Why is Wal-Mart so successful?

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Orsorum

Lifer
Dec 26, 2001
27,631
5
81
I have noticed no difference in price when shopping at Wal Mart versus shopping at Costco or Safeway, where I purchase all of my staples, but I have noticed a difference in the quality of clothing and other household products purchased at Wal Mart and at Costco (Costco beats Wal Mart by a mile or more).
 

dmcowen674

No Lifer
Oct 13, 1999
54,889
47
91
www.alienbabeltech.com
It's not just Communisism,

he is also giving :thumbsup: to slave labor

he is also giving :thumbsup: to Rich Corp Executives & Politicians

he is also giving :thumbsdown: to American workers

It's the Ultimate in eating your own tail.
 

Miramonti

Lifer
Aug 26, 2000
28,653
100
106
As a consumer, I enjoyed them for:

Low prices
Clean stores
Good stock, selections
Short lines, lots of cashiers
Approachable employees
Good refund policy
 

Pabster

Lifer
Apr 15, 2001
16,986
1
0
Let's see. Wal-Mart has a real simple and effective business strategy ...

- hire illegal immigrants to wax your floors and drive the forklifts (at least they can communicate with the truck drivers, who also happen to be illegals :D)

- bring everything in from china. And I mean EVERYTHING. From a $.19 item all the way up. And occasionally slap a "Made In USA" sticker on so you can fool a few people...

- don't provide health insurance for as many employees as possible. Here in Iowa we recently learned Wallyworld has the largest number of employees receiving state aid (ie Medicare/Medicaid)

- stop at nothing to prevent unionization. Now I realize that unions are as corrupt as Wal-Mart in most cases (or very close to it) but at least it would provide SOME semblance of check-and-balance

I refuse to shop at Wal-Mart. I'd much rather spend a few more dollars somewhere else.
 

raildogg

Lifer
Aug 24, 2004
12,892
572
126
Wal-Mart is rated among the best employers annually and constantly makes it to the top of the best companies to work for list. It also is the fortune top 500 company.

Sam Walton's dream was realized and then some. What he started is truly unbelievable, from a small Arkansas store to one of the worlds biggest and most powerful companies. Just think about how powerful Wal-Mart is, it has over a million employees and contols Sam's Club and so many other warehouses and such. Sam Walton finally won a lifetime achievement award in 1993 and died a month afterwards. What a great man. God bless him.

Wal-Mart has truly improved communities throughout America. It provides a economic boom for the cities. That is a fact. Wal-Mart is one of the reasons for America's status as worlds economic leader.

Also, I know some Wal-Mart managers and people with power, they do not hire illegal Mexicans. It is a myth.

But I still don't like the fact that Wal-Mart supports slave labor in China. See my China slave labor thread where Wal-Mart is mentioned.

We must realize that Wal-Mart's success is America's success.
 

BarneyFife

Diamond Member
Aug 12, 2001
3,875
0
76
What I find funny about Walmart is that they allow Chinese store workers to have unions but if anyone starts a union here, they close the store down. Gotta love 'em!
 

BarneyFife

Diamond Member
Aug 12, 2001
3,875
0
76
Originally posted by: raildogg
Wal-Mart is rated among the best employers annually and constantly makes it to the top of the best companies to work for list. It also is the fortune top 500 company.

Sam Walton's dream was realized and then some. What he started is truly unbelievable, from a small Arkansas store to one of the worlds biggest and most powerful companies. Just think about how powerful Wal-Mart is, it has over a million employees and contols Sam's Club and so many other warehouses and such. Sam Walton finally won a lifetime achievement award in 1993 and died a month afterwards. What a great man. God bless him.

Wal-Mart has truly improved communities throughout America. It provides a economic boom for the cities. That is a fact. Wal-Mart is one of the reasons for America's status as worlds economic leader.

Also, I know some Wal-Mart managers and people with power, they do not hire illegal Mexicans. It is a myth.

