WalMart announced this morning that they are opening 150 stores in U.S. and hiring a lot of people.
This is without a doubt a most intriguing store. I don't go very often but every time I do, I wonder why I'm not there every week.
We went shopping for "storage" and "packing" items. We went to "Canadian Closet". They had done our pantry design and build. The items we looked at were about $25 each. It seemed a bit pricey for a plan we hadn't really nailed down, so we decided to go to WalMart. They had exactly the same items for $16.95 each. You would not believe the stuff they had in that department! They had thermal units designed for cooking a lot of stuff and then transporting it! They had small, stylish looking thermal units for holding a few beers! No clunky styrofoam stuff. These items were impressive. And for our project, they had untold possiblities. I'm sure Canadian Closet knew they had lost yet another customer to WalMart.
The clothing and food don't interest me, although I've heard that they made a fortune last winter with people buying their food there.
But to simply browse that megathon of merchandising is simply breathtaking. It's no wonder every other business man shudders at the sound of the name.
Merv could not resist the "Space Bag" where you put stuff in plastic bags and suck out the air! We'll blog further on how that little project turns out!
Until then. WalMart lives!
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I think Walmart fills a need for people in two distinct phases of life; expanding their collection of stuff or shrinking it. For those of us just coasting through the middle years, where our towels and bakeware may be a bit rough around the edges but are so far down our to-do lists we don't pay them a nanosecond of consideration, Walmart remains a giant parking lot surrounding a low brick utilitarian building similar to a beehive, only not nearly as colourful. Don't get me wrong, if you need to shelve, pack, organize, or store something, Walmart has what you need cheeper than anyone else. And if you need more cutlery, plates, mixing bowls, and ice cube trays at the beginning of your home building phase, Walmart is a veritable treasure chest of stuff. But for us people in the middle.....it doesn't even show up on the GPS.
ReplyDeleteI have tried those space bags for out of season clothing and I think I quite like them.
ReplyDeleteYou two are cracking me up, examining the Walmart specimen under your research microscopes. I'll let you know what it's like on the slide under the scope!
There are people of all stages of life shopping at my Walmart. Many of them, like me, would probably love to buy their underwear at the Bay and their flip-flops at the Gap or their toilet paper at Sobey's. Many of them were firmly in the middle class when their nest was full and will remain there throughout their lives. They'll likely keep shopping at Walmart during their empty nest years because now they are trying to save for retirement which they couldn't afford to do when their kids were at home. And they'll keep shopping there in retirement because they started saving so late!
If I might be bold - people who have the option of shopping elsewhere might not fully understand the Walmart way of life.
Bravo! Great comments from different viewpoints. Marie - where are you? We need a third opinion from a dedicated WalMart shopper.
ReplyDeleteIt didn't seem to matter what aisle we were in, there was no let-up. Someone was always there, not browsing, not undecided, these shoppers knew what they were after and knew where to go for it. I felt like a beginner. And had the feeling that everyone knew I was.
i hate wal mart. i use it in my lectures on neurological processing and environmental design, what not to do. 2 power point slides. long story. suffice to say i cannot resist the prices, so if this household needs something, darcy goes. i'm sending him to look at air conditioners today. he'll know the diaper aisle well, soon. oh look, they have pringles on sale...
ReplyDeleteWe love Walmart! As RV'ers Walmart is a wonder to behold after 8 hours of driving and you just want a place to stop for the night...no desire for power or water, just get off the highway, eat, sleep and eat again before you're back on the road. RV parks will charge you $35 for the pleasure and you have to go out of your way to find them. Walmart is there, just a pull off the highway and they have wonderful fresh food, cooked chickens, baby back ribs to die for and anything else you might need. And I shop at many different stores but often find the exact same item at Walmart, but at half the price. They are everywhere in the states and the Super Walmarts are huge with full grocery shopping...we often shop at them even when we do have other choices. Long live Walmart!
ReplyDeleteAmen! A perfect ending. Great imput from the RV end of things. And what good marketing. It's night. They have all this space in their parking lots. They get financial recognition by the RV'ers. A no-brainer. Thanks Marie -
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