Two good thing about Wal-Mart

[jmhart]

I was about to post this in another thread in the Freshwater forum, but the more I typed, the less and less it was on topic, so I've pasted it here and linked it there.


In this day and age where it's "cool" to hate Wal-Mart, I am 100% a Wal-Mart supporter. I believe in capitalism and the free economy.


I also happen to like the things Wal-Mart does that they nay-sayers won't tell you about. My wife works for a major (read: the)home cleaning products company and their interactions with Wal-Mart are very interesting. Two interesting things I've learned:

A)Wal-Mart is making a huge push for smaller packaging when it comes to plastics. Things like liquid detergent, dish soap, bathroom cleaning products, etc.... Wal-Mart is FORCING the companies to make these thing smaller. That's why you see all this "High Efficiency" stuff and "2x the strength". That's not the produce, that's Wal-Mart. It helps in two ways: A)less landfill use and B)less shelf space, smaller Wal-Marts, etc....


B)Wal-Mart is making a HUGE push for less expensive CFL's. Wal-Mart is a major supporter of the CFL revolution and is therefore using their weight to force GE to figure out how to make them cheaper.


Just two things interesting you won't here about elsewhere.

 

[FtwayneFish]

o yea I totally agree and shop walmart every thur for gorceries and I have bought some fish from them ( my bichirs and a blue actual lobster for 6.44 each, bichirs 5.84).

But I have a few friends who are employees and they get treated really well with benefits and stock options, seminars, food for free in the break rooms ect. But Im sure it all depends on the store and the stores manager who expenses it.

I did notice that they have THEEE cheapest CFL's anywhere when I was price comparing before my purchases.

And on another note, they actually DO give back to the communities in there area. my walmarts always have a local org or company they have donated and how much they donated up on the wall.

Jeffrey is the MAN as usual and always. Thanks for all the previous help jeffrey.

 

[j_chicago]

All the hate is spread by Micheal Moore-esque film makers and extreme leftist politicos. They dig up every bit of dirt and insert sound bites here and there to tell what ever story they want.

 

[Rbishop]

Just a friendly reminder about our TOS..

Aquaria Central will not allow any posts which incorporate politics or religion in any form in the forums.

 

[crazycanuck]

i dont see anything about religion in here? what would religion have to do with walmart?

lol well ya never know...:grinyes: i just like it cuz its cheap

 

[Reefscape]

i dont see anything about religion in here? what would religion have to do with walmart?

lol well ya never know...:grinyes: i just like it cuz its cheap

Politics, politics....thats what is being refered to here....

 

[Sploke]

How does smaller packaging promote less landfill usage? Ok, buy ten 4oz bottles of dish soap, and one 40oz bottle, and see which one costs less and uses less packaging. 9 times out of 10, the smaller packages will cost more. That cost increase comes directly from the increase in packaging material. Hence why shopping at places like BJs and Costco are cheaper per unit. Thats why microbreweries often sell 1/2 gallon growlers instead of 6-packs - same price, same amount of product, but less packaging expense = more revenue.

 

[jmhart]

How does smaller packaging promote less landfill usage? Ok, buy ten 4oz bottles of dish soap, and one 40oz bottle, and see which one costs less and uses less packaging. 9 times out of 10, the smaller packages will cost more. That cost increase comes directly from the increase in packaging material. Hence why shopping at places like BJs and Costco are cheaper per unit. Thats why microbreweries often sell 1/2 gallon growlers instead of 6-packs - same price, same amount of product, but less packaging expense = more revenue.

Just to point out, it's not the same product inside. The "high efficiency" products are of a greater, at least 2x greater, concentration, meaning you buy a smaller package and you use less of it.

 

[Squawkbert]

True & true, though WM does have a history of carrying special packaging of some products... slightly smaller than what the competition carries, probably so that some consumers won't notice that there's a reason behind WM's lower price for a unit of whatever (usually soap) product, so it's not all altruism in this regard.

I also have to note that the CFL thing is good, but will turn bad pretty quickly if an appropriate disposal route is not established for the (soon to be) burgeoning population of CFL bulbs...

 

[jflng]

Wow, praise for a large powerful company, especially Wal-Mart, is a concept not heard too often these days. Kudos to this thread.

There is a reason companies like Wal-Mart succeed the way they do. They've tapped certain market niches and offer people what they desire.

Another good example is Starbucks. That company is a giant for a good reason. Their coffee really is exceptional. It's certainly not their asinine prices.

I completely agree with

I believe in capitalism and the free economy.

It is a shame however, that the large companies consume the little guys. I shop at Wal-Mart all the time because they have a lot of cheap stuff. Smaller stores generally can't offer what Wal-Mart can. I wish I had a more diverse selection of places to shop, but that's capitalism I suppose. At least the government usually prevents complete monopolies. Otherwise, Wal-Mart could probably take over the world, and we would all have to celebrate Sam Walton day.