But I still don't like the fact that Wal-Mart supports slave labor in China. See my China slave labor thread where Wal-Mart is mentioned.

We must realize that Wal-Mart's success is America's success.


Umm... You sound like some fake infomercial. I don't know if its your posting style or what. Show me proof where Walmart is such a great place to work at.
 

raildogg

Lifer
Aug 24, 2004
12,892
572
126
Originally posted by: BarneyFife
Originally posted by: raildogg
Wal-Mart is rated among the best employers annually and constantly makes it to the top of the best companies to work for list. It also is the fortune top 500 company.

Sam Walton's dream was realized and then some. What he started is truly unbelievable, from a small Arkansas store to one of the worlds biggest and most powerful companies. Just think about how powerful Wal-Mart is, it has over a million employees and contols Sam's Club and so many other warehouses and such. Sam Walton finally won a lifetime achievement award in 1993 and died a month afterwards. What a great man. God bless him.

Wal-Mart has truly improved communities throughout America. It provides a economic boom for the cities. That is a fact. Wal-Mart is one of the reasons for America's status as worlds economic leader.

Also, I know some Wal-Mart managers and people with power, they do not hire illegal Mexicans. It is a myth.

But I still don't like the fact that Wal-Mart supports slave labor in China. See my China slave labor thread where Wal-Mart is mentioned.

We must realize that Wal-Mart's success is America's success.


Umm... You sound like some fake infomercial. I don't know if its your posting style or what. Show me proof where Walmart is such a great place to work at.

More than 1 million people work there. WTF is your point? You sound like a phony who doesn't know a thing hes talking about. :disgust:

Most of them have been working their for many years. Obviously something is right.

Wal-Mart is right at the top of lists of top employers. It makes the best companies to work for list. If posting facts makes you a shill for a company then so be it. I don't have any particular love for Wal-Mart, to the contrary in fact. See my anti-Walmart thread about Chinese slave labor.

But I realize that Wal-Mart has its negatives and positives. In most cases, its positives outweigh its negatives.
 

BBond

Diamond Member
Oct 3, 2004
8,363
0
0
I believe a crucial component in Walmart's growth is the attitude they instill in their employees. They all seem to be really "pumped up" about working at Walmart, just like those squeaky clean be-vested Walmart employees in those commercials.

Unfortunately, this attitude seldom lasts for long because it takes most people a very short time to realize the true conditions they work under.

I bought a gallon of anti-freeze (pet friendly) at a Walmart once. That's been it AFAICR. I looked around the store. From the product selection I saw it seems Walmart's marketing strategy is to carry the low to mid product line of yesterday's products.

I agree with Pabster:
Originally posted by: Pabster
Let's see. Wal-Mart has a real simple and effective business strategy ...

- hire illegal immigrants to wax your floors and drive the forklifts (at least they can communicate with the truck drivers, who also happen to be illegals :D)

- bring everything in from china. And I mean EVERYTHING. From a $.19 item all the way up. And occasionally slap a "Made In USA" sticker on so you can fool a few people...

- don't provide health insurance for as many employees as possible. Here in Iowa we recently learned Wallyworld has the largest number of employees receiving state aid (ie Medicare/Medicaid)

- stop at nothing to prevent unionization. Now I realize that unions are as corrupt as Wal-Mart in most cases (or very close to it) but at least it would provide SOME semblance of check-and-balance

I refuse to shop at Wal-Mart. I'd much rather spend a few more dollars somewhere else.

:thumbsup:

I don't shop Walmart either.
 

raildogg

Lifer
Aug 24, 2004
12,892
572
126
You ignoramuses can continue to believe in the myth that Wal-Mart is successful because of illegal immigrants. There are no illegals working there, and I know Wal-Mart employees and people with power who work for Wal-Mart.

Of course, to the radical leftists, anything successful is sneered at and looked at with suspicion. No wonder they attack all large and powerful corporations in this country. First they went after Microsoft and now Wal-Mart.

