Pennsylvania Merchants Line Up Against Wal-Mart

I am thrilled to see that this news finally hit the papers!  The town of Tunkhannock does not need a Super Wal-Mart, because there are numerous small business owners who provide excellent services to the community. Please continue to support the small businesses in Tunkhannock and the surrounding areas.

Let’s work together to send Wal-Mart the message, that we’re not interested in their expansion! 

Also, for anyone in the Tunkhannock area who hasn’t seen Robert Greenwald’s EXCELLENT new film, “Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price”, you can rent a copy FREE OF CHARGE at Marty’s Market in Meshoppen.  (570) 833-5494

Good luck on your campaign Denise.

FINALLY!!! Someone from a small town community that has the courage to speak up for not wanting a WM Superstore in thier midst!

Itoo saw the Greenwald film last month. There will be another showing at a Central Labor meeting open to the piblic in January for those who did not see it in November.

I was so upset when Walmart first came to Tunkhanncock and the news and even the thought of yet a Superwalmart coming really would be DEVASTATING ! Lets together do EVERYTHING in our POWER to STOP this from happening and ruining our town. WAlmonster is not for small business or for the good of any small town. Walmarts goal is to undercut others prices to drive them out of business. Predator Pricing!! I hope that we all see this and make changes to support other people and businesses. Walmart is the biggest retailer in the world don’t give them anymore or YOUR HARD earned money !! Boycott!!! Them and all of our jobs going to China… is anything made in the USA?They don’t support our AMerica!!

I would hate Wal-mart to come into my community and cause the smaller family own stores to close. I mean who wants 400 jobs at the expense of 50 smaller merchants. Who wants their grocery bill to decrease by 15-25% compared to what I pay now. I love paying more for commodity items. Who would want to work for a company like that? Surely not one soul in their right mind would ever fill out an application for employment there. I hope Wal-mart, the free market and the American way fails. Good luck fellow Walmart hating brothers

If the good people of Tuckhannock, PA. don’t want a Wal-Mart then why would certain people buy an ad condemning Wal-Mart?

Let me explain: if Wal-Mart opens in this town and 100% of the population is opposed to Wal-Mart and refuses to shop there, Wal-Mart will be forced to close, costing them millions of dollars. If you are opposed to Wal-Mart this is the best case scanerio. You should have no trouble keeping Wal-Mart out because nobody in your town wants to shop there, right?

The reality is that the great majority of people want Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart reduces retail and grocery prices anywhere from 8% to 18%, depending on the area, when they arrive. When rivals like Kroger and K-Mart reduce their prices to compete with Wal-Mart, and still remain in business, that tells you that they were overcharging when they could get away with it. My problem with small-town merchants, ie. Mom and Pop is that they have limited shopping hours and selection, generally uncomfortable shopping environments, no parking, inconvenient locations and higher prices. Who has time to shop from 10 am to 4 pm Monday through Friday and stop at 12 stores to get what you need at a higher price? I sure don’t.

As I said, if the citizens are so sure that the town doesn’t want Wal-Mart, let them open. Certainly they will close if they are not wanted. Of course, these people know that Wal-Mart will immediately do major business and it frightens them. The people who bought the ad are the small business owners and their cronies, who have had everything their way for decades. They cannot and will not cope with change. When Wal-Mart comes in, they will be crushed. This is a consumer driven economy. If you don’t give the customer what they want, someone else will.

Ellis have you ever appreciated one truly good and honorable thing in your life?

For me Wal-Mao is death and those who love it are part of a death cult.
Wal-Mao knows the weaknessess of the american consumer like a crack dealer knows the weaknesses of the ghetto. Does that make it okay to be a crack dealer and destroy neighborhoods simply because there is a “demand” for crack?

Some people can avoid the drug no matter what. I myself am a starving artist with a family and I have successfully avoided giving Wal-Mao my money for over 5 years.

But lets face it, most people don’t have that much will power or inner resources. So they will often turn to the “crack dealers” to make thier life better at a “low” price
Does that make what the crack dealers are doing acceptable?

Think about it.

