Wal-Mart War Room - Chapter 2

[kimo55]

Sprawlmart may not gain any footing in the possible Daiei kaheka thing in da news...
Daiei at this locale is profitable.
their lease extends til 2018.
A&B may buy the land it sits on... for possible redevelopment of the structure and area.

so enjoy that ol' timey 60's Hawaii feel there while ya can citizens. Cus it will soon look like an Irvine strip mall.

****

additionally, here's my prediction, based on:
* sam's club's slow demise lately.
* walmart laying off people and the sales not meeting expectations.
* neigborhood businesses not enjoying any residual traffic or cashola from people walmart brings into the area. something walmart promised would happen to pull the wool over peoples eyes.
* lack of business promised to high rent paying enterprises in the walmart building, the "shops at keeaumoku".

they simply don't see any of the promised business walmart vouchsafed to them. And retail consultants are doing the usual word shuffle to say, "well we never said it would be immediate. they gotta wait for the dust to settle."
or some such avoid/evade verbiage...


Ok so the prediction is:
Walmart and "Sam's-club-over-the-head-of-local-businesses" will close and we will have remaining, a huge worthless behemoth of a structure, (that's what it is now, of course) but it will be empty and NO one can fill it. we are left with an eyesore and aint a dayum thing anyone can do about it.

and we can thank walmart for screwing up and over another town.

think about it:
Hawaii. one of the most beautiful places in the world. and we are killing it.

[Miulang]

Sprawlmart may not gain any footing in the possible Daiei kaheka thing in da news...
Daiei at this locale is profitable.
their lease extends til 2018.
A&B may buy the land it sits on... for possible redevelopment of the structure and area.

so enjoy that ol' timey 60's Hawaii feel there while ya can citizens. Cus it will soon look like an Irvine strip mall.

****

additionally, here's my prediction, based on:
* sam's club's slow demise lately.
* walmart laying off people and the sales not meeting expectations.
* neigborhood businesses not enjoying any residual traffic or cashola from people walmart brings into the area. something walmart promised would happen to pull the wool over peoples eyes.
* lack of business promised to high rent paying enterprises in the walmart building, the "shops at keeaumoku".

they simply don't see any of the promised business walmart vouchsafed to them. And retail consultants are doing the usual word shuffle to say, "well we never said it would be immediate. they gotta wait for the dust to settle."
or some such avoid/evade verbiage...


Ok so the prediction is:
Walmart and "Sam's-club-over-the-head-of-local-businesses" will close and we will have remaining, a huge worthless behemoth of a structure, (that's what it is now, of course) but it will be empty and NO one can fill it. we are left with an eyesore and aint a dayum thing anyone can do about it.

and we can thank walmart for screwing up and over another town.

think about it:
Hawaii. one of the most beautiful places in the world. and we are killing it.
The most profitable WM outlets are the SuperWMs that have a supermarket component to them. If WM concedes that they cannot lure enough business customers to Keeaumoku and has to close Sam's Club and IF they can't buy the Kaheka Daiei, they might try to save face in Honolulu by converting that Sam's Club space into a supermarket area and convert WM Keeaumoku into a SuperWM. They're starting to propose SuperWMs for city centers now; maybe that's what they were planning to do in Honolulu in the first place but maybe the City Council put the kybosh on that initially. If Sam's Club fails and there's this huge empty space owned by WM, I think your City Council would rather have a business occupying that space (and thereby adding tax revenue) than to have it stand as a vacant eyesore.

SuperWMs are the reason why the WM stock hasn't fallen as much as it should have already, based on sluggish November revenues (i.e., they're still making money, but not as much as they had hoped for the holiday season)...people will always need to buy food; they may not necessarily need anything else that you can find at WM (or at least can forego buying them for awhile with the high cost of gas and other necessary commodities).

Miulang

P.S. Add to this picture the fact that IF WM Keeaumoku becomes a SuperWM and Daiei remains independent (because of the reasons Kimo stated above), the competition might drive this Daiei under anyway, which, if A&B buys the Kaheka land, means that A&B can tear down that Daiei and redevelop that property sooner than 2018.

[Miulang]

Interesting (and lengthy) socioeconomic analysis of the average WM shopper. People who always shop at WM might be incensed at this analysis (i.e., being lumped into the "lower income" category), but it is true that where WM has its greatest success is in poorer, more rural parts of the country; where the outcry against WM has been loudest has tended to be in the more densely populated cities where there tend to be better educated and wealthier people.

Miulang

http://www.thenation.com/doc.mhtml?i=20050103&s=featherstone

[Miulang]

WM was named "Grinch of the Year 2004" in a national poll sponsored by Jobs with Justice, a Progressive organization, for its low low wages and high high barriers to health care benefits for employees.

