Wal-Mart: Chapter 2

[Miulang]

Re: Wal-Mart: Chapter 2

Continuing this non-WM tangent, I think it bears noting that Disney didn't say exactly that. The specific definition was, "Ohana means family, and family means nobody gets left behind." It seemed like they knew enough not to try and attach that whole phrase to the word "ohana," and snuck in the "left behind" with some creative sentence parsing.

I wonder if Eisner's folk used fuzzy logic to come up with Lilo'nStitch's definition.

if a) Ohana=family; and
b) family=nobody gets left behind

then a=b? (Nobody ever said I was good at math or logic)

Miulang

[Miulang]

Re: Wal-Mart: Chapter 2

Here's a cautionary tale about the impact of WM (both good and bad) on small towns in Colorado. I really hope the smaller businesses will be able to survive with the arrival of all the national chains...

More here: http://www.vaildaily.com/apps/pbcs.d...109180002&rs=2

Miulang

[Kalihiboy]

Re: Wal-Mart: Chapter 2

Oh no we go from Walmart to Disney, now there is a whole other thread I can talk about the greed of Disney, I cant stand them either.

Makiki Boy

[kimo55]

Re: Wal-Mart: Chapter 2

Oh no we go from Walmart to Disney, now there is a whole other thread I can talk about the greed of Disney, I cant stand them either.

Makiki Boy

ya think abouddit, there's really not a far stretch between the two.

[Miulang]

Re: Wal-Mart: Chapter 2

soooo...here we go! Now I know what happened to the ancient bones that were unearthed at the WM Keeaumoku site. They're still in boxes waiting for reburial.

Now the Hawaiian Native Legal Corp, which represents the kanaka maoli interests has finally decided to formally request that WM delay the planned Oct. 13 opening of the store.

Geez...too little, too late, methinks. I seriously doubt the WM juggernaut (or the pent up retailing demands from Mel and others ) is going to prevent the ribbon cutting from happening in a couple of weeks.

We've got a similar situation in Honolulu to one in Mexico City where a pre-Hispanic altar was unearthed and the agreed upon solution was to put the thing under plexiglass in the middle of the parking lot. In Honolulu, they were going to rebury the bones in the corner of the WM parking lot! This is honoring the kanaka maoli? Gimme a break. If they bury the bones at the edge of the parking lot, were they planning to erect some kind of monument? What's to prevent the bones from being dug up by someone with less than honorable intentions and then trying to sell them on eBay?

The fight is not over yet, it appears. Not by a longshot.

More here: http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/ar.../ln/ln15a.html

Miulang

[adrian]

Re: Wal-Mart: Chapter 2

so, when is it opening?

[Konaguy]

Re: Wal-Mart: Chapter 2

It seems unless NHLC can go to court and seek an injunction to delay the opening of the project.It seems it will be smooth sailing for the October 13 opening.

[kimo55]

Re: Wal-Mart: Chapter 2

there is an intrinsic problem in this kind of poll:

"View Poll Results: All things considered, Wal-Mart is:

A Good Thing.

A Bad Thing."

most people do NOT consider "all things".
(which obviously means; review all facts and info available on WM)

so how can a poll be conducted based on "all things considered"?!

[craigwatanabe]

Re: Wal-Mart: Chapter 2

Easy...Look at NPR's All Things Considered. They look at the whole picture but still come out with a slanted viewpoint.

[Karen]

Re: Wal-Mart: Chapter 2

I suspect that Walmart will be fought till it has been open a few weeks, and even the most staunch opponents find themselves shopping there more than anywhere, saving a lot of their hard-earned money, and things will quieten down about this.