But what they don’t know is, is that its eating the calcium in thier teeth, and straining thier heart tissue, and destroying thier sleep patterns and appetite.  Much the same way that the growing trade deficit is contributing to our national debt, empowering a evil communist empire, and destroying the character of our neighborhoods. If you replace one good job with three wal-mao jobs its a zero equation.

In effect it is valuing money over love, life over death. Commerce over community
Therefore it is death worship.

Think about this metaphor:

to turn a tree into a table you have to kill it,
to turn a cow into a steak you have to kill it
to turn a catch phrase into a T-shirt, you kill its power and meaning ,

to turn small towns into money and consumer machines you kill them, and thier sense of community are replaced by the acquisition of cheap chinese products"crack".

Much the same way once nice black neighborhoods were turned into ghettos by the same disease..but then I’m a poet and I don’t think in terms of black and white because “money is God” like you Ellis. I will pray for you, that some day you get it, before its too late.

Sandra

The comparison between Wal-Mart and crack dealers is not valid at all. If you believe it is, run quickly to the nearest psych hospital. If you believe it is NOT valid, welcome to the land of sanity and common sense. I have to believe that you are a little off your rocker here. However, let me indulge you.

Wal-Mart cannot make a single employee work there. Wal-Mart cannot make a single customer show up. Wal-Mart cannot force a single vendor to deal with Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart has NO power. Only by offering what people want can Wal-Mart attract employees, customers and vendors. If that were not so, why would these people be attracted to Wal-Mart?

As for crack destroying the inner cities, you are somewhat on the right track. However, it is the narcotic of government handouts that have destroyed the character and the moral fiber of millions of Americans. You can blame drugs all you want to but the sad fact is that many Americans see nothing wrong with living life on someone else’s dime. Many Americans see nothing wrong with poor parenting, babies having babies, absentee fathers, out of wedlock births, not working, skipping school and a generally bad attitude. So many people like to blame others for their shortcomings when a little more effort on their own parts may have been of tremendous benefit.

Tens of millions of Americans lack moral character, self-reliance, work ethic, honesty, education, self-respect, respect for their neighbors, family values and any sense of resonsibility for their actions. Drugs have destroyed the moral fabric of America. They are the drugs of government dependence.

As for Wal-Mart, so what? They are a corporation, like any other, and they are in business to make a profit. If you don’t like their employment practices, DON’T FILL OUT AN APPLICATION! If you don’t like their tough attitude to vendors, DON’T SELL TO THEM! If you don’t like their prices, products, employees, store design or practices, DON’T SHOP THERE! You are in the less than 1% minority that doesn’t.

Wal-Mart is a legitimate business, founded by a simple man who had a dream. Wal-Mart is not the largest company in America in profitability, profit margain, assets, market cap or shareholders equity. They lead only in number of employees and revenues. They also lead in costs. Wal-Mart puts more than $24 billion per year into consumers’ pockets just through savings. Wal-Mart has improved the lives of tens of millions of people and made each of us a little wealthier.

A far cry from a crackhouse, wouldn’t you say?

If you go to the following link, you’ll find an un-biased study about Wal-Mart, done by Global Insight, about the economic impacts that Wal-Mart has on the national, county and municipal levels. I hope this helps.