I'm not fan of the corporate mentality, in fact I want corporations to be held accountable. But lets not punish decent corporations such as Wal-Mart for their successes. I want Ken Lay to be in prison, I want the other officers in Enron to be in prison. If Martha Stewart can serve time in the same prison as Tokyo Rose, then why can't Ken Lay do the same? It is shameful.

The reason hehind Wal-Mart's success is accountability. There is ZERO expenditure that is unnecessary. Wal-Mart's CEO shares his hotel room with other top officers in the company to trim cost. Lee Scott follows in the footsteps of Sam Walton. They have created a lean machine corporation that has endless potential. Lee Scott and other Wal-Mart executives live rather ordinary lives simply because thats what Wal-Mart is all about: accountability, to its customers, shareholders and its employees. People envy Wal-Mart's success. Sam Walton, although he is dead, is the inspiration for Wal-Mart's growth and its his ideas that have prevailed and transformed Wal-Mart into what it is today.

Sam Walton started what turned out to be America's most powerful company. And a very generous company at that. Unfortunately, it came at the cost of Chinese slave laborers, but Wal-Mart has a positive impact on many cities across America. I agree that Wal-Mart is guilty of supporting slave labor in China, but if we overlook that (sorry, but we have to), you can see the positive effects of Wal-Mart. I was very anti-Wal Mart not too long ago. I still am not a big fan of Wal-Mart and don't shop there, unless I want some video games, but I realize that Wal-Mart plays a huge role in America's future and present. 1 million employees and hundreds of billions of dollars worth of assets is something to be taken seriously. In fact, it might be the world's most powerful corporation.
 

raildogg

Lifer
Aug 24, 2004
12,892
572
126
Originally posted by: Tab
Where do you get this information from Raildogg?

Um, where do you get your information?

I live in the real world and know my surroundings. That is all. I know quite a bit about Wal-Mart and its role in slave labor in China, but I also know several Wal-Mart associates and higher ups. They say it has very good benefits, takes cares of its employees and is very diverse. In fact, I believe Wal-Mart has more black and hispanic employees than any other company. I live in the south and we have many Wal-Marts here :D, so we have to live with it. I can tell you first hand it has really made a big difference here. Specifically, economically speaking. Whereever there is a Wal-Mart store, there are other stores that open close by. Pizzerias, GameStops, Quiznos for example. Heh, speaking of stores, anyone notice that these UPS stores are popping up all over the place?

By the way, that chicken with bacon and cheese sandwich at Quiznos is awesome. :)

One of the lesser know reasons why Wal-Mart is so successful is that it owns its own transportation. Its supply transportation is second to none and everything is efficient and run smoothly. Again, all because of accountability that starts from the top. Wal-Mart is the Dell of retailing giants. Margins, margins and margins. It owns its delivery trucks and that helps save even more costs.

Lee Scott has continued to believe in Sam Walton's philosophy and that, in my opinion, is the reason behind Wal-Mart's continuted success. He is basically like a every day employee at Wal-Mart. He dresses normally, does everything like everyone else and doesn't act like a CEO of the world's most powerful company. That translates into high moral for the employees and they want this company to do well. I believe greatness starts from the top, Sam Walton provided greatness for decades and now Lee Scott is doing the same. Sam Walton even drove Wal-Mart trucks. You have to admit, Wal-Mart has been playing its cards right for a long time. Not many companies go from a small convenience store in Arkansas to the world's most powerful company. Good job Sam.
 

BBond

Diamond Member
Oct 3, 2004
8,363
0
0
No illegals work at Walmart. They work for the subcontractor who locks them in closed stores overnight though. ;)

Wal-Mart Stores Locked In Night Shift Workers with No Key

They had an investigation in New Jersey into this practice. Illegal aliens were working at Walmarts in New Jersey and other states LOCKED IN THE STORE ALL NIGHT.

It would appear that Walmart's slave labor problems aren't confined to China.
 