Miulang

http://www.commondreams.org/news2004/1222-03.htm

[Miulang]

As I speculated here previously, WM is eying more opportunities to expand within cities, not as standalones, but as part of a sprawlmart with higher end stores. Dunno why they think their mix of products is going to be of any interest to patrons of Ann Taylor, etc. Kinda reminds me of the Wailea Shopping Plaza on Maui, which has really yupscale retail outlets (Versace, etc) and one ABC Store on the second level. :eek:

Miulang

http://www.sacbee.com/content/business/story/11883617p-12770535c.html

[Kalihiboy]

I bet Walmart is drolling over this article about Daiei.

Will there be any Daiei store closings in Hawaii?

KalihiBoy


http://starbulletin.com/2004/12/29/business/index3.html

[Miulang]

The biggest WM news story today is about 2 WM assistant managers in Indiana who were told by their manager to "get a gun and get rid" of a stray cat that was hanging around outside the dumpster behind the store. The 2 employees and other managers suspected of taking part in the plot were suspended without pay for the action pending an internal investigation, and the 2 employees were charged with federal animal cruelty. So will the ASPCA now issue a boycott of WM??? ;)

Miulang

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uslatest/story/0,1282,-4701368,00.html

[kimo55]

WM assistant managers told by their manager to "get a gun and get rid" of a stray cat

Miulang



....guns don't kill animals.
Walmart employees kill animals!

[Miulang]

Another stupid "former" WM employee trick: This WM greeter in IA was fired for handing out pictures of himself (altered digitally) wearing only a sack with "WM" on it. Then his claim for unemployment was rejected. I guess WM doesn't screen its employees for intelligence, does it? :p

Duh.

Miulang

http://www.menafn.com/qn_news_story.asp?StoryId=CqEc6ueidDxmTz3jLzxrLCG

[kimo55]

Another stupid "former" WM employee trick: This WM greeter in IA was fired for handing out pictures of himself (altered digitally) wearing only a sack with "WM" on it. Then his claim for unemployment was rejected. I guess WM doesn't screen its employees for intelligence, does it? :p

Duh.

Miulang

http://www.menafn.com/qn_news_story.asp?StoryId=CqEc6ueidDxmTz3jLzxrLCG


here is a pic showing two employees with the new walmart sack uniform. They look fairly satisfied with the look and fit...

http://i.walmart.com/i/p/00/04/81/88/90/0004818890692_100X100.jpg

[kimo55]

This WM greeter in IA was fired for handing out pictures of himself (altered digitally) wearing only a sack with "WM" on it.


ok, gang. I KNOW you all are clamoring for a glimpse of the actual pic in question.
Hope you didn't just eat.

http://www.squizzle.com/pictures/walmart.jpg

[Miulang]

And you KNOW there has to be a PS to go along with that picture, doncha? Well, when CNN asked him what he thought of the whole thing, here is his reply, "When I first seen it, I pretty near died laughing," he said.

Miulang

[Miulang]

WM has launched an aggressive PR campaign to try to change the perception that they are union-unfriendly, low paying and discriminatory.

Will it work? Dunno. The ads are appearing in 100 newspapers. Don't know if Hawai'i is considered a big enough market to worry about.

Miulang

http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/25676128263590611.html

[Kalihiboy]

I didnt know Walter Cronkite worked for Walmart.

KalihiBoy

:) :p

[Miulang]

OK, I confess. I went to the sort of local WM (it's about 20 miles outside Seattle, and the closest one...WM's scared to build in Seattle proper, although there are Walgreens on just about every corner) but only because we were given a WM gift card for Christmas and had to use it before WM started charging a "nonuse" fee and took away the value of the card. Ended up spending about $13 more than the face value of the card...couldn't believe the families with 5 kids pushing 2 shopping carts full of "made in every Third World Country" goods. I think if we went in there with the goal of only purchasing "Made in America" goods, we'd still be in there, 4 hours later, looking high and low...

Miulang

[Konaguy]

Someone sent this article to me in regards to Wal-Mart. I had read it before,
but there was a part of the article that stuck out for me.

http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/77/walmart.html

" Wal-Mart has also lulled shoppers into ignoring the difference between the price of something and the cost. Its unending focus on price underscores something that Americans are only starting to realize about globalization: Ever-cheaper prices have consequences. Says Steve Dobbins, president of thread maker Carolina Mills: "We want clean air, clear water, good living conditions, the best health care in the world--yet we aren't willing to pay for anything manufactured under those restrictions."

[Miulang]

There are rumblings now being heard from the Indians who live near the Mexico City WM in Teotihuacan, that they were sold up the river by their government who allowed WM to build their store atop an ancient city. WM's initial concession was to put some artifacts they unearthed in the parking lot under plexiglass.

Now, a local cooperative who was contracted by WM to manufacture items for WM claim that they were duped by WM. They had to take out a loan in order to be able to set up a factory, and once the goods were produced, they claim WM never paid them and has never answered their calls.

