MANUAL INTRODUCTORIO SOBRE EL MENUDEO DE WAL-MART WATCH
“Todo alrededor del mundo, le ahorramos dinero a la gente, para que puedan vivir mejor. Esas son buenas noticias – en cualquier lenguaje.” – Wal-Mart Stores Inc.
La Expansión Internacional de Wal-Mart
A mayo del 2007, las 7,343 tiendas de Wal-Mart y establecimientos de Sam’s Club en 14 mercados emplean más de dos millones de Asociados a nivel global, sirviendo a más de 179 millones de clientes al año. Wal-Mart no es sólo una compañía más, sino el menudista más grande de los Estados Unidos y del mundo entero.
Desde el 2002, Wal-Mart ha encabezado la lista de las 500 principales compañías de EU de la revista Fortune, excepto en el 2006, cuando quedó en segundo lugar detrás de Exxon-Mobil “pero sólo debido a que el precio mundial del petróleo había subido en un 50 por ciento” ese año. Los ingresos anuales de Wal-Mart en el 2008 fueron de $378 mil millones.
A lo largo del mundo entero, Wal-Mart explota personas y recursos para su propio beneficio. Esas son malas noticias – en cualquier lenguaje. Mientras Wal-Mart busca capitalizar su estrategia internacional, trabaja para construir nuevos imperios de menudeo en otros países, en particular en India y Rusia.
Este manual introductorio tiene el propósito de educar activistas de todo el mundo acerca de las estrategias de desarrollo de Wal-Mart y de su impacto en la cultura menudista local. Las tácticas principales usadas por la compañía antes de entrar a un país incluyen 1.) crear sociedades con organizaciones y empresas locales. 2.) trabajar con funcionarios gubernamentales y 3.) aprovechar el creciente poder adquisitivo de la clase media. Hemos escogido México e india como dos casos de estudio internacionales para remarcar lo que sucede antes y después de que Wal-Mart entra a un país.
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Posted by Michael Mignano | Permalink
WAL-MART WATCH: ОБЗОР РОЗНИЧНОГО РЫНКА
«По всему миру мы экономим людям деньги, повышая их уровень жизни. Это хорошая новость, на каком бы языке она ни сообщалась». – Wal-Mart Stores Inc.
Международная экспансия Wal-Mart
В мае 2007 года в сети Wal-Mart, насчитывающей 7 343 магазинов и оптовых центров Sam’s Club в 14 странах, работало свыше двух миллионов сотрудников, которые обслуживали более 179 миллионов клиентов в год. Wal-Mart – это не просто компания, это крупнейшая розничная сеть в США и во всем мире.
Начиная с 2002 года, Wal-Mart возглавляла список 500 крупнейших компаний мира, ежегодно публикуемый журналом Fortune, за исключением 2006 года, когда первое место заняла компания Exxon-Mobil, «но только из-за двукратного повышения мировых цен на нефть», произошедшего в том году. Годовой оборот Wal-Mart в 2008 году составил 378 млрд. долларов США.
По всему миру Wal-Mart эксплуатирует людей и ресурсы, получая от этого прибыль. Это плохая новость, на каком бы языке она ни сообщалась. Стремясь извлечь выгоду из своей международной стратегии, компания Wal-Mart работает над созданием новых розничных империй в других странах, а именно в Индии и России.
Цель настоящего обзора – рассказать активистам из разных стран мира о стратегиях развития розничной сети Wal-Mart и о том влиянии, которое эта компания оказывает на местные рынки. Три главных тактики, используемых компанией для выхода на новый рынок, включают в себя: 1) установление партнерских отношений с местными фирмами и организациями 2) работу с представителями государственных структур, и 3) использование покупательской способности формирующегося среднего класса. Мы рассмотрим последствия появления Wal-Mart на рынке на примере двух стран – Мексики и Индии.
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Posted by Michael Mignano | Permalink
CARTILHA DOS VIGILANTES DO WAL-MART
“Em todo o mundo, fazemos com que as pessoas economizem dinheiro, para que elas possam viver melhor. Isso é bom – em qualquer idioma.” – Wal-Mart Stores Inc.
Expansão internacional do Wal-Mart
Em maio de 2007, as 7.343 lojas do Wal-Mart e as unidades do Sam’s Club em 14 mercados empregam mais de dois milhões de Associados em todo o mundo, servindo a mais de 179 consumidores por ano. O Wal-Mart não é só mais uma empresa, mas a maior rede de lojas a varejo dos Estados Unidos e do mundo.
