Walmart's Project Impact: A Move to Crush Competition

[Mr. Lennon]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/time/2...us_time/08599192069800

Walmart loves to shock and awe. City-size stores, absurdly low prices ($8 jeans!) and everything from milk to Matchbox toys on its shelves. And with the recession forcing legions of stores into bankruptcy, the world's largest retailer now apparently wants to take out the remaining survivors.

Thus, the company is in the beginning stages of a massive store and strategy remodeling effort, which it has dubbed Project Impact. One goal of Project Impact is cleaner, less cluttered stores that will improve the shopping experience. Another is friendlier customer service. A third: home in on categories where the competition can be killed. "They've got Kmart ready to take a standing eight-count next year," says retail consultant Burt Flickinger III, managing director for Strategic Resources Group and a veteran Walmart watcher. "Same with Rite Aid. They've knocked out four of the top five toy retailers, and are now going after the last one standing, Toys "R" Us. Project Impact will be the catalyst to wipe out a second round of national and regional retailers."



I refuse to ever shop there...but one of these days that might not be an option.

 

[blackangst1]

So let me get this straight. All theyre doing is revamping their stores? And this is some evil plan?

:laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh:

 

[brandonbull]

Do they actually sell anything made in the USA? Nothing but Chinese junk.

 

[JS80]

Walmart is helping poor people by lowering prices and removing inefficiencies and people are complaining.

 

[TruePaige]

Originally posted by: brandonbull
Do they actually sell anything made in the USA? Nothing but Chinese junk.

How many people care? That is the question that determines their viability.

I think the market has spoken....for better or worse.

 

[brandonbull]

Originally posted by: JS80
Walmart is helping poor people by lowering prices and removing inefficiencies and people are complaining.

Because they get tons of tax credits and buy nothing but junk from China. Sounds like they are helping poor people of China.

 

[yllus]

Cleaner, less cluttered stores are a bad thing?

Besides, all businesses seek to crush their competition. It's not an arena where playing nice counts for much.

 

[Zensal]

So....

Wal-mart is cleaning up the isles, improving customer service and improving the quality of certain sections of their stores. And how is this a bad thing?

 

[Modelworks]

Walmart sells a lot of junk. I don't shop there anymore after seeing what they have done to manufacturers to get them to sell their products.

 

[PokerGuy]

Hey, I know they just sell Chinese junk, but the people are voting with their wallets, and they are saying loud and clear "give me more lead-paint covered, made by horribly treated slave-wage earning people junk, as long as it's cheap". Can't blame walmart for that, they are just providing what people want.

Also blaming walmart for a project to improve their stores?

 

[bamacre]

I like WalMart. Their checkout design is better than anyone else, at least in my area. Whenever I go, I hardly ever have to wait in line, checkout is quick, employees are friendly and helpful when I need it. I couldn't care less about Toy's R Us nor Rite Aid.

 

[RyanPaulShaffer]

Originally posted by: brandonbull
Do they actually sell anything made in the USA? Nothing but Chinese junk.

I think I once bought some clear plastic cups that were made in America and cost fifty cents each.

:laugh:

 

[blackangst1]

Originally posted by: brandonbull
Do they actually sell anything made in the USA? Nothing but Chinese junk.

Do any of WalMart's competitors? Doh

 

[blackangst1]

Originally posted by: Modelworks
Walmart sells a lot of junk. I don't shop there anymore after seeing what they have done to manufacturers to get them to sell their products.

Not entirely true. Have you seen their products online? Hell you can buy Antec cases from WalMart!

And this whole "sells Chinese junk" argument is bullsht. So does Fred Meyer, KMart, etc. Its no different.

 

[CPA]

talk about your troll posts. are you friggen kidding me OP?

 

[Gonad the Barbarian]

What Walmart needs to revamp is its customers.

NSFW
http://peopleofwalmart.com/

 

[CPA]

So let me get this straight. These items:

PS3, XBox360, Nintendo Video games
Apple Ipods
Black & Decker tools and appliances
Spalding and Wilson Sporting Goods
All food products
Mars Candy
Huffy Bikes
Glidden Paint
HHT Pool chemicals
Iams Dog Food
Purina Cat Food
Gillette Razors
Nature's Way Vitamins
Bridgestone Tires
and on and on and on

are somehow different than what other stores sells in that these items are made in China for Walmart, while they are made in the USA for the other stores?

I'm not arguing they're not made in China, but it would be made in China no matter what store sold them. Stores like Target, Kohl's, Meijers, Costco, Gamestop, Vitamin World.

 

[bamacre]

Who cares if a lot of things are made in China? Generally there's nothing wrong with this. It's more efficient for us to buy things made in China, if they can make them more efficiently than we can. We can focus on producing things we can make more efficiently, and that means using ingenuity and technology rather than cheap labor. It's just stupid to try to produce every single thing we consume.

 

[blackangst1]

Originally posted by: CPA
So let me get this straight. These items:

PS3, XBox360, Nintendo Video games
Apple Ipods
Black & Decker tools and appliances
Spalding and Wilson Sporting Goods
All food products
Mars Candy
Huffy Bikes
Glidden Paint
HHT Pool chemicals
Iams Dog Food
Purina Cat Food
Gillette Razors
Nature's Way Vitamins
Bridgestone Tires
and on and on and on

are somehow different than what other stores sells in that these items are made in China for Walmart, while they are made in the USA for the other stores?