There is also some question about why the Mexican government didn't intervene when the initial protests were sounded:


"The decision to allow Wal-Mart - owners of the Asda supermarket chain in the UK - to build the store is shrouded in secrecy. Even though the site is listed by UNESCO and the World Monuments Fund as being of international importance, the original go-ahead was apparently taken by the local head of NIAH without being referred to a senior federal authority. Then, in a still unexplained twist, it emerged that the official responsible resigned a few days later, only for her replacement to be murdered shortly afterwards.

Bizarrely, the NIAH and the local authorities each claim that the other is responsible for issuing permits. The matter has been complicated by an apparently fluid interpretation of the law which has allowed a rash of building - including shops, a luxurious gated residential compound and a hotel - to go unchallenged within the protected zone in recent years. This, argue those in favor of the new store, means that one more building will not be a cause for concern. .."

"Good neighbor" WM...working with the local community...


http://www.commondreams.org/headlines05/0116-01.htm

Miulang

[Miulang]

Call me old fashioned, but when I do my retailing, I like walking into a store without the high drama that a WM store (and its employees) might engender. Read the article below for some of the latest shenanigans from the world of WM.

Miulang

http://theedge.bostonherald.com/lifeNews/view.bg?articleid=63794

[Miulang]

You gotta love it! Sharon Osborne has just been hired as the "face" of WM UK (also known as ASDA). She says she can empathize with other UK "mums" who have to shop at ASDA because they need to watch their budgets, because at one time, she used to shop there, too.

No mention of how much she will be paid for these commercials, or whether if she wasn't being paid to be the spokesperson, she would now be caught dead setting foot inside one of the stores. :rolleyes:

Miulang

http://www.theretailbulletin.com/index.php?page=5&id=5695&cat=news&PHPSESSID=d7046d6b2f6356c5a2349aa81440a9b6

[Miulang]

WM is teaming up with Discover card to issue a WM-logo'd Discover Card. Yahoo! WM shoppers will now have a chance to save money via Discover rebates as well as save on those low, low prices! My guess is this is just the beginning of WM's foray into the banking business. These affinity cards bring in lots of money for the companies that sign up with the credit card companies to market to the stores' customers.

Miulang

http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2005/Jan/22/bz/bz12p.html

[Miulang]

Would you want to have a WM dentist? Or a WM savings account? How about renting a car from WM (maybe one of those Chinese Cherys? :) )Those are some of the things analysts are predicting WM will be branching out into within the next 5 years. WM wants to be your new EVERYTHING! :eek:

Miulang

http://money.cnn.com/2005/01/26/news/fortune500/walmart_future/index.htm?cnn=yes

[Miulang]

Wow, this is pretty incredible. WM, in a filing to the SEC on Wednesday, announced that it was expanding its definition of an employee's "immediate family" to include the same sex partner of a gay employee. Do they really think this is going to curry favor in the blue states so they can continue their ramapant growth into more "liberal" states?

Miulang

http://www.cp.org/english/online/full/World/050128/w012822A.html

[Miulang]

WM is helping to make 2 "Third World" countries richer by sending more business to India and China. The latest news is that WM intends to spend $1.2 billion in direct orders from India in 2005.

Miulang

http://athens-olympics-2004.newkerala.com/?action=fullnews&id=66862

[Miulang]

WM Canadian outlets are selling crap. Really. Worm crap, that is.
There's a company in Canada called Terracycle that is now shipping liquified worm feces in recycled soda bottles which were collected by school children across North America.

The firm says its Terracycle Plant Food outperformed most other chemical fertilizers.

No worms are harmed in this process. They just get fat on organic material and crap it all out as fertilizer.

Miulang

http://www.menafn.com/qn_news_story.asp?StoryId=CqGwKueidy2fUywrHlxDHC3r L

[Miulang]

This story about WM closing down a store in Canada really fries me. The store in Jonquiere, Quebec, was the first one that formed a worker's union. Because WM is antiunion and will do everything in its power to prevent a union shop from forming, one of the tactics they will use is close a store for exactly one year and one day. After that period, they will reopen the store. Apparently if you close down operations for a year, you basically start out as a new store, so anything that might have occurred prior to the closure doesn't count anymore, and that would certainly mean the labor union wouldn't exist anymore.

Anybody want to take bets that this store will reopen in 2006? What it's going to hurt are the 200 hundred Canadian WM workers who struggled and finally won the right to be represented by a union and who will now be unemployed. Who it might help in the short run are any small business people who were on the verge of closing because of the strong-arm tactics of WM.

"We were hoping it wouldn't come to this," said Andrew Pelletier, a spokesman for Wal-Mart Canada. "Despite nine days of meetings over three months, we've been unable to reach an agreement with the union that in our view will allow the store to operate efficiently and profitably." Right. After only 9 days of negotiating, they're already throwing in the towel? I wouldn't call 9 days of negotiating over the period of 3 months an indication that WM really truly wants to work with the union. I guess it's also supposed to send some sort of subliminal message to any other WM employee in any other WM store who is thinking about trying to organize a union shop.