http://www.globalinsight.com/MultiClientStudy/MultiClientStudyDetail2438.htm

Ellis- I do not mean to bash your views, or to put down your experiences, but I do wish to clarify a few things that you stated, so that other readers may benefit from seeing both sides.  First of all, please do not assume that the majority of “mom and pop” shops have been taking advantage of their consumers.  If that is what you TRULY believe, then I am sorry that you do not know as many honest and hardworking small business owners as I do.
Yes, the truth is that consumers want to pay less, and the majority of people will drive wherever they need to or shop wherever they can to pay less money for the exact same product.  This is where the confusion often starts.  How do you think that Wal Mart offers a lower price than Mom and Pop’s? Do you honestly believe that it is because mom and pop’s are screwing everyone by charging more money, just because they have no competition and have been getting away with it for years?  Or could you consider the actual truth behind it.... that Mom and Pops often HAVE TO PAY MORE FOR THEIR PRODUCTS WHOLESALE than WHAT WALMART SELLS The PRODUCT FOR AT RETAIL.  My father is an HONEST, HARDWORKING MAN who has for 27 years been providing the best service he can to his customers.  Prior to Wal-Mart coming to town, he was able to purchase certain products (such as soda, potato chips, etc.) at a REASONABLE wholesale price, and sell them in his grocery store at prices that were highly competitive with other local grocery stores.  That is the basic business practice of ALL STORES.  You buy, you sell, and hopefully once all the overhead is paid, you make some profit.  Let me tell you what is now happenning.  My father knows FOR A FACT that he pays more for certain brands of Soda and potato chips than the LOCAL WAL MART (just a few miles away) PAYS FOR THE EXACT SAME THING!  My father has to pay MORE FOR THE PRODUCT than WAL MART SELLS IT FOR!!!!!  Tell me that that is right.  Tell me that Wal-Mart is based on morals, that their company is following ethical standards, and that the consumers should feel good about themselves supporting a “legitimate business” as you put it.  I know what you are thinking, you are probably thinking, “well, is that Wal-Mart’s fault? They are offered a better price than ALL OTHER STORES, why shouldn’t they take advantage of that?”.  If that is the case, then let’s go after those companies who are catering to Wal-Mart ONLY.  Lets find out whose fault it is and make some changes, but don’t say that WALMART HAS NO POWER!  THEY DO, and that power is what is forcing small business to close their doors.  How long can an honest, hardworking family who owns a small business for over a quarter of a century survive, if they are LOSING MONEY WITH EVERY PRODUCT THEY SELL? To be competitive, small businesses now have to BUY HIGH, and SELL LOW.  Result?  Businesses are closing EVERYDAY,and if it continues, your only option will be to SHOP AT WALMART for EVERY single thing you buy.  And even more sad than that?  Once wal-mart dominates, they do something that we will have no control over.  PREDATOR PRICING.  THey will jack those prices right up, and consumers will be at the mercy of wal-mart.  No one will deny that.  Their bottom line??  PROFIT.
Do you own a small business?  Would you ever consider going into a business, knowing that a “legitimate company” could undercut EVERY PRODUCT YOU SELL, through predator pricing and unfair business practices?  I’m not so sure that you would, because no one in their right mind would want to start a business to compete with a company as powerful as Wal-Mart.  They are anti-american, and it defies everything that our country is SUPPOSED TO STAND FOR.  I wish you the best in whatever career you pursue, but let me give you a word of advice.  Don’t go into small business, because if there are many others in the world who feel the same way that you do, I highly doubt that you will be successful.

Denise,

you are wrong when you say Wal-Mart gets better pricing.  I sell to wal-mart, my wife sells to wal-mart and most everyone I know sells to wal-mart.  We have to offer wal-mart the same prices as every other retailer.  If you see wal-mart (or target) selling an item cheaper than what your dad paid for it then its because they are taking a hit on their margin (sometimes selling product for a loss to drive traffic).  Maybe your dad should try this to be competitive.  If he doesnt then he will be force to close his doors.  Its his choice.

Remember, when wal-mart started they were just a small mom and pop store in a small arkansas town.  through pure genius Sam Walton built a great empire.

Denise

I sympathize with you and I understand your father’s struggles. That said, Wal-Mart started as a single store and they were founded in 1962. By 1970, Sam Walton had just 18 stores. I often wonder if people think Sam Walton travelled around the country with a secret horde of gold, preparing stores for opening and then, on one day, he opened 2,000 outlets. That is not the case. He built his empire customer by customer and store by store. Your father and others could have done the same with foresight and ambition.

