Orvis + Wal-Mart = Angry local shopkeep

"Wolfgang" wrote in message
...

"Frank Reid" wrote in message
...
And they don't only do it to manufacturers. A few weeks ago the
****ers
refused to take my MasterCard......said that MC charges them too much.

I had the same damn thing happen to me. Walmart got Visa to lower its
rate
to them, MasterCharge wouldn't follow suit so they banned 'em.
Here's an elitist question. Its already been brought up here, in that
many
of Orvis' customers wouldn't know where a Walmart is. Walmart does the
FLW
tour for bass fishermen. Bass fishermen also go in to get parts for
their
boats. There's two hooks for the bass fishermen. Where's the hook to
bring
in a fly fisherman?

Orvis and Wal-Mart are betting that Orvis is that hook.

Cripes....the WM employees can't put 10 boxes of cereal on display neatly.
Imagine a rack of 100 different flies.....

I'm pretty sure that I wouldn't know or care either......but then, maybe I'm
a typical Wal-Mart customer. What are the diagnostic features?

A lot of us are missing our front teef.

Walmart customer or hockey player?
--
Frank Reid
Reverse Email to reply

"Greg Pavlov" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 23 Apr 2004 14:19:52 GMT, "Doug Kanter"
wrote:

Around here (Rochester NY), Wal Mart hasn't made much of a dent
in that category.

That's because Wegman's is in town, which is
probably the best there is in the supermarket
business, and Tops also competes very well.

True. But, Wal Mart's got grocery problems elsewhere, too. There's been a
huge amount of consolidating in the wholesale end of the grocery biz. Almost
any sizeable wholesaler can buy as good as, or better than WM these days.
So, even smaller stores who buy through wholesalers end up with the
benefits. It's not that hard to torture the manufacturers for better
pricing.

I don't know about WM anywhere but here, but in our 2 stores, the produce is
really lousy, and much of the meat is treated with some sort of tenderizing
agent. It's right on the label. I don't recall the name of the stuff, and
it's probably safe, but who cares? So, if you happen to like fruit &
vegetables, and meat without stuff in it, you have to go to two stores to do
your shopping. As soon as that happens, you're not saving money any more.

On Fri, 23 Apr 2004 15:20:05 GMT, "Doug Kanter"
wrote:

"Greg Pavlov" wrote in message
.. .
On Fri, 23 Apr 2004 14:19:52 GMT, "Doug Kanter"
wrote:

Around here (Rochester NY), Wal Mart hasn't made much of a dent
in that category.

That's because Wegman's is in town, which is
probably the best there is in the supermarket
business, and Tops also competes very well.

True. But, Wal Mart's got grocery problems elsewhere, too. There's been a
huge amount of consolidating in the wholesale end of the grocery biz. Almost
any sizeable wholesaler can buy as good as, or better than WM these days.
So, even smaller stores who buy through wholesalers end up with the
benefits. It's not that hard to torture the manufacturers for better
pricing.

I don't know about WM anywhere but here, but in our 2 stores, the produce is
really lousy, and much of the meat is treated with some sort of tenderizing
agent. It's right on the label. I don't recall the name of the stuff, and
it's probably safe, but who cares? So, if you happen to like fruit &
vegetables, and meat without stuff in it, you have to go to two stores to do
your shopping. As soon as that happens, you're not saving money any more.

Our Walmart doesn't carry many groceries yet. But the stuff they do
carry is more expensive than the local grocery stores. The Walmarts
that I've been in that do carry produce don't seem to take very good
care of the stuff. A lot of brown lettuce and wrinkled peppers.


g.c.

"Tom Gibson" wrote in message
om...


The organization is huge and ruthless. If they don't get what they want,
they will find a way. Wal-mart sells a "product" $100-120.00 (for
non-disclosure reasons I can't give the product description) that is only
sourced from one supplier. Wal-mart had beat the supplier down so far on
price, they were almost giving the item away trying to make it on volume
with small margins. My understanding is the supplier finally got tired of
Wal-mart pushing their weight around and increased the price 5 % and said if
you don't like it find someone else, knowing they had no other suppliers.
Wal-mart has gone out and procured a supplier to manufacture a similar
product at 75 % of the cost. This will likely squeeze the other company out
of business within 3 - 5 years.

JT
(who drives past Wal-mart if I can help it)

In article ,
says...

"Tom Gibson" wrote in message
om...


The organization is huge and ruthless. If they don't get what they want,
they will find a way. Wal-mart sells a "product" $100-120.00 (for
non-disclosure reasons I can't give the product description) that is only
sourced from one supplier. Wal-mart had beat the supplier down so far on
price, they were almost giving the item away trying to make it on volume
with small margins. My understanding is the supplier finally got tired of
Wal-mart pushing their weight around and increased the price 5 % and said if
you don't like it find someone else, knowing they had no other suppliers.
Wal-mart has gone out and procured a supplier to manufacture a similar
product at 75 % of the cost. This will likely squeeze the other company out
of business within 3 - 5 years.