Desde 2002, o Wal-Mart está no topo da lista Fortune 500 - exceto em 2006, quando ficou em segundo lugar, atrás da Exxon-Mobil, “mas apenas porque o preço mundial do petróleo subiu 50 por cento” naquele ano. A receita anual do Wal-Mart em 2008 foi de US$ 378 bilhões.
Em todo o mundo, o Wal-Mart explora pessoas e recursos para obter lucro. Isso é mau – em qualquer idioma. Enquanto o Wal-Mart busca beneficiar-se de sua estratégia internacional, segue trabalhando na construção de novos impérios de lojas a varejo em outros países, mais especificamente na Índia e na Rússia.
Esta cartilha tem o propósito de informar aos ativistas ao redor do mundo sobre as estratégias de desenvolvimento de vendas a varejo do Wal-Mart, e o impacto da empresa nas culturas varejistas locais. As três principais táticas usadas pela empresa antes de entrar em um país são: 1.) construir parcerias com empresas e organizações locais; 2.) trabalhar com oficiais do governo e 3.) explorar o poder de compra da classe média emergente. Escolhemos os estudos de caso internacionais do México e da Índia para exemplificar o que acontece depois que o Wal-Mart entra em um país.
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Posted by Michael Mignano | Permalink
वॉलमार्ट वॉच खुद्रा प्रवेशिका
“हम संसार भर के लोगों के पैसों की बचत करते हैं ताकि उनका जीवन स्तर अच्छा हो सके. संसार के सभी भाषा-भाषियों के लिए यह एक अच्छी ख़बर है.” – वॉलमार्ट स्टोर्स इंकोरपोरेटिड
वॉलमार्ट का अंतर्राष्ट्रीय विस्तार
मई 2007 के आँकड़ों के मुताबिक, वॉलमार्ट के कुल 7,343 स्टोर हैं और 14 बाज़ारों में सैम्स क्लब स्थित है. इनमें विश्व भर के उसके 20 लाख सहयोगी कार्यरत हैं, जो हर साल 17 करोड़ 90 लाख से ज़्यादा ग्राहकों के लिए काम करते हैं. वॉलमार्ट कोई ऐरी-गैरी कंपनी नहीं है. ये संयुक्त राज्य अमेरिका और संसार की सबसे बड़ी खुद्रा कंपनी है.
सन् 2002 से आज तक वॉलमार्ट फ़ॉर्चून 500 सूची में सबसे ऊपर रही है. सिर्फ़ सन् 2006 में ही वह इस सूची में दूसरे स्थान पर लुढ़की थी. उस समय पहले स्थान पर एक्सॉन-मोबिल कंपनी का नाम आया था. “उस साल तेल की विश्व कीमतों में 50 प्रतिशत की बढ़ोतरी की वजह से ही यह संभव हुआ था. सन् 2008 में वॉलमार्ट की सालाना आमदनी 3.78 खरब डॉलर थी.
वॉलमार्ट संसार भर के लोगों और अपने स्त्रोतों को अपने फ़ायदे के लिए इस्तेमाल करती है. संसार के हरेक भाषा-भाषी के लिए यह एक कटु सत्य है. जैसे- जैसे वॉलमार्ट अपनी अंतर्राष्ट्रीय नीति पर और आगे बढ़ना चाह रही है, वैसे-वैसे वह अपने खुद्रा बाज़ार के साम्राज्य को भारत और रूस जैसे अन्य देशों में बढ़ाने की कोशिश कर रही है.
इस प्रवेशिका का उद्देश्य संसार भर में फैले कार्यकर्ताओं को वॉलमार्ट के खुद्रा विकास रणनीतियों और स्थानीय खुद्रा संस्कारों में कंपनी के प्रभाव के बारे में शिक्षित करना है. किसी भी देश में प्रवेश करने से पहले यह कंपनी तीन काम करती है: 1) पहला, वो स्थानीय व्यापारियों और संगठनों के साथ साझेदारियाँ कायम करती है, 2) दूसरा, वह सरकारी अफ़सरों के साथ काम करती है और 3) तीसरा काम, कि वह उभरते हुए मध्य वर्ग की क्रय क्षमता में अपनी पैठ बना लेती है. वॉलमार्ट के किसी देश में घुसने से पहले और बाद में, उस देश में क्या-क्या होता है, इसको प्रकाशित करने के लिए हमने एक अंतर्राष्ट्रीय केस अध्ययन करने के लिए दो देशों को चुना है. वे देश हैं: मेक्सिको और भारत.
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Posted by Michael Mignano | Permalink
According to Good Jobs First and The Wall Street Journal, a large chunk of sales tax revenue gets redirected to retailers like Wal-Mart, a company that pockets an estimated $70 million a year in sales tax revenues.