This is the kind of corporate arrogance WM plays all over the world in the name of low low prices. :mad:

Miulang

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&ncid=&e=9&u=/ap/20050210/ap_on_bi_ge/wal_mart_canada

[Miulang]

Well, it ain't over until it's over, and as far as the Canadian branch of the UFCWU is concerned, it ain't over. They are suing WM for exhibiting "bad faith" in its meetings with the union over contracts and for closing down the store.

Interestingly, the union is not calling for a boycott of other Canadian WMs because they are still planning to try to unionize in those other stores.

Wow. A really sardonic thought just hit me: what if all the WMs around the world started trying to organize labor unions at the same time? That would either force WM to allow unions to organize or they'd have to shut down completely! :D

Miulang

[Miulang]

The Labor Dept. yesterday announced that WM had coughed up some $135,000 to settle 24 child labor violations that occurred in some of its stores between 1998 and 2002. These violations came as a result of WM allowing under-18 employees to use hazardous equipment.

WM denied the allegations but paid the fines. This is what big business does to weasel themselves out of accepting guilt. "Just pay the fine and nobody can prove you did anything wrong because you didn't admit you did anything wrong." Sheesh.

They should be grateful the teenagers who were using the equipment didn't get hurt.

Miulang

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=530&ncid=530&e=1&u=/ap/20050212/ap_on_re_us/wal_mart_child_labor

[Miulang]

What is it with WM wanting to build new stores on the site of old burial grounds (cemeteries)? There's another property in West VA that has a Civil war battlefield and cemetery on it that the company originally got permission to build on; except now a judge has reversed that decision (http://www.newsday.com/business/nationworld/wire/sns-ap-wal-mart-zoning,0,2212656.story?coll=sns-ap-business-headlines) so I guess WM will just have to appeal the decision and pay someone off before they get to build on that land.

Miulang

[Miulang]

Even China realizes the economic and social impact (http://en.ce.cn/Insight/200502/21/t20050221_3124518.shtml) that doing business with WalMart can create in their country.

It will be interesting to see what kind of pas de deux the Chinese can play with WM...will the Chinese be able to have their cake (all the WM business they can handle) and eat it, too (without having to play by all the WM rules that are forced down the throats of all suppliers in WM's international network)?

China and India are poised to become the world's next economic superpowers.

Miulang

[Miulang]

Awwww, because of the hew and cry from local unions and small business, WM has cancelled plans (http://www.forbes.com/home_asia/feeds/ap/2005/02/24/ap1846782.html) to build its first NYC superstore in Queens.

Instead, WM is headed West and planning to fight to build more superstores in CA, even as opposition squashed efforts to put up stores in San Diego and LA.

If I was the CEO of WM, I would stay away from the big US cities (where residents like to have choices for their retailing) and try to saturate the little podunk towns, where the local WM Superstore can be the hub of the community, or even better yet, take those expansionistic plans overseas and saturate developing countries with the yellow smiley face.

Miulang

[Miulang]

In the latest test of WM's union busting proclivities, the tire workers at a WM in Colorado had a union vote today. The petition to unionize was rejected (http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/W/WAL_MART_UNION?SITE=HIHAD&SECTION=BUSINESS&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT) 17-1. Now the workers and the union are claiming that WM botched the election by adding more workers to the unit just prior to the vote. WM says they did it because the increase in business required them to add more temporary staff.

So did the vote result from intimidation of the WM employees? Did the closure of the Quebec WM have any role in the overwhelming rejection of the contract? Only time and WM know.

Miulang

[Miulang]

WM is starting to install gas stations (http://www.bizjournals.com/sanantonio/stories/2005/03/07/daily19.html) at some of its Sam's Club and WM Superstore outlets. It would be nice for drivers in Hawai'i to have more choices about where to purchase their gas (I know you can already buy gas at Costco) because if Honolulu is anything like Maui, it appears that there is no real competition between the regular retail gas stations because the prices all appear to be the same no matter where you go. WM wants to be your everything. Next thing you know, they'll be in the health care business, too.


Miulang

[Miulang]

The furor (http://www.alternet.org/story/21398/) over WM's building a super WM in Teotihuacan, Mexico has died down somewhat, but the stories keep being written about how the locals feel about the project and how it's impacting their lives.

The WMs may come and go, but the remnants of the Aztec society will outlast any new buildings so long as the indigenous people keep the spirit of their ancestors in their hearts.

Miulang

[memorylane]

If they keep lowering their prices, HOW COME NOTHING IS FREE YET!!!!!!!????
Lmbo :D

[Miulang]

What happens when WM tries to enforce the same code of conduct in its German stores that it requires in its American outlets? The Germans fight back (http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,1519102,00.html?maca=en-topstories-83-rdf)!