I'm not arguing they're not made in China, but it would be made in China no matter what store sold them. Stores like Target, Kohl's, Meijers, Costco, Gamestop, Vitamin World.

Yup. Not to mention grocery products, MANY of which ARE made in the USA. Or wait...Maybe Tillamook cheese sold in WalMart IS made in China :shocked:

 

[Engineer]

Originally posted by: bamacre
Who cares if a lot of things are made in China? Generally there's nothing wrong with this. It's more efficient for us to buy things made in China, if they can make them more efficiently than we can. We can focus on producing things we can make more efficiently, and that means using ingenuity and technology rather than cheap labor. It's just stupid to try to produce every single thing we consume.

I hate the Goddamn word "efficiency". Just use the real meaning of the word...cheap. They get paid $0.08 per hour is this "efficiency" that you guys refer to. Fuck that.

The US worker is the most productive worker in the world. Even with that, they cannot come close to competing with $0.08 per hour. The "efficiencies" that you mention have driven the folks out of the closing US factories, where they made a decent wave, into the stores of Walmart where they make shit wages. I guess it helps them afford the cheap stuff, especially since their incomes are so much lower now.

And for the record, this is not unique to just Walmart, however they were big in pushing and promoting it well before others finally gave in and did the same.

 

[bamacre]

Originally posted by: Engineer

Originally posted by: bamacre
Who cares if a lot of things are made in China? Generally there's nothing wrong with this. It's more efficient for us to buy things made in China, if they can make them more efficiently than we can. We can focus on producing things we can make more efficiently, and that means using ingenuity and technology rather than cheap labor. It's just stupid to try to produce every single thing we consume.

I hate the Goddamn word "efficiency". Just use the real meaning of the word...cheap. They get paid $0.08 per hour is this "efficiency" that you guys refer to. Fuck that.

The US worker is the most productive worker in the world. Even with that, they cannot come close to competing with $0.08 per hour.

Efficiency doesn't necessarily mean "cheap." Just means making good use of the resources you have. Go check out FedEx's operations, or WalMart's, specifically their use of logistics. Using their brains instead of their brawn. NewEgg has a machine that makes boxes. Hell, microprocessors.

 

[Engineer]

Originally posted by: bamacre

Originally posted by: Engineer

Originally posted by: bamacre
Who cares if a lot of things are made in China? Generally there's nothing wrong with this. It's more efficient for us to buy things made in China, if they can make them more efficiently than we can. We can focus on producing things we can make more efficiently, and that means using ingenuity and technology rather than cheap labor. It's just stupid to try to produce every single thing we consume.

I hate the Goddamn word "efficiency". Just use the real meaning of the word...cheap. They get paid $0.08 per hour is this "efficiency" that you guys refer to. Fuck that.

The US worker is the most productive worker in the world. Even with that, they cannot come close to competing with $0.08 per hour.

Efficiency doesn't necessarily mean "cheap." Just means making good use of the resources you have. Go check out FedEx's operations, or WalMart's, specifically their use of logistics. Using their brains instead of their brawn. NewEgg has a machine that makes boxes. Hell, microprocessors.

Like I said, the brawn of the people that used to make that stuff in US factories is now being utilized in the Walmart stores (and others like it) that sell that shit.

You know damn good and well that "efficient", when it comes to Chinese made stuff, means CHEAP (labor).

 

[MikeMike]

Originally posted by: Engineer

Originally posted by: bamacre
Who cares if a lot of things are made in China? Generally there's nothing wrong with this. It's more efficient for us to buy things made in China, if they can make them more efficiently than we can. We can focus on producing things we can make more efficiently, and that means using ingenuity and technology rather than cheap labor. It's just stupid to try to produce every single thing we consume.

I hate the Goddamn word "efficiency". Just use the real meaning of the word...cheap. They get paid $0.08 per hour is this "efficiency" that you guys refer to. Fuck that.

The US worker is the most productive worker in the world. Even with that, they cannot come close to competing with $0.08 per hour. The "efficiencies" that you mention have driven the folks out of the closing US factories, where they made a decent wave, into the stores of Walmart where they make shit wages. I guess it helps them afford the cheap stuff, especially since their incomes are so much lower now.

And for the record, this is not unique to just Walmart, however they were big in pushing and promoting it well before others finally gave in and did the same.

so, they took a risk, by selling foreign products, before everyone else, and that risk is now paying off... and we should hate them for it... right?

 

[Engineer]

Originally posted by: MIKEMIKE

so, they took a risk, by selling foreign products, before everyone else, and that risk is now paying off... and we should hate them for it... right?

I hate them all for selling the Chinese made shit and helping to drive US manufacturing out.

I noted that I don't hate Walmart any more than I do the others for doing the same thing.

 

[JS80]

Originally posted by: Engineer

Originally posted by: MIKEMIKE

so, they took a risk, by selling foreign products, before everyone else, and that risk is now paying off... and we should hate them for it... right?

I hate them all for selling the Chinese made shit and helping to drive US manufacturing out.

I noted that I don't hate Walmart any more than I do the others for doing the same thing.

You think the US is better off manufacturing flip flops and plastic cups than inventing iPhone, the Google, etc?