At least that is the finding of a report released today by Good Jobs First, a nonprofit research group here in Washington:
Most of us don’t realize that in a majority of states with a sales tax, a portion of the money actually goes into the pocket of the retailer under programs set up by state and local governments. In this first-ever comprehensive national analysis of the subject, Good Jobs First finds that the public sector is losing more than $1 billion a year through these sales-tax diversions. A large share of revenue gets redirected to giant retailers such as Wal-Mart, a company we estimate pockets more than $70 million a year in sales tax revenues.
The state laws discussed in the report allow retailers to keep a portion of sales-tax revenue to offset the cost of collecting the funds in the first place, a reasonable enough excuse (especially since state governments are so flush with cash at the present). But does anyone really, and I mean REALLY, believe that Wal-Mart spends $60 million a year collecting sales tax? In this age of computer everything and electronic money transfers, I have a hard time believing it costs more than a fraction of that.
As it stands, many states have calculated a vendor compensation rate, which can be applied to a percentage of sales tax revenue to determine how much a retailer gets to keep for its trouble. As the WSJ reports, Good Jobs First has identified 13 states that impose no ceiling on the total amount retailers can keep. In states such as Illinois, Texas, Pennsylvania and Colorado that vendor compensation rate can be applied to the full amount of sales tax a company collects, resulting in substantial returns for companies like Wal-Mart. Good Jobs First has estimated the givebacks in these states - Illinois ($126 million), Texas ($90 million), Pennsylvania ($72 million), and Colorado ($69 million). Jesse Drucker at the WSJ kindly puts some perspective on those numbers - for example, the $90 million Texas gives away by not capping vendor compensation would cover the $82 million price-tag needed to fund that state’s primary pre-kindergarten program.
For what its worth, the Illinois Revenue Department was quoted as saying the state has tried to cap the compensation program, but relentless lobbying by the retail industry has so far kept legislators from making changes.
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Posted by Corey Himrod | Permalink
Check out this week’s issue of the Wal-Mart Watch Weekly Update for Elected Officials – a compilation of Wal-Mart news from across the country and beyond.
This week’s issue centers on a new website launched by Wal-Mart Watch which details the retailer’s political contributions, positions on specific legislation, and spending on lobbyists and industry trade groups. The website, Walton Influence, also includes similar information on the Walton family and the family’s related enterprises.
In addition, you’ll read about a number of legal issues, the most important of which could be affecting the health of millions of Americans. Bloomberg News and the San Francisco Chronicle, among others, are reporting on how tests of several of the best-selling brands of bottled water (including Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club private label brands) have been found to contain mixtures of at least 38 different pollutants, including bacteria, fertilizer, and industrial chemicals. These findings could result in a lawsuit against the retail giant.
And finally, check out our “Stateside” and “Wal-Mart International” sections to find out what’s going on with Wal-Mart around the country and across the globe. You’ll read about how Maryland’s closing of certain corporate tax loopholes has resulted in millions of dollars in increased state funds, and why employees in Illinois are protesting Wal-Mart’s electioneering activities.
Wal-Mart Watch Weekly Update for Elected Officials [October 16, 2008]
Posted by Corey Himrod | Permalink
Nike Inc., the world’s largest athletic shoemaker, has sued Wal-Mart for allegedly selling footwear that infringes one of its patented designs. Or so says the footwear giant, who filed a patent infringement suit against the retail giant on Monday in federal district court in Illinois.
The case revolves around two of Nike’s designs, both having been patented back in late 2004. As you can see by photos included in Nike’s complaint, Wal-Mart’s shoe looks like a pretty spot-on match, at least design-wise. Kudos to Wal-Mart’s apparel design team - if your own products aren’t selling, why not copy those that do? And who wouldn’t want a shoe with pogo springs right in the heel?! I couldn’t find the offending models online, although most of Wal-Mart’s own athletic shoes appear to retail for between $10-25...I would guess the original Nike version sells for just a little bit more. Several Nike models, in fact, use the copied design and generally retail for $90 and above. You can draw your own conclusions, though my guess is that these two shoes are similar on face value only - it wouldn’t surprise me if for $15, Wal-Mart’s springs were filled with marshmallow or tiny foam peanuts.
The retail mega-chain has faced a couple of infringement suits already this year - recently by Pepe Jeans, and prior to that by Adidas, which settled its case with Wal-Mart in September. You can read more about those two instances here, here, and here.
Read Nike’s complaint here.
Nike sues Wal-Mart, alleges patent infringement [Rueters]
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Posted by Corey Himrod | Permalink
Check out this week’s issue of the Wal-Mart Watch Weekly Update for Elected Officials – a compilation of Wal-Mart news from across the country and beyond.