Miulang

[Miulang]

I was looking for stories in Alaska newspapers reporting about local reaction to the vote yesterday to open ANWR to oil exploration.

What I encountered (no local opinions yet on ANWR) was this story about how a local native woman had won a preliminary ruling (http://www.adn.com/news/alaska/story/6278330p-6155676c.html) before the Anchorage Equal Rights Commission against WM because of racial discrimination.

The interesting thing is the woman, a Tlingit, used to work at that particular WM.

So now WM is picky about who gets to spend money in their store??? All she really wants is an apology from WM (although if the ruling holds, she will get a little money, too).

Miulang

[prettyday]

The biggest WM news story today is about 2 WM assistant managers in Indiana who were told by their manager to "get a gun and get rid" of a stray cat that was hanging around outside the dumpster behind the store. The 2 employees and other managers suspected of taking part in the plot were suspended without pay for the action pending an internal investigation, and the 2 employees were charged with federal animal cruelty. So will the ASPCA now issue a boycott of WM??? ;)

Miulang

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uslatest/story/0,1282,-4701368,00.html

I used to rescue feral cats...all my cats come from feral or pounds...the funny thing?.....ALWAYS LONGED for an Abby....but what can I do when all these furry delights keep lining up in front of the Abbys? :p
Someday I will have a house with the need home kitties, my Abbys some Somalis, Beagles galore, and an aviary so big the birds won't feel confined...and I will sit like the old man in the Raymond Chandler book, in a room so hot my bones will finally stop aching, and constantly thank all my companions for their attention and love!

I will use my stocks to confound and dismay the Walmarts of this world...a dream I know...but I can dream!

[prettyday]

The Labor Dept. yesterday announced that WM had coughed up some $135,000 to settle 24 child labor violations that occurred in some of its stores between 1998 and 2002. These violations came as a result of WM allowing under-18 employees to use hazardous equipment.

WM denied the allegations but paid the fines. This is what big business does to weasel themselves out of accepting guilt. "Just pay the fine and nobody can prove you did anything wrong because you didn't admit you did anything wrong." Sheesh.

They should be grateful the teenagers who were using the equipment didn't get hurt.

Miulang

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=530&ncid=530&e=1&u=/ap/20050212/ap_on_re_us/wal_mart_child_labor

What do you think about the fact that General Motors closed down the first plant that insisted on unions, in
Flint, Michigan, as shown in "Roger and Me?" I could not help but think it was a not so little 'take-that' from the 'boss class' that still refers to FDR as "THAT MAN."

I am appalled at how unions have been made to seem so....so...words fail me.
OF course, I am also appalled that once again, the Union struggle will take sacrifice and tears, all for the right to a decent wage, a life with the room for the pursuit of happiness.

[Miulang]

$11 million (http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/W/WAL_MART_IMMIGRANTS?SITE=HIHAD&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT) to WM is like one postage stamp is to the Post Office: just a minor non-issue. After all, WM made $288.19 BILLION last year.

And the way these government "settlements" work, WM doesn't have to admit to any wrongdoing...just pay the fine and pretend like it never happened.

This is surely not what Sam Walton intended for his workers.

Miulang

[kimo55]

walmart creates urban decay!

Some walmart stupidcenters may be torn down!

http://starbulletin.com/2005/03/22/business/index5.html

[Miulang]

Well, WM can't be your everything after all...at least they can't give you your Krispy Kremes! WM has cancelled a pilot program (http://www.newsday.com/business/nationworld/wire/sns-ap-krispy-kreme-wal-mart,0,7423354.story?coll=sns-ap-business-headlines) which had 6 WM outlets with KK stores in them.

So all you KK afficianados better hope that KK expands in Hawai'i (doubt they will because they are in financial trouble right now thanks to the low-carb craze) beyond Maui or else you'll be KK-less! :eek:

Miulang

[Miulang]

WM is a multibillion dollar company. Why the hell do they think they need $37 million in federal highway funds (http://www.forbes.com/home/feeds/ap/2005/03/25/ap1906589.html) to widen and lengthen the road that fronts their headquarters in Bentonville, AR?

"...Wal-Mart spokesman Jay Allen said the company wants Eighth Street improved so workers will have an easier time getting to their jobs. In the time Wal-Mart's headquarters has been at the site, the company has grown at a much greater rate than the street has been improved. Wal-Mart, as measured by sales, is the world's largest company.

"We have people living all over the area," Allen said. "Infrastructure in northwest Arkansas is a big issue for us. This would represent another east-west corridor connected to the interstate, which would benefit everybody."

The money in the transportation bill would widen the street and pay for connecting it to Interstate 540. Linking the road to the interstate could be tricky because exits have to be at least a mile apart. A connector road could be built tying Eighth Street to a nearby exit or the road could be extended to intersect with the interstate at another spot..."

