The Man Who Said No to Wal-Mart
 

Very interesting article:
http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/...ml?partner=aol

Wal-Mart seems to be making the news alot lately, especially with the "Wal-Mart Health Plan" in Maryland.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,182101,00.html

Re: The Man Who Said No to Wal-Mart
 

Good man.

Re: The Man Who Said No to Wal-Mart
 

It definately makes sense from his position. The end says that his tombstone could call him the "dumbest CEO ever, the man who didn't sell to wal-mart" I totally disagree.

He didn't want to sell out and tarnish his company's name. You can't sell a $500 mower next to a $100 mower when you have walmart shoppers comparing them, and to make it competative, he would have to abandone the quality associated with his brand.

Either lose 20% now, and possibly gain it back, or keep that 20% and have your product be doubted forever because you had to cheap out on materials.

Re: The Man Who Said No to Wal-Mart
 

Thanks for posting.

I have my opinions on wal-mart.

Re: The Man Who Said No to Wal-Mart
 

Smart man, Im personally not too big on Wall-mart.

Re: The Man Who Said No to Wal-Mart
 

only the old generation would do that.

any current generation wouldn't. good ole american values.

Re: The Man Who Said No to Wal-Mart
 

I think that's cool that he's doing that.

I too have my own Walmart opinions, I love the place! If I can buy the same thing at walmart for cheaper then say Autozone, then that's where I'm going. If they are that crappy to work for, and you absolutely hate working there, well then get a different job. If you can't get a different job because no one else will hire you because you're that much of a screw up, well then I say that's your own fault. If you're only like 16 and it's the only job that you could get because it's close to home and you don't have a license yet, and you hate it, well then welcome to what prolly 90% of the rest of the nation has been through. How many people have held jobs while in highschool, and hated their jobs? I know I held a couple of those! (McDonalds, Jiffy Lube...)

Re: The Man Who Said No to Wal-Mart
 

Fuck that. Would you sell out? Its not a generation thing, there just plain arent that many people like that around. That and the fact that aggressive businesses that sell cheap crap tend to try to put people like them out of business. That man will never be a Bill Gates or Donald Trump because he has morals, and because of that those kinds of people will try to buy him out of the market.

Re: The Man Who Said No to Wal-Mart
 

I agree with what Brandon said, and also what CVD said. Certain brands just do not belong at Walmart, and frankly, if they did I'd probably stop buying them since they'd loose the image of "top quality". I go to Walmart far more frequently than any other retailer because they are cheaper and for most things the quality is the exact same. Some of their stuff is even of better quality than other generic brands (SuperTech oil and filters for example).

Re: The Man Who Said No to Wal-Mart
 

I would not sell out
but that is because my friends call me "a knight of the old code"

i asked my g/f(20) and a good chunk of my friends. i'd say the average age of them is around 26ish. 90% said they'd do it in a heartbeat if it meant more money.

it's sad really, the majority of people are looking for the cheap and easy way for things. There is no denying that 95% of the companies out there would LOVE to have walmart say. "we want to make you more money"

you make a good point

Re: The Man Who Said No to Wal-Mart
 

He's absolutely right, not everybody wants to shuffle in some shithole surrounded by welfare recipients just to save a buck or two. I'm all for cost savings, but unless I'm buying something fairly large and I can save $20 or more by going there, I'd much prefer to go to Target which is very nice inside and the service is good.

Re: The Man Who Said No to Wal-Mart
 

Very simply put he dosen't want to "DE-VALUE" his product, which is what Walfart is good for. If he did build an "entry level, low ball, budget minded, POS Snapper mower, who would the consumer look at when it falls apart at the seams after the first year, Walmart or Snapper? He's protecting his company's image of building a quality piece.

Re: The Man Who Said No to Wal-Mart
 

Yup, again I agree. I think he is doing the right thing, and a great thing. But I'm still an avid Walmart shopper!

Re: The Man Who Said No to Wal-Mart
 

Here's another article, it's a little dated but I'm hoping to read it later on today:
http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/77/walmart.html

Re: The Man Who Said No to Wal-Mart
 

Great article. Think about what Walmart is doing. They drive down consumer prices, which in turn drives jobs away from the U.S., which in turn makes them the most appealing store for consumers because they can't afford to shop anywhere else because the consumers are unemployed or are working for $6.95 an hour and can't afford to shop anywhere else. Talk about having a "captive audience". :cool:

Re: The Man Who Said No to Wal-Mart
 

Wal-Mart has done what most companies can only dream about (and most do)...dominate the market. Wal-Mart saves costs in otherways besides just driving their wholesale purchase prices down. For example, their distribution system is 3% more efficient than Target's. They also employ certain people that other companies won't even give a chance to (special ed, elderly, etc.). Most people who work for Wal-Mart are actually very happy overall with the company as an employer.