This week’s issue focuses on Wal-Mart and the current economic crisis. You’ll find stories on how Americans are shifting to thrift stores in order to save money, and whether September’s retail sales figures reflect a downturn in consumer spending. You’ll also find an article from CNN Money discussing whether the state of the economy will affect Wal-Mart’s hiring, especially with the holiday season coming up.
In addition to the economy, you’ll find stories on Wal-Mart’s move to small stores. Are Wal-Mart’s Marketside Stores the wave of the future? And in health care news, Wal-Mart is rolling out electronic personal health records to all of its employees, and has announced changes to its health plan for 2009.
And finally, check out our “Stateside” and “Wal-Mart International” sections to find out what’s going on with Wal-Mart around the country and across the globe.
Wal-Mart Watch Weekly Update for Elected Officials [October 10, 2008]
Posted by Corey Himrod | Permalink
Several retailers including Wal-Mart have been named in a nationwide class action for their participation in selling polycarbonate plastic baby bottles and toddler training cups containing the controversial hormone BPA.
This whole BPA - or Bisphenol-A - controversy is not a good thing. BPA is a key compound used in polycarbonate plastics, which are clear and nearly shatter-proof (a good thing), and also possibly toxic and poisoning us and our children daily (apparently bad...very, very bad). These plastics are used to make a variety of common products including baby and water bottles, sports equipment, medical devices, lenses, CDs, and household electronics...a fact that, in the interest of full disclosure, actually made me check the bottom of my water bottle this morning to make sure I wasn’t slowly killing myself.
The lawsuit in question was filed in Georgia, and you can read the (very long) complaint here, in which defendants are accused of manufacturing and selling materials made with BPA despite knowledge of likely adverse affects. In addition to Wal-Mart, retailers such as CVS, Target, and Kroger have been named in the suit. Also named were manufacturers of the bottles themselves, including Evenflo, Gerber, and Playtex. The best part of this whole thing - not only have over a hundred studies been produced in the last decade warning of the adverse affects of BPA, but apparently in deeming the compound safe the FDA decided to rely on only two, both of which were produced by the American Plastics Council. So kudos to the FDA for that.
The lawsuit has been filed in the U.S District Court for the Northern District of Georgia. You can read the release on it below.
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Posted by Corey Himrod | Permalink
Check out this week’s issue of the Wal-Mart Watch Weekly Update for Elected Officials – a compilation of Wal-Mart news from across the country and beyond.
This week’s issue begins with reports from two states that Wal-Mart is undercutting high school activity and athletic fundraising by selling merchandise bearing the logos of local high schools. In both cases, the schools in question were never contacted by Wal-Mart about whether sales of the items would hurt the school’s efforts to raise funds.
In addition, you’ll find Time and The New York Times delving into the topic of Wal-Mart moms, and the role they’ll play in the November election. Plus, check out our section on Wal-Mart and the environment to find out more about the unethical behavior of Wal-Mart’s sustainable mining supplier, and from California read about how the retail giant fought (unsuccessfully) a port-truck plan that would require tougher environmental and security standards.
And finally, check out our “Stateside” and “Wal-Mart International” sections to find out what’s going on with Wal-Mart around the country and across the globe.
Wal-Mart Watch Weekly Update for Elected Officials
Posted by Corey Himrod | Permalink
Several stories were published this week regarding Wal-Mart’s newest way to annoy the already frazzled American shopper - the “Smart-Network.” Set to launch in close to 300 stores by the holiday season and chain-wide by 2010, the in-store TV marketing network will include 27,000 screens and feature everything from time-specific advertisements to a series of ‘welcome screens’ to be displayed at store entrances. Stephen Quinn, chief marketing officer of Wal-Mart stores, discussed the new system in a story from Adweek:
“We’ve built a network tailored to the way consumers shop our stores, delivering helpful, custom content closest to the point of decision that helps them shop smarter”
“Smarter” is right: now customers won’t have to make shopping lists, decisions about what products are for them, or even have to open their eyes upon entering a Wal-Mart. All they have to do is listen for the comforting sound of a television screen beckoning them closer and closer to whatever Wal-Mart feels like selling them at that time. The company sank $10 million into R&D for this project, coming off slightly better-than-expected sales numbers for the month of August, and seems to show the company’s faith in the system.
Wal-Mart Smart Net Pushes Point-of-Sale Ads
Trying to reach additional shoppers, Wal-Mart has launched the Wal-Mart Smart Network, which supplies information via in-store TV. The company invested $10 million in the project billed as “shopper-intelligent network at retail.” Powered by Internet Protocol Television, the new net will appear in more than 2,700 stores nationwide.