Tab

Lifer
Sep 15, 2002
12,145
0
76
Originally posted by: raildogg
Originally posted by: Tab
Where do you get this information from Raildogg?

Um, where do you get your information?

I live in the real world and know my surroundings. That is all. I know quite a bit about Wal-Mart and its role in slave labor in China, but I also know several Wal-Mart associates and higher ups. They say it has very good benefits, takes cares of its employees and is very diverse. In fact, I believe Wal-Mart has more black and hispanic employees than any other company. I live in the south and we have many Wal-Marts here :D, so we have to live with it. I can tell you first hand it has really made a big difference here. Specifically, economically speaking. Whereever there is a Wal-Mart store, there are other stores that open close by. Pizzerias, GameStops, Quiznos for example.

By the way, that chicken with bacon and cheese sandwich at Quiznos is awesome. :)

Lee Scott has continued to believe in Sam Walton's philosophy and that, in my opinion, is the reason behind Wal-Mart's continuted success. He is basically like a every day employee at Wal-Mart. He dresses normally, does everything like everyone else and doesn't act like a CEO of the world's most powerful company. That translates into high moral for the employees and they want this company to do well.

I live in the real world as well. I know several employees at the Wal-Mart in Fago, they've got jobs like anyone else. That doesn't illilstrate Wal-Mart as a decent company.

A Company's founder who said that he company should be exmept from minium wage is someone who is going to looked at supiciously. Yes, Sam Walton did ask that his company be exempt from minium wage.

For a extensive look at Wal-Mart's court history, please check this link.

Thats a extensively detailed list, is this propaganda?

Wal-Mart also decided to stop selling the "Day-After-Pill" in 1999. It has also done numerous things to censor works it deems "inapporiate." Is it up to a retail store to decide my morality?

Wal-Mart does destroy communites, espically smaller ones. You plop a SuperCenter in a small community and the local buissness cannot compete with a giant like that, they flop.

About 50% of all employees leave after the first year of employeement, does that tell you something?

There has been numeorous court alligations relating to race and sex discrimination, see the court details I've listed further.

In 1995 Wal-Mart contract "Slave Labor" in the Guangdong Province, in Bangladesh most teenagers worked for wal-mart at .30 cents per hour...


While your orginal percepitions of Wal-Mart may cystal clear. My own Wal-Mart is kept relitivly clean and safe. There is no excuse for corporate corruption that it was brought. They need to go a long way to redeem themselves.
 

raildogg

Lifer
Aug 24, 2004
12,892
572
126
Umm ... most of Wal-Marts employees are long term. How the heck do communities get destroyed?

Seems you're reaching for something which is not there. Give it up.

Wal-Mart is a positive for communities. It is a source of jobs, income, TRAFFIC and potential CUSTOMERS for everybody in the surrounding areas.

Wal-Mart has a store in Bangladesh? Thats news to me.

And I don't buy the discriminatory BS about Wal-Mart or sex abuse. Every large company has sex abuse, meaning that the employees do practice it. You can't control the behavior of a million employees. Think of it as a society, and there are bad people and good people. There are good employees and bad employees. Look at the bigger picture.

You know what? You have lost all credility.

Wal-Mart is the cleanest, most efficient LARGE corporation in America. WTF corruption are you talking about? Are you just making up more BS?

Every corporation has these issues to deal with, but no corporation is nearly as big as Wal-mart. It seems to me that even with this huge success and immense power, Wal-Mart has acted decently and never lost sight of Sam's vision.
 

BarneyFife

Diamond Member
Aug 12, 2001
3,875
0
76
Originally posted by: raildogg
Originally posted by: BarneyFife
Originally posted by: raildogg
Wal-Mart is rated among the best employers annually and constantly makes it to the top of the best companies to work for list. It also is the fortune top 500 company.

