[Vision2020] Wal-Mart to Hire up to 150,000
Art Deco
deco at moscow.com
Sat Mar 25 07:47:18 PST 2006
Matt Decker asks:
"What is a Super Wal-Mart? I think we have talked about a grocery store, gas
station, tire shop, and the regular Wal-Mart. Is there anything else?"
Good question.
It would be interesting to find out exactly what the SWM would be offering
if it initially opens. Perhaps Matt you or someone else could find out and
tell V 2020 and the local media (who seem always to be behind on this issue
[and others]).
Wal-Mart is a very smart marketing and sales organization. They (and other
big box stores) keep changing what they carry based in part on what sells,
the profit margin of what sells, cooperative advertising agreements, and
other factors. What they offer initially will change then as they gain
experience with the area market.
However, your question is good. If it is known what they are going to carry
initially, their impact on local merchants, especially those who are
generous in their support of local organizations, care be more clearly
estimated.
Perhaps then Matt, you (or some interested party) can the find answers to
your question.
Art Deco (Wayne A. Fox)
deco at moscow.com
PS: Here is another matter, Matt (no alliteration intended): When the
present local Wal-Mart first opened, they were the price leader on many
types of products. Not anymore. After basically dumping for a period of
time and inculcating by practice the "We are the lowest priced, most
convenient store" mantra in area shoppers, the prices at the local Wal-Mart
have crept up disproportionately so that many products are available at the
same or lower prices elsewhere in Moscow. While there are some areas where
Wal-Mart is still the price leader, in many areas they are not. Part of
their strategy locally and nationally has also been to drive out competition
with low prices, then gradually increase their prices (and profit margins)
in those areas where they think competition has been weakened.
Perhaps, Matt in this regard you remember the lawsuit over Wal-Mart's
previous motto: "Always the low price." They were sued over the
truthfulness of that motto. They lost. Now they have an ambiguous,
basically meaningless motto about low prices.
Rose Huskey posted several weeks ago about the experience of the company
that makes Snapper lawnmowers. Wal-Mart wanted that company to value
engineer their products (read: offer a cheaper product of a lesser quality
made by someone else but with the Snapper label). Snapper refused. Many
other companies don't, hence don't expect some of the products offered at
Wal-Mart to be the same quality as what appears to be the same product with
the same packaging offered at other area stores. Wal-Mart is not the only
store that does this, but they seem to be the most aggressive about it.
This post is not intended to be an argument for or against a SWM, but is a
suggestion that not all the important facts are on the table yet.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Art Deco" <deco at moscow.com>
To: "Matt Decker" <mattd2107 at hotmail.com>
Sent: Friday, March 24, 2006 7:44 AM
Subject: Re: [Vision2020] Wal-Mart to Hire up to 150,000
> Matt Decker asks:
>
> "What is a Super Wal-Mart? I think we have talked about a grocery store,
> gas station, tire shop, and the regular Wal-Mart. Is there anything else?"
>
>
> Good question.
>
> It would be interesting to find out exactly what the SWM would be offering
> if it initially opens. Perhaps Matt you or someone else could find out
> and tell V 2020 and the local media (who seem always to be behind on this
> issue [and others]).
>
> Wal-Mart is a very smart marketing and sales organization. They (and
> other big box stores) keep changing what they carry based in part on what
> sells, the profit margin of what sells, cooperative advertising
> agreements, and other factors. What they offer initially will change then
> as they gain experience with the area market.
>
> However, your question is good. If it is known what they are going to
> carry initially, their impact on local merchants, especially those who are
> generous in their support of local organizations, care be more clearly
> estimated.
>
> Perhaps then Matt, you (or some interested party) can the find answers to
> your question.
>
> Art Deco (Wayne A. Fox)
> deco at moscow.com
>
>
> PS: Here is another matter, Matt (no alliteration intended): When the
> present local Wal-Mart first opened, they were the price leader on many
> types of products. Not anymore. After basically dumping for a period of
> time and inculcating by practice the "We are the lowest priced, most
> convenient store" mantra in area shoppers, the prices at the local
> Wal-Mart have crept up disproportionately so that many products are
> available at the same or lower prices elsewhere in Moscow. While there
> are some areas where Wal-Mart is still the price leader, in many areas
> they are not. Part of their strategy locally and nationally has also been
> to drive out competition with low prices, then gradually increase their
> prices (and profit margins) in those areas where they think competition
> has been weakened.
>
> Perhaps, Matt in this regard you remember the lawsuit over Wal-Mart's
> previous motto: "Always the low price." They were sued over the
> truthfulness of that motto. They lost. Now they have an ambiguous,
> basically meaningless motto about low prices.
>
> Rose Huskey posted several weeks ago about the experience of the company
> that makes Snapper lawnmowers. Wal-Mart wanted that company to value
> engineer their products (read: offer a cheaper product of a lesser quality
> made by someone else but with the Snapper label). Snapper refused. Many
> other companies don't, hence don't expect some of the products offered at
> Wal-Mart to be the same quality as what appears to be the same product
> with the same packaging offered at other area stores. Wal-Mart is not the
> only store that does this, but they seem to be the most aggressive about
> it.
>
> This post is not intended to be an argument for or against a SWM, but is a
> suggestion that not all the important facts are on the table yet.