[pzarquon]

Re: Wal-Mart: Chapter 2

Keeping things local, and specific to the store opening on Keeaumoku, someone who says he/she is an employee at the new location recently posted a comment to a Wal-Mart thread at sister site HawaiiStories. I thought it provided an interesting insider's perspective, so I'll repost it (with minor edits) here:

Aloha Hawaii... I'm a proud new employee of Walmart. Just to give the 411 (info) to all of Honolulu, Hawaii... Walmart Ke'eaumoku will be opening in 12 days... thats 10/13/04 to the public, Sam's club will open one week later. The hours for Walmart will be 6am-12am and I believe it's daily. Good god... isn't that gonna be FUN the first day... we're gonna buss our butts... I love my Walmart... so all who plan to shop or just to check out the newest store in Hawaii, please be respectful to all... other customers, all associates and management... lets have fun.

Trivia questions:

1) How much was the Ke'eaumoku land brought for? 35 million just for the land.

2) Is Walmart Ke'eaumoku a "Super Center"? NO NO NO... Hawaii, most likely won't get a Super Center here. Why? It takes too long for perishables to arrive in Honolulu, Hawaii, and then, if need, to send to inner island.

3) How much did the Ke'eaumoku store cost? The store alone, just to build cost - ready - 100 million U.S. dollars. And remember the land cost 35 million.

Walmart Ke'eaumoku (I luv my Walmart) is the most expensive Walmart ever built.

This store alone currently has over 800 employees... & still hiring. This store was heaven sent, for many many people/families... most of the 800-plus hired got full time... and believe me awesome benefits... medical dental life insurance is awesome... company always rewards its employees... I love my Ke'eaumoku Walmart (#3478)...

Remember safety fellow associates, inventory control, loss prevention....we get a beauty of a stake-holders bonus check.

[Miulang]

Re: Wal-Mart: Chapter 2

Whoever sent that post, I hope the bloom stays on the rose. It would be interesting if the person would check in with us again in about a year, after the dust has settled. If the person is a male, then he'll probably say everything's hunky dory-peachy keen and he's been promoted to department manager, or some other lofty position. If the employee is a woman, I'd really be interested in hearing if she has had promotional opporunities.

I am certainly willing to keep an open mind about WM as an employer, but based on what I have read in reports all over the world, I am still a little dubious if touting how much money WM spent to acquire the land (no mention of tax breaks here) or put up the building that that's supposed to impress us or what. Can WM make an exception for Honolulu? Dunno.

Miulang

P.S. since there is no attribution (like, Ryan, do you even know a screen name of the submitter?), the cynic in me says it's a PR piece from the company itself to try to dispell some of the criticism here and on other boards and in the press about its building on Keeaumoku.

[pzarquon]

Re: Wal-Mart: Chapter 2

P.S. since there is no attribution (like, Ryan, do you even know a screen name of the submitter?), the cynic in me says it's a PR piece from the company itself to try to dispell some of the criticism here and on other boards and in the press about its building on Keeaumoku.

I have a cynical streak that'd bleach your hair white, so I know where you're coming from. Even if there was a screen name, there'd no authentication as to its owner. This is a random comment from a random person, so the opinions - like used cars - must be taken and evaluated "as-is."

That said, most of the information seems credible (i.e. what might be provided at a new employee orientation). I didn't know the store had been assigned its number in the WalMart store network, for example (#3478). That should be easy enough to confirm next week. And - with all due respect to the author - I would hope that a "PR plant" would be able to express himself or herself just a little more clearly.

I agree, though, the rush of a new job will quickly fade to dealing with more practical realities. I wish there was a way to ask for an update a few months from now.

Sadly, considering Walmart's overall policies, I think it'd be pretty unlikely we'll see a "from the inside" blog of a Walmart employee. Now that would be interesting reading!

[Miulang]

Re: Wal-Mart: Chapter 2

Looks like the people in Waikele are going to have a new kind of Sears store in their neighborhood: one that will sell durable goods as well as groceries. It seems Sears is taking a page from WM SuperStores. It will be interesting to see if that part of town will be able to support both big box retail outlets and how Sears will differentiate itself from WM (will it be on the basis of quality and variety or something else?)

Here: http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/ar.../bz/bz02p.html


Miulang

[pzarquon]

Re: Wal-Mart: Chapter 2

See also this thread on the Sears move (which impacts local KMart stores). I posted the same link there.