Sam Walton's dream was realized and then some. What he started is truly unbelievable, from a small Arkansas store to one of the worlds biggest and most powerful companies. Just think about how powerful Wal-Mart is, it has over a million employees and contols Sam's Club and so many other warehouses and such. Sam Walton finally won a lifetime achievement award in 1993 and died a month afterwards. What a great man. God bless him.

Wal-Mart has truly improved communities throughout America. It provides a economic boom for the cities. That is a fact. Wal-Mart is one of the reasons for America's status as worlds economic leader.

Also, I know some Wal-Mart managers and people with power, they do not hire illegal Mexicans. It is a myth.

But I still don't like the fact that Wal-Mart supports slave labor in China. See my China slave labor thread where Wal-Mart is mentioned.

We must realize that Wal-Mart's success is America's success.


Umm... You sound like some fake infomercial. I don't know if its your posting style or what. Show me proof where Walmart is such a great place to work at.

More than 1 million people work there. WTF is your point? You sound like a phony who doesn't know a thing hes talking about. :disgust:

Most of them have been working their for many years. Obviously something is right.

Wal-Mart is right at the top of lists of top employers. It makes the best companies to work for list. If posting facts makes you a shill for a company then so be it. I don't have any particular love for Wal-Mart, to the contrary in fact. See my anti-Walmart thread about Chinese slave labor.

But I realize that Wal-Mart has its negatives and positives. In most cases, its positives outweigh its negatives.



WHAT LIST??? Show is a link. Mcdonalds has thousands of employees, doesn't mean I want to work there. Right now you're talking out of your huge ass without providing any information which is what you usually do anyway.
 

raildogg

Lifer
Aug 24, 2004
12,892
572
126
WHAT LIST??? Show is a link. Mcdonalds has thousands of employees, doesn't mean I want to work there. Right now you're talking out of your huge ass without providing any information which is what you usually do anyway.

Fortune 500, you buffoon.

Here you go, ignoramus. Text

Bbond, give it up already. You people are ignorant of what you spew. I know exactly what role Wal-Mart plays in Chinese slave labor and even started a thread on, I know it is disgusting. But the reality is that Wal-Mart's success is America's success.

At least learn something about the topic you talk about.
 

Tab

Lifer
Sep 15, 2002
12,145
0
76
Originally posted by: raildogg
Umm ... most of Wal-Marts employees are long term. How the heck do communities get destroyed?

Seems you're reaching for something which is not there. Give it up.

Wal-Mart is a positive for communities. It is a source of jobs, income, TRAFFIC and potential CUSTOMERS for everybody in the surrounding areas.

Wal-Mart has a store in Bangladesh? Thats news to me.

And I don't buy the discriminatory BS about Wal-Mart or sex abuse. Every large company has sex abuse, meaning that the employees do practice it. You can't control the behavior of a million employees. Think of it as a society, and there are bad people and good people. There are good employees and bad employees. Look at the bigger picture.

You know what? You have lost all credility.

Wal-Mart is the cleanest, most efficient LARGE corporation in America. WTF corruption are you talking about? Are you just making up more BS?

Please read what I previously posted, it's obivious that you have not.

I'll quote the part found in the Wikipedia link I used as a source.

As with many US retailers, Wal-Mart experiences a high rate of employee turnover (approximately 50% of employees leave every year, according to the company). Although they average nearly double the federal minimum wage, wages at Wal-Mart are about 20% less than at other retail stores. Founder Sam Walton once argued that his company should be exempt from the minimum wage. (Palast, 121).

Big John's .50 Cent whores are great for the economy too! They offer services and jobs.

There is something in this world called "Quality". With 50% of all employees leaving in the first year, it's safe to say Wal-Mart lacks quality.

Again, it's clear that you did NOT read my previous post.

From Wikipedia...
In Bangladesh, Palast reported that in 1992 teenagers were working in "sweatshops" approximately 80 hours per week, at $0.14 per hour, for Wal-Mart contractor Beximco. In 1994, Guatemalan Wendy Diaz reported that, at the age of 13, she had been working for Wal-Mart at $0.30 per hour. (Palast pp. 119-120)

I am just telling you from what I've looked at that Wal-Mart while may look clean, it has plenty of inexcusable buissness practices.