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Matt Decker" <mattd2107 at hotmail.com>
> To: <joekc at adelphia.net>; <donovanjarnold2005 at yahoo.com>
> Cc: <vision2020 at moscow.com>
> Sent: Thursday, March 23, 2006 10:31 PM
> Subject: RE: [Vision2020] Wal-Mart to Hire up to 150,000
>
>
>> Question for all,
>>
>> What is a Super Wal mart? I think we have talked about a Grocery store,
>> gas station, tire shop, and the regular walmart. Is there anything else?
>>
>> Thank you
>> Matt
>>
>>>From: joekc at adelphia.net
>>>To: Donovan Arnold <donovanjarnold2005 at yahoo.com>
>>>CC: vision2020 at moscow.com
>>>Subject: RE: [Vision2020] Wal-Mart to Hire up to 150,000
>>>Date: Fri, 24 Mar 2006 1:14:54 -0500
>>>
>>> Dear Donovan,
>>>
>>>I’m not against creating jobs for people. Nor do I think it would ruin
>>>the town. I said I grew up poor but maybe you don’t believe me. If I
>>>thought that the net gain in jobs given a SWM would be greater than the
>>>net loss, then I might be for it. But I think that SWM will take away as
>>>many job opportunities as it provides. We don’t need more part-time
>>>jobs with poor health benefits. What we need is affordable wages offered
>>>by people who care about our community.
>>>
>>>For every part-time job that SWM offers, another part-time job is needed
>>>in order for the kinds of families that you care about to be able to find
>>>decent housing in this town. With two SWMs in the area, quite a few of
>>>the jobs that people currently have will soon be unavailable. If you have
>>>some new math that convinces me that SWM will not hurt businesses that
>>>are already here, and take away jobs that people already have, I’d love
>>>to see it. Otherwise, the money needed to sustain two SWMs in the Palouse
>>>means less money for existing businesses, places owned by people who have
>>>a stake in the community where they LIVE.
>>>
>>>You are correct about one thing: Moscow is a great community because of
>>>the people who live here, not because of the buildings. Thus, SWM can’t
>>>make Moscow a better place than it already is. However, Moscow is
>>>different not because it is like every place else. Making it like all the
>>>other places won’t help to keep what it already has going for it. We
>>>don’t need SWM to be a better community. What we need are new ideas
>>>that allow us to keep what we already have. What is wrong with trying to
>>>think about how to keep what we already have while trying to make it all
>>>better? How can SWM possibly achieve that goal? What does it have to
>>>offer that we don’t already have?
>>>
>>>Best, Joe
>>>
>>> - - - - D o n o v a n A r n o l d < d o n o v a n j a r n o l d 2
>>> 0 0 5 @ y a h o o . c o m > w r o t e :
>>>
>>> = = = = = = = = = = = = =
>>> " I f y o u c h o o s e U I o v e r L C S C b e c a u s e o
>>> f t h e t o w n , h o w i s t u r n i n g M o s c o w i
>>> n t o L e w i s t o n g o i n g t o h e l p o u r c h a n c
>>> e s o f r e c r u i t i n g i n t e r e s t i n g s t u d e n
>>> t s l i k e y o u r s e l f a t U I ? W o u l d n ' t w e b
>>> e b e t t e r o f f e n s u r i n g t h a t M o s c o w k
>>> e p t i t s d i s t i n c t i v e c h a r a c t e r ? "
>>>
>>> W e l l J o e , I d o n o t t h i n k t h a t c r e a
>>> t i n g j o b s f o r a l l p e o p l e , n o t j u s t t
>>> h e w e l l e d u c a t e d a n d e x p e r i e n c e d , w
>>> i l l n o t d e s t r o y t h i s t o w n . I t h i n k i
>>> t j u s t m a k e s i t m o r e a f f o r d a b l e t o
>>> t h e g e n e r a t i o n s o f f a m i l i e s t h a t h a v e
>>> b e e n i n M o s c o w a n d L a t a h f o r s o l o n g
>>> . I t h i n k w h a t m a k e s M o s c o w u n i q u e i s
>>> t h a t i t i s a c o l l e g e t o w n , i t s h i s t o
>>> r y , t h e w e a t h e r , t h e l o c a t i o n a n d g e
>>> o g r a p h y , b u t m o r e i m p o r t a n t l y , i t i s
>>> t h e p e o p l e t h a t m a k e M o s c o w t h e t o w n
>>> t h a t i t i s , n o t t h e b u i l d i n g s . A W a l -
>>> M a r t t u r n i n g s !
>>> u p e r W a l - M a r t d o e s n ' t n o t c h a n g e t h
>>> a t , i t j u s t h e l p s p e o p l e t h a t a r e c o
>>> l l e g e s t u d e n t s t o k e e p c o m i n g h e r e ,
>>> a n d c o l l e g e s t u d e n t s a r e t h e b r e a d a
>>> n d b u t t e r f o r t h i s t o w n .
>>>
>>> T a k e C a r e ,
>>>
>>> _ D J A
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>_____________________________________________________
>>> List services made available by First Step Internet,
>>> serving the communities of the Palouse since 1994.
>>> http://www.fsr.net
>>> mailto:Vision2020 at moscow.com
>>>
>>
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