And in what is obvious cronyism, the Rep. from Alaska was the one who added this appropriation to the proposed government budget for 2006. So which vote is that AR Congressman going to give to that AK Rep's favorite pork barrel line item? :mad:

If WM wants to be a good neighbor, at the very least, they can go halvsies on the cost of the infrastructure improvements that will mostly benefit their company.

Miulang

[Miulang]

Not much has been written about the financial shenanigans of several WM higher ups that have resulted in their being exiled. This article notes the fact that such greed is ingrained into the corporate culture (http://www.tompaine.com/articles/walmarts_culture_of_crime_and_greed.php?dateid=200 50331) of WM, and that WMs profits are made from the blood, sweat and tears of its employees ("associates") and subcontractors in developing countries like China.

Miulang

[Miulang]

The recently ousted U.S. Operations Chief of WM, Thomas M. Coughlin, has released statements indicating that during his tenure, he routinely paid "operatives" to spy on union organizing efforts (http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/040905E.shtml) at various stores around the country.

This is his little way of getting back at WM for firing him for misuse of corporate funds. I guess the dirty little secret is secret no more.

Miulang

[Miulang]

WM, which has been battered on all sides by the media, has decided to embark on a huge PR campaign (http://www.alternet.org/mediaculture/21724/) to soften its image.

It invited a whole bunch of journalists to its headquarters in Bentonville and has paid top dollar to large newspapers and networks with messages about the good work it was doing (latest visible campaign was about saving the forests last week).

But it seems doubtful that those who have been snubbed in the past, namely the small community newspapers, will be as forgiving of this "new" face of WM. The community newspapers have been relied on small businesses for their survival in the communities, and they see WM's new direction as a threat to their relationship with the businesses who have supported them in the past.

Miulang

[Miulang]

If we are a moral, ethical country, why are we allowing multinational companies like WM (http://www.truthout.org/issues_05/042205LA.shtml) to go overseas to procure goods from sweat shops so we take advantage of those low-low prices?

"... Back at home, Wal-Mart's free market mantra stops at the water's edge of the public till. By one estimate, Wal-Mart has pulled in $1.5 billion dollars in taxpayer funded subsidies (see www.walmartwatch.com). And that's at the low end, because subsidies are sometimes hard to track based on the lack of public reporting requirements. Wal-Mart is happy to cash in on government largess like property tax abatements, infrastructure support, free land and just straight-out cold cash-all of which are the antithesis of "free market" ideology."...


Miulang

[pzarquon]

Heard a piece on your friends at Wal-Mart Watch (http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4618040) this morning on NPR News. Thought of you instantly, Miulang. A full-page USA Today ad, eh? Labor and environmental groups, among others, uniting against the Great Evil, eh? Strange bedfellows and coordinated PR... the things money can do!

[Miulang]

Heard a piece on your friends at Wal-Mart Watch (http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4618040) this morning on NPR News. Thought of you instantly, Miulang. A full-page USA Today ad, eh? Labor and environmental groups, among others, uniting against the Great Evil, eh? Strange bedfellows and coordinated PR... the things money can do!
Actually, it's good political strategy. The only thing that seems to rouse people in this country is if they think they have a vested interest in an outcome. So if the environmentalists merge their cause with the equal rights movement who merge their cause with the labor unions, how many people in this country are left untouched? Not too damned many.

Here's one way WM appears to be fighting back...in this market, WM's bought radio airtime with an ad by an East Indian immigrant woman ("Shah") who claims she lives in Renton, WA and extols the virtues of working for WM..."as someone from another country, WM doesn't discriminate against me...I can go as far as I want"... blah blah blah. Yeah, they got the best bang for their buck there: a female immigrant from India who is considering becoming a branch manager... :rolleyes:

Miulang

[Miulang]

BBC-3 (http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcthree/tv/outrageous_fortunes/walmart.shtml) sent a reporter on the road to Bentonville, AR in search of the world's richest woman (Alice Walton) and what WM's strategy is for world retailing domination.

Sam Walton at one point must have said, "don't give all your profits back to your employees, pass the savings along to the customer. But while you're at it, intimidate your employees enough so when talks of unionizing arise, your employees will be too scared to vote to organize for better pay and benefits..."

Miulang

[Miulang]

I hope for the sake of any WM associate in Hawai'i who's working full time, that it's more than $19k a year (http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/05/04/business/walmart.php). How can anyone live comfortably in Hawai'i on that kind of salary without having to get services from the State (and therefore subsidies from the taxpayers)? Since the State requires health care coverage for workers, I hope at that the associates can at least get HMSA coverage for a reasonable amount.

Anybody work for WalMart or know anyone who works for WM who works at least 28 hours and gets health care insurance? Inquiring minds want to know.