You have no credibility if you're not going to read the information presented to you.

Wikipedia Link
 

BarneyFife

Diamond Member
Aug 12, 2001
3,875
0
76
Originally posted by: raildogg
WHAT LIST??? Show is a link. Mcdonalds has thousands of employees, doesn't mean I want to work there. Right now you're talking out of your huge ass without providing any information which is what you usually do anyway.

Fortune 500, you buffoon.

Here you go, ignoramus. Text

Bbond, give it up already. You people are ignorant of what you spew.

At least learn something about the topic you talk about.


Wal-Mart is right at the top of lists of top employers.

Again, show me where Walmart is a TOP place to work for? Is it the 48% health care coverage? Or that it takes 2 years for a part time employee to be offered health insurance? Is it the .25 cent raises every year?? You shouldn't talk about stuff you know nothing about.
 

Tab

Lifer
Sep 15, 2002
12,145
0
76
As for health care....

More than 60 percent of Wal-Mart employees--600,000 people--are forced to get health insurance coverage from the government or through spouses? plans?or live without any health insurance.
Recent reports show that Wal-Mart tops the list of companies in many states whose employees and/or their children rely on taxpayers to foot the bill for health care
Wal-Mart has increased the premium cost for workers by over 200% since 1993--medical care inflation only went up 50% in the same period. In 2002 alone, Wal-Mart?s health care premiums increased by 30%.?nearly triple the national average increase of 11%.
 

raildogg

Lifer
Aug 24, 2004
12,892
572
126
Originally posted by: BarneyFife
Originally posted by: raildogg
WHAT LIST??? Show is a link. Mcdonalds has thousands of employees, doesn't mean I want to work there. Right now you're talking out of your huge ass without providing any information which is what you usually do anyway.

Fortune 500, you buffoon.

Here you go, ignoramus. Text

Bbond, give it up already. You people are ignorant of what you spew.

At least learn something about the topic you talk about.


Wal-Mart is right at the top of lists of top employers.

Again, show me where Walmart is a TOP place to work for? Is it the 48% health care coverage? Or that it takes 2 years for a part time employee to be offered health insurance? Is it the .25 cent raises every year?? You shouldn't talk about stuff you know nothing about.

Fortune 500 top company and one of the best places to work for. Here yo go. Text

Tab, please tell me exactly what inexcusable business practices. Is it something illegal, unethical? What?

I see your just reading the critical list from Wikipedia. You do realize that not every corporation has to have the same stanards, right? I'm sure there are many many other places to get the morning after pill other than Wal-Mart. You can relax and continue banging.

It is generally a family store and is marketed towards the typical family, so naked hip hop chicks might not be the best image. White boys with pants hanging to their asses might also not the tha best image.

The point is that a million people work for this company and most of them have been long time employees. Like I said, the experiences I get from my friends who work at Wal-Mart and attend college with me and other higher ups are very good. And again, leave the myths about Mexicans working there at home.
 

tommywishbone

Platinum Member
May 11, 2005
2,149
0
0
Pig-mart is rancid. Minimum wage workers, breaking their backs for billionaires on the board of directors and millionaire hedge fund managers. Their warm & fuzzy commercials, featuring their "associates" are nauseating. Their scorched earth expansion policy is George W Bushesque in it's fury and pigish greed. Excuse me...vomiting now... done vomiting. Pig-mart stinks. Thank you.
 

CanOWorms

Lifer
Jul 3, 2001
12,404
2
0
Originally posted by: raildogg

Fortune 500 top company and one of the best places to work for. Here yo go. Text

Tab, please tell me exactly what inexcusable business practices. Is it something illegal, unethical? What?

That's only for IT workers within Wal-Mart.