Re: The Man Who Said No to Wal-Mart
 

That's probably why you see WalMart primarily in small town area's. $6.95 to a young high school/college student/elderly/etc in those area's is great money.

I worked for WalMart during my two years of college. I loved it, and thought it was a great experience. Back then, I was making $5 something.... and I got about a $.30 raise each year. I thought that was awesome. Of course, now I know better... but it didn't take much for me to live on in a small town.

Re: The Man Who Said No to Wal-Mart
 

wally world/sams club and menards are the two best companies for employee pay in this area for having to have zero skill.

my woman works at wally world, and is almost done with school. she makes I think 10 an hour. You can't beat it really in this town for having no real job skill.

Re: The Man Who Said No to Wal-Mart
 

Very interesting, Wal-Mart wants to get into banking:
http://cornandsoybeandigest.com/ar/W...our-Ag-Banker/

Re: The Man Who Said No to Wal-Mart
 

Might as well, they got all the money anyway. :cool:

Re: The Man Who Said No to Wal-Mart
 

I can't complain too much I shop a Wal-Mart because it's cheap.
But it does make me very mad that they are not giving their employees better Medical. Some of the elderly I know, work for Wal-Mart because social security and Medicare does not cover their living & Medical expenses. It's a sad world we live in when we take better care of immigrants than our own grandparents who love this country.

Re: The Man Who Said No to Wal-Mart
 

Wal-Mart bill only makes a dent in larger problem (USA TODAY, JAN 19, 2006)

While politicians and businesses decry the recent legislation in Maryland -- which requires Wal-Mart to spend at least 8% of its payroll on employee health care or else pay into a fund for the uninsured -- no one goes far enough to solve a national problem ("Maryland first to OK 'Wal-Mart bill'," Money, Friday).
From multinational companies to local restaurants, many businesses avoid Social Security contributions and use state and federal programs to pay for their employees' health care. Maryland has finally realized that it cannot and should not subsidize worker benefits for commercial enterprises -- and neither should the federal government.
For too long, we taxpayers have been paying to provide health care, housing and food subsidies to the employees of companies such as Wal-Mart, while company profits soar.
Minimum wages are kept artificially low by politicians, lobbyists and corporate greed. And some companies are able to avoid Social Security contributions -- helping to drain yet another taxpayer-funded program.
Foreign business owners laugh at the suckers we taxpayers have become. They also laugh at the wimpy politicians we elect, who fail to protect citizens from these scams to the nation's detriment.
Any business that cannot pay living wages is not viable and ultimately hurts our economy.

L.A. Brown
Fallston, Md.

Law may cost Maryland

Wal-Mart could decide to capitulate and increase its health care package to the legislated 8%; this would raise Wal-Mart's costs, which would then be passed on to its customers. Wal-Mart could also decide to take the matter to court, where I suspect the tax levy would be defeated. Another option: Wal-Mart could retaliate with a plan that would bust state and local budgets and union membership.
With 17,000 employees and more than 40 stores in Maryland, Wal-Mart has approximately 425 employees per store. Should Wal-Mart choose to simply close 17 marginal stores, it would then employ fewer than 10,000 workers and become exempt from Maryland's new law. However, this would create a number of undesirable consequences:
*17 communities would possess 17 huge, empty, non-revenue producing big boxes with no local, school or state tax revenues.
*About 7,225 income-earning, tax-paying voters and potential union members would be unemployed and upset with the unions and the legislators.
*Lower-income families in 17 communities would be denied access to the low-cost Wal-Mart merchandise they need to survive, and would be forced to pay more at other stores.
*Wal-Mart could scrap any plans it may have for new stores or distribution centers, thus denying the entire state of employment and revenue potential.
The moral of the legislation would seem to be: "Do not become a successful business in the USA. The unions will hold your arms while the states pound you into submission."

Jim Esch
Niskayuna, N.Y.
USA TODAY, JAN 19, 2006

Re: The Man Who Said No to Wal-Mart
 

Wal-Mart is anti-union, I disagree with unions so its perfect :)

Re: The Man Who Said No to Wal-Mart
 

.............
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,192752,00.html