Miulang

[Miulang]

WM plans to go a' courting in India (http://www.indiadaily.com/editorial/2655.asp). Unfortunately for them, the Indian Communist party and a cadre of small business owners want to make life hell for them.

In an interesting financial aside: The DOW closed down by 111 points today, driven down by 2nd quarter warnings from WM that they would not be able to meet their projected profit margin. The stock lost something like 93 cents per share. And yet Target was up 63 cents. WM is going to suffer more and more as people who have little discretionary spending power (the ones who really need the low low prices to keep up with the Joneses) have to pay more and more for the basics, like gasoline. WM is trying to go a little more upscale, but I don't know if they'll succeed at that without raising prices and pissing of the bulk of their customers.

Miulang

[Konaguy]

http://money.cnn.com/2005/05/12/news/fortune500/retail_uptick/index.htm?cnn=yes

Consumers still king. Wal-Mart slipping?
Strong retail sales numbers show shoppers are still in a mood to buy, maybe just not at Wal-Mart.
May 12, 2005: 3:57 PM EDT
By Parija Bhatnagar, CNN/Money staff writer



NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Consumers did it again.

Despite the dual distractions of rising gas prices and rising interest rates, they showed an uncanny ability to shop -- a lot -- last month.

That's good news for the economy and good news for retailers. Oddly, Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer, probably has more reason to sulk than smile.

[Miulang]

Some interestiing FAQs (http://www.agencyfaqs.com/news/stories/2005/05/14/11456.html) about WM's potential entry into the Indian market.

WM's International President met with the Indian Prime Minister (http://asia.news.yahoo.com/050513/4/20w79.html) with the intention of currying (pardon the pun) the favor of the Indian government to get incentives for doing business there.

Miulang

[Miulang]

Poor WM. Their promises of low low prices for everything are about to be dashed by the Bush Administration reimposing an import quota (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050514/ap_on_bi_ge/textile_cases;_ylt=AppVgEkDKA1Bjrpan76Gk.Cs0NUE;_y lu=X3oDMTA2amdibDI5BHNlYwNicw--) on cotton trousers, cotton knit shirts and underwear manufactured in China. The American trade unions made such a stink about losing jobs overseas that they forced the White House to reimpose the quotas.

The good thing is soon you can walk into WM and confidently buy something made in America again. Long live underwear made in America! ;)

Miulang

[Miulang]

Poor WM. Their promises of low low prices for everything are about to be dashed by the Bush Administration reimposing an import quota (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050514/ap_on_bi_ge/textile_cases;_ylt=AppVgEkDKA1Bjrpan76Gk.Cs0NUE;_y lu=X3oDMTA2amdibDI5BHNlYwNicw--) on cotton trousers, cotton knit shirts and underwear manufactured in China. The American trade unions made such a stink about losing jobs overseas that they forced the White House to reimpose the quotas.

The good thing is soon you can walk into WM and confidently buy something made in America again. Long live underwear made in America! ;)

Miulang
Of course, China (http://www.hawaiithreads.com/newreply.php?do=newreply&p=26457) is not taking this news lightly. They are demanding the White House back down and remove the import quotas because it says the US is violating the free trade agreement...hahaha. Now is the time for American unions to start flexing their muscle again...bring some of the manufacturing back to this country. I do believe that the White House will be caught between a rock and a hard place.

Miulang

[Miulang]

IF WM is getting $50 million in state subsidies (http://www.truthout.org/issues_05/041805LC.shtml) for its employees just from Florida alone in a 10-year period, I wonder what the total amount of state and federal aid in the form of Medicaid, food stamps, etc. is being given to these underpaid WM workers all across the country?

Miulang

[Miulang]

Looks like India (http://www.indiadaily.com/editorial/2683.asp) will be a little harder sell for WM than China was. India wants the US dollar but doesn't want US control. WM sounds like it wants to export more food from India. What can India grow that Americans want???

Miulang

[Miulang]

There is a possible silver lining in the breakup of the AFL-CIO for all the WM workers who wish they could have a union but are afraid to organize because of WM's heavy handed union-busting tactics.

Whereas the AFL-CIO has been pretty wishy washy about standing up to the corporation (they prefer lobbying), the SEIU is not afraid to roll up its sleeves and fight. If the SEIU can set up shop at WM, then the workers might be able to get the benefits they are entitled to for working hard and get off the State welfare rolls. It would be a coup for the unions if the SEIU could represent the WM workers, because that workforce is one of the largest in the country.

I've never been much for unions because I've only briefly held one union job, but if it's going to help give millions of American employees parity in terms of pay and benefits, then power to the people.

Miulang

[Miulang]

Here's a very interesting story (http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/102/open_snapper.html?partner=aol) about the man whose company said "no thank you" to selling products to Walmart...and his business survived to be bought up by an even larger company. For this man, quality = expensive, which is definitely not WM's business model, which is quantity over quality.

