sony, Panasonic, Samsung or PC line has the exact same model in Best Buy that Circuit City has.

It's also a pretty common fact that Wal Mart will string along invoices for 88 days before paying someone, in full, netting them that many months of in effect "free" financing. There's a risk that doing business with Wal Mart can be financially challenging if you can't afford to string along AR's that long but if you can deal with the slow pay the money you can make can be substantial.

Why is it you don't see Sony, Panasonic and Samsung TV's in Wal Mart despite them wanting to compete more directly with Best Buy? Because they won't eat the contratct they put forth.[/QUOTE]

So along with STEALING my tax dollars and NEVER putting video games on clearance anymore with the Wal-Mart around me they're also deadbeats who take forever to pay for what they're bought? Nice.
I can see why he might not want to deal with Wal-Mart and their tonnage bit too. Btw the Target bit, you can try to repaint White Trash all you want but it's still White Trash, votes for Bush unabashadly and beileves in a most absurd Left Wing media conspiracy as well as it's all the Liberals and Democrats fault when it's the lack of a said 3rd party to stick it to both Dems and Pubs to MAKE them fix things.
Oh and besides the Chinese bit lets not forget how in one of their factories in South America they locked the doors.
Oh and speaking of Wal-Mart's destructiveness one of my big Republican uncles doesn't shop there because he knows what it's doing, though he does think the Dan Quayle thing was made to look too big, what with his ignorance and all and he thinks Blacks ruined Oakland.