I used to work in retail so I know that of which I speak. Grocery store owners get kickbacks from vendors, including discounts, free product, free advertising materials, coupon gimmicks, Final Four tickets, cash payments and cash rebates just to name a few. Your local store may sell shelf space to vendors. Wal-Mart does none of this. Wal-Mart does not engage in gimmicks or scams with vendors. They do not play games. They say “Can you provide X amount of this product at Y price and keep your inventory at optimal levels at all times?” If the vendor says yes, they can make a fortune. Wal-Mart only appears to get a lower price because they do not engage in the same markups and price gimmicks as your average Mom and Pop grocery store. I’m sure that Wal-Mart does get a better price because they buy centrally and in bulk. For example, your father may buy 100 cases of Coke per month. He may pay $6.00 per case. If Wal-Mart goes to Coke and says “Look, we sold 500 million cases of Coke last year. That is 10% of your overall case sales worldwide. If we can guarantee you 600 million cases sold this year, how much cheaper can we get it?” Coke might agree to go from $5.95 to $5.75. Coke is still making a good markup, it has a guaranteed market for 600 million cases and it can plan next year’s production and supply chain data around this. That amounts to huge savings. That is why Wal-Mart can get a discount.

One more thing. Because of the price gimmicks used by smaller competitors, consumers often pay a higher price. Small town grocer may buy 100 cases of Coke at $6.00 per case. If all the bribes and kickbacks were taken out of the equation, his real cost might be $5.00. But he pays $6.00 and sells for $8.00 when Wal-Mart can pay $5.00 and sell for $6.00. THAT is how Wal-Mart beats you, through efficiency and honesty and fair dealing. If you saw the things that I have seen with individually owned grocers, you would know where I’m coming from.

Finally, we have never had more choices as consumers when it comes to places to shop. Wal-Mart will not eat up our disposable income because there are so many more options. I love Wal-Mart but I also spend a lot of money at Target, Giant Eagle, Starbucks, Kroger, Petsmart and other places. As long as we have free will there will always be dozens of options for shopping.

Hey Shane,
Just what widgets do you and your wife sell to Wal-Mart and others at the same price anyway?  You are dead wrong when you state that Wal-Mart doesn’t get any better pricing than anyone else!  Do you actually think that Del Monte is going to sell, say 100 cans of green beans to a small grocer for the same price per can as they would sell 100,000 cans to Wal-Mart for? Hell no!  They wouldn’t even sell an order that small directly to anyone.  Wal-Mart often uses their immense buying power to threaten suppliers into giving them discounts, and if a supplier refuses, Wal-Mart will bury them like they did to Rubbermaid (now owned by Newell Corp.) and Pillowtex, to name a couple.  I would think twice before accusing Denise’s dad of not being competitive enough.

Ellis,
I don’t know what’s worse about you: your unyeilding love affair with a mega-corporation who could give a care less about anything but the bottom line or your twisted Rush Limbaugh/Jesse Jackson type rationale.  In your eyes, Wal-Mart does NO wrong.

Not only does Wal-Mart regularly engage in preditory pricing to drive out any small business that it deems a threat to its bottom line, they also fight for and usually receive tax abatements and tax-increment financing wherever they build new stores.  No small business gets that kind of preferential treatment from the government like Wal-Mart and other big-box entities.  What I can’t stand is how once the tax incentives run out on an existing store, Wal-Mart will just build a new store nearby with a new set of incentives and abandon the old building, and if any city council refuses, Wal-Mart will fight them in court.

The Wal-Mart of 2005 isn’t even remotely the same as the Wal-Mart of the 1960’s.  In fact, if Sam Walton were to take on an entity like the present-day Wal-Mart, he would never have succeeded.

Every merchant gets the same price when buying an item.  Each account manager gets a budget in which he/she can use to buy down their retailers cost.  We buy down the cost for some of the items we sell to Wal-Mart, some items we do not.  Every account manager gets the same accrual rate.  mass, club, food, drug and alternate channels.

How the account manager spends that money is up to the retailer.  Wal-Mart wants all of it to go towards buying down price.  Other retailers charge for shelving, promotional space, kickbacks, ect.  As mentioned before, if they would implement the SAM WALTON plan they would be competitive.

Denise’s father has the opportunity to get the exact same cost as wal-mart.  example

100,000 cans of beans with a 10cent discount cost the account manager $10,000
100 cans of beans with the same 10cent discount cost the account manager $10

If Sam Walton saw what his children did with the company, he’d be ashamed.  He cut costs through efficiency, not exploitation.  Today most of Walmart’s “savings” come from government subsidies and sweat-shop labor. 