"I believe Wal-Mart has done a great service to the country in many ways. And it may be that along the way, they've driven some people out of business who shouldn't have been driven out of business." --Jim Weir, former CEO of Simplicity and Snapper Tools

Miulang

[memorylane]

How many W*M's are on the island of Oahu now? I work for one of their distribution centers which is how the products get to their stores and they pay great (14.45 currently in plain ole Oklahoma), they have assanine rules to keep up with but otherwise........i am half praying they put one of their *white clouds* (what the DC looks like from about 2 miles away) on the island so i could transfer there for free, haha. No haters, i hate them enough as it is but they'll basically be buying my first home when all is said and done even if it is a mobile home.
:D

[Miulang]

How many W*M's are on the island of Oahu now? I work for one of their distribution centers which is how the products get to their stores and they pay great (14.45 currently in plain ole Oklahoma), they have assanine rules to keep up with but otherwise........i am half praying they put one of their *white clouds* (what the DC looks like from about 2 miles away) on the island so i could transfer there for free, haha. No haters, i hate them enough as it is but they'll basically be buying my first home when all is said and done even if it is a mobile home.
:D
There are precisely TWO on Oahu, two on the Big Island and 1 each on Maui (and the one on Maui isn't even on their store locator!) and Kauai. Any more growth is dependent on whether or not legislation which is being considered right now is passed that would prohibit building any more large stores like WM anywhere in Hawai'i.

Hourly pay isn't that much more in Hawai'i (and there are very few full time employees, as you know;) ) and the cost of living in Hawai'i is one of the highest in the country. For people on the west coast, the difference in prices might be around 20% but I'm sure for you in OK it would be more like 30% because your cost of living is way less in OK than on the West Coast.

Miulang

P.S. I don't remember seeing many (if any) mobile homes in Hawai'i, although some people do build homes from kits.

[waikikiluau]

Honestly, WM is one of those big corporations out there that abuses their workers. Personally, I know because I have friends that work at WM. But due to petition & cases against WM, WM is somehow changing and giving benefits that their workers deserve to have. :)

[Miulang]

But due to petition & cases against WM, WM is somehow changing and giving benefits that their workers deserve to have. :)
That's basically lip service and good PR. They don't pay the majority of their employees enough (by virtue of the fact that most WM employees are only part timers, and not by choice, either) to afford the bennies.:mad:

Miulang

[WindwardOahuRN]

There are precisely TWO on Oahu,

Aren't there three WalMart stores on Oahu? Kunia, Mililani, and the one in town?

I think. Last time I looked, anyway. I know there was talk of closing the one in Kunia so I could be wrong. Mebbe. :p

[Miulang]

Aren't there three WalMart stores on Oahu? Kunia, Mililani, and the one in town?

I think. Last time I looked, anyway. I know there was talk of closing the one in Kunia so I could be wrong. Mebbe. :p
Heehee. On their online store locator, they don't even list the one in Kahului (and that's a pretty large store) so you could be right. (I'm not sure if the senior management in Bentonville even knows how many stores they have in HI!;) )

Miulang

[mapen]

There are four Wal-Marts on Oahu:

Mililani
Kunia
Keeaumoku
Pearl City (the newest)

[speedtek]

I can't believe how much people bitch about pay scales and benefits. You need to work in Asia or Japan where you get no benefits or perks or profit sharing. You come to work, do your work, get yelled at by a grouch, get a break for lunch, then go home and pray you get paid. Working at Sears was a dream compared to Asia. In Japan I worked for 10 hours a day for 500 yen per hour repairing VW's. Head to toe grease everyday and working in a garage that was 6 feet tall and not to mention how cold it was. But I made the best of it.

Just go to work, do you job the best you can and be happy you have a job.

[Leo Lakio]

Just go to work, do you job the best you can and be happy you have a job.Our office mantra: "I get a paycheck, every two weeks."

Particularly helpful at times when management plays their favorite game of "Fire...Ready...Aim." They usually leave off the last step, too.

[Miulang]

Our office mantra: "I get a paycheck, every two weeks."

Particularly helpful at times when management plays their favorite game of "Fire...Ready...Aim." They usually leave off the last step, too.
But that's why there are so many unhappy Americans...all putting in their time, collecting their checks, and living lives of quiet desperation. It would be wonderful if everyone could, as Dharma from Dharma and Gregg would say, "follow your bliss". Imagine, having a job that seemed more like play than work, being compensated for something you loved doing rather than having to drag yourself to work, just wishing it was Friday already?

I'm thinking of doing a 180 degree career change soon too...away from technology into something more fulfilling and possibly less financially lucrative, but much more rewarding in terms of being happy at work. As someone (I forget who) once said, "when you're on your deathbed, are you going to say, 'Gee, I wish I could have spent more time at work'?"

Miulang