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Posted by Luke West | Permalink
Wal-Mart has, unsurprisingly, been the target of more lawsuits than one can count over the years. The company’s treatment of its workers and “save money at all costs” mentality has resulted in a flood of legal challenges ranging from single plaintiff suits to multi-million dollar class actions. Dukes v. Wal-Mart is of course one large example (the largest class action in American history, actually), as are the myriad wage/hour/overtime class actions the company faces.
At Wal-Mart Watch will be focusing on one of these stories each week, highlighting those cases that warrant further attention because of the light each sheds in its own way on how Wal-Mart does business.
Deborah Metcalf v. Wal-Mart Stores East
In the process of scouring the country searching for egregious examples of Wal-Mart malfeasance, we came across this interesting little case filed earlier this year in Oklahoma. On its surface, it’s a retaliatory discharge case – however, the plaintiff here, Deborah Metcalf, was fired for blowing the whistle on what should be considered some pretty repulsive conduct.
Among the many programs funded by the United States Government, we’re going to focus on one in particular – the federal WIC program. WIC stands for Women, Infants, and Children, and is a special supplemental nutrition program funded by grants by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and administered in Oklahoma by the OK State Department of Health. Basically, WIC provides food and education to low-income women, infants and children deemed eligible for the program. The program’s website tagline delivers the following:
The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children - better known as the WIC Program - serves to safeguard the health of low-income women, infants, & children up to age 5 who are at nutritional risk by providing nutritious foods to supplement diets, information on healthy eating, and referrals to health care.
Deborah Metcalf, at the time of her firing, was an employee working at the Wal-Mart Pharmacy located within store #47 in Sallisaw, Oklahoma. In 2001, the Sallisaw Wal-Mart became a participant in the WIC program. Before we go any further, perhaps a little more information is needed on how the WIC program works:
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Posted by Corey Himrod | Permalink
In an interview with the Wall Street Journal’s Ann Zimmerman, Chief Executive of Wal-Mart Stores USA Eduardo Castro-Wright discusses the company’s domestic retail strategy. Castro-Wright seems confident that the economy’s recent down turn has not been responsible for Wal-Mart’s sales boost: “I wouldn’t say a significant part of the current results is related to the economic environment. The changes in merchandising, marketing and improved service in the stores ... have vastly improved the shopping experience, and that will continue to drive sales after the economy rebounds.” This goes contrary to nearly every financial analyst’s views on the company’s current position, but you keep dreamin, Wal-Mart!
Posted by Alex Goldschmidt | Permalink
Managers could be influencing employees to vote Republican, with Julian Epstein, Democratic strategist and CNBC’s Larry Kudlow. [CNBC]
Posted by Alex Goldschmidt | Permalink
Jul30
The Wal-Mart Effect, 2.0
I realize that we are Wal-Mart Watch, not Loblaws Watch- however, there was no way I could pass up the chance to talk about this story. The London Free Press reports today that Canadian retailer, Loblaws, is cutting wages and change the name of “rebranding” its stores in London, Canada so that it can compete with discount retailers like Wal-Mart. This will also allow them to bypass their union contract with UFCW.
If anyone ever questioned Wal-Mart’s global impact and the strength of their mere existence, this situation should lay those concerns to rest. Wal-Mart’s expansion into the Canadian grocery market has led to Loblaws demise and pathetic attempts to compete at the expense of its workers. It’s interesting to note that Loblaws, while trying to battle the behemoth Wal-Mart, is taking a page right out of their handbook of putting profits before people. It’s good to see that Wal-Mart brings out the fighter in everyone- and the claws. What’s next Loblaws? Are you going to start discriminating against your women employees and denying adequate health care to your staff? Clearly, that is the path to success in the global retail environment.
Loblaws rebrands and cuts wages
London’s three remaining Loblaws stores will undergo major changes that include new names and lower wages for workers.
The company is slashing wages and hours and rebranding its London stores as it struggles to compete with discount food stores, a union official says.
The Loblaws store on Southdale Road is under renovation to become a No Frills. The Wonderland Market at Wonderland Road South and Southdale Road and the Richmond Market at Richmond Street North and Fanshawe Park Road will be renamed in the fall.
Loblaw can cut wages under a new store banner, said Tony Soares, secretary-treasurer of Local 1000A of the United Food and Commercial Workers, the union representing store workers.
“This is all about wage reductions. They cannot compete with the discount grocery store competition and they want to lower wages so they can lower prices to compete with the likes of Wal-Mart,” Soares said.
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Posted by Vasudha Desikan | Permalink
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