Under Sam Walton, employees were well paid and respected; today they are paid “welfare wages,” so named because most employees need government welfare—in the form of health care, disability insurance, etc.—to survive.  The very safety net we put in place to protect the bottom-rung of society is being cruelly exploited by Walmart.  McDonald’s, which used to be the poster child for employee exploitation, is a model citizen compared to Walmart.

At the same time, most of the money is shipped overseas.  This unsustainable business model exploits the capital wealth built up by a community, eventually reducing it to nothing.  That, my friends, is called a “depression,” and it has happened many times in history, but not so recently that anyone worries about it until it is too late.

My wife is from a rural town in Pennsylvania; I am from Los Angeles, so initially we had very different viewpoints on this company.  The more I looked into it, though, the more I realized she was correct.  If Walmart were “playing fair”—that is, being responsible and sustainable, rather than using government subsidies to undercut competitors—this would be a very different conversation.

Anyone who thinks saving 10 cents on a jar of pickles is the only important consideration really needs to buy a book on economics.  (They may even sell some at Walmart.)

You all seem to be missing the point. We have a Walmart. What we don’t want is a large box supercenter store.

Our town does not need a supercenter. The only thing it will do is close more stores downtown, and created traffic problems.

If you study the infrastructure of our road system, even with the bypass we cannot support the additional traffic the supercenter might bring from out of town supporters. The traffic as it is is backed up for miles on a friday night when there is a football game. How do you think it will be with a supercenter and one bridge? Eventually another bridge/road would have to be built or expanded and who would pay for that ? the towns people who for the most part do not want the supercenter.

Our taxes would go up also because Walmart bargains down the taxes they should be paying - the little guy would ending up supporting their taxes! Who wants that?

There are so many things to consider regarding building a supercenter, none of which affect Walmart, only the citizens and neighbors who would have their quality of life physically, environmentally and fiscally impacted. Those shoppers coming in and out of our little town just to go to the supercenter would not care and their dollars would not reach the local business’s in a meaningful way. I suspect it could be the downfall of the town, after all who moves to a bucolic town to have traffic jams and buy at wholsale prices? We moved here to get away from the big city life! The town needs zoning laws preventing these types of buildings. We are trying to beautify our town, and keep it “charming” a box store does not fit in here.

I work here in Tunkhannock at a local retail store. I know almost everyone in Tunkhannock, and surrounding areas, just from dealings with them. Most of them come to where I work, here I can tell them all the information they could want on the items they need. I am well educated in what I sell, and I can answer any questions my customer has. I would like to say you can get that service no matter where you shop, but you can’t. Also I would like to suggest that you folks that like Wal-Mart so much, can just stay there. Because one day (not in Tunkhannock) that could be all that is left. We will see who is complaining about high prices then. Because Wal-Mart is going to be able to sell anything at any price they want. Also Thankyou, to people like Denise. You may think she is just trying to help out her Dad, but she is genuinly fighting for our town! You’ll thank her one day when you come here, and can go to a mom and pops store, and get REAL SERVICE. And you will be able to do this because, thanks to people like Denise, Tunkhannock does not need, and will not have a Supercenter.

This super wal-mart will cripple my town of tunkhannock! a walmart monoplizes enough of our land, a super will destroy it

Storeowners in tunkhannock need to have a wake up call. They are overpriced and go on bankers hours. Any normal, working 9-5 people annot get in and it’s rediculous. I am in the stores one day a year-Founders Day-and even then I look at the price and put it back. I do not like the idea of them monopolizing things, but someone should get off their butt and work on pricing. Everyone complains when their is change, and I’m tired of it. I save my money and go to Wilkes Barre ALL THE TIME. I would put in a DEB, AC MOORE, Michaels, and more grocery stores that are open past 9 @ night. It will also bring more jobs in the area. I don’t see many people on main street hiring. I hope it’s a start of a better economy, and you can take it or leave it. I can’t wait to see whats in store because of the other stores that might come in for the business.