JT
(who drives past Wal-mart if I can help it)

I don't believe I've ever been in a Wal-mart before (I just assumed
it was like a giant K-mart) since there isn't one anywhere nearby. If
people dislike them so much, why do they shop there?
- Ken

"George Cleveland" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 23 Apr 2004 15:20:05 GMT, "Doug Kanter"
wrote:

"Greg Pavlov" wrote in message
.. .
On Fri, 23 Apr 2004 14:19:52 GMT, "Doug Kanter"
wrote:

Around here (Rochester NY), Wal Mart hasn't made much of a dent
in that category.

That's because Wegman's is in town, which is
probably the best there is in the supermarket
business, and Tops also competes very well.

True. But, Wal Mart's got grocery problems elsewhere, too. There's been a
huge amount of consolidating in the wholesale end of the grocery biz.
Almost
any sizeable wholesaler can buy as good as, or better than WM these days.
So, even smaller stores who buy through wholesalers end up with the
benefits. It's not that hard to torture the manufacturers for better
pricing.

I don't know about WM anywhere but here, but in our 2 stores, the produce
is
really lousy, and much of the meat is treated with some sort of
tenderizing
agent. It's right on the label. I don't recall the name of the stuff, and
it's probably safe, but who cares? So, if you happen to like fruit &
vegetables, and meat without stuff in it, you have to go to two stores to
do
your shopping. As soon as that happens, you're not saving money any more.

Our Walmart doesn't carry many groceries yet. But the stuff they do
carry is more expensive than the local grocery stores. The Walmarts
that I've been in that do carry produce don't seem to take very good
care of the stuff. A lot of brown lettuce and wrinkled peppers.

Here, the fishing tackle's just as cheap at Gander Mountain, Galyan's and
Dick's, and the selection is MUCH better. Motor oil is cheaper at Advanced
Auto Parts. Batteries are cheap anywhere if you take 3 seconds to clip the
endless stream of Duracell coupons. I'll go to WM for some stuff - they had
a great selection of Igloo coolers last summer, and they were much cheaper
than at Wegman's.

But meanwhile, K-Mart polished up their stores and they are excellent. In 4
visits, every single person I spoke to knew where things were, and behaved
as if they WANTED customers. At WM, they act like you're bothering them if
you ask for the location of something exotic, like Rubbermaid storage
containers.

"Greg Pavlov" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 23 Apr 2004 15:20:05 GMT, "Doug Kanter"
wrote:


True. But, Wal Mart's got grocery problems elsewhere, too.
....

That's true as well, but there was a major labor
action in California over the past 6 weeks or so
that revolved around WalMart's impact on the
grocery business, so it must be having a significant
effect.


I've wondered whether WM has the same kind of influence on our local
newspaper (a Gannett rag) as other deep-pockets businesses. Every so often,
the paper will do a comparison of grocery prices between our two chains,
Wegman's and Tops. They never include WM. If they did, the game would be
over for WM.

I don't believe I've ever been in a Wal-mart before (I just assumed
it was like a giant K-mart) since there isn't one anywhere nearby. If
people dislike them so much, why do they shop there?
- Ken

All too often, because it is the only store left in many small towns. And,
again, all too often because they can't afford to shop where they might find
better made merchandise.

--
Stev Lenon 91B20 '68-'69
Drowning flies to Dark Star

http://web.tampabay.rr.com/stevglo/i...age92kword.htm

On Fri, 23 Apr 2004 18:15:10 GMT, "slenon"
wrote:

I don't believe I've ever been in a Wal-mart before (I just assumed
it was like a giant K-mart) since there isn't one anywhere nearby. If
people dislike them so much, why do they shop there?
- Ken

All too often, because it is the only store left in many small towns. And,
again, all too often because they can't afford to shop where they might find
better made merchandise.


Our town (Merrill, WI) is probably pretty typical. Before Walmart
moved in we had a couple department stores, a half dozen clothes
stores and other small businesses (cafes etc.) downtown. After
Walmart we lost both of the department stores and most of the clothing
stores. The other small businesses regularly change owners as they
find it impossible to make enough money to stay in business in that
location. Now we have several empty storefronts and a bunch of antique
shops who never seem to have anyone inside when I go in. Development
in the town has shifted to the area around Wallyworld, with several
fast food places and motels being built in the last few years. It has
brought growth to some parts of the community but it seems to have
removed any sense of community from the growth, if you get my drift.


g.c.