I opened a new package of cold medicine this morning. To open it I had to cut through a sticker that read “If this product is found for sale at a location other than Wal-Mart please call 1-800-WALMART.” No doubt Wal-Mart negotiated a special price on the medicine, and either the manufacturer or Wal-Mart didn’t want other stores getting that price.
Wal-Mart’s critics often complain that Wal-Mart uses its market dominance to negotiate lower prices from manufacturers. I’ve never really understood the criticism. No one’s forcing the companies to do business with Wal-Mart, and Wal-Mart passes on the savings to the customer. That’s one reason their prices are so low, and those low prices are the main reason we shop at Wal-Mart.
I wonder how many of the people who criticize Wal-Mart for negotiating low prices from suppliers are in favor of the government forcing drug companies to lower their prices? Not negotiating, like Wal-Mart does, but forcing with all the power the federal government can bring to bear. I’m guessing there’s a lot of overlap between the two groups, with the common theme being anti-corporatism.
Oh, to have some spare time for research.
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It is not solely their use of dominance, it is also the exploitation of their workers. They have little to no benefits, can not unionize and are forced to work minimal hours so they won’t be payed overtime. It is a bad place to work, but seeing as people have no choice, they have to stay with the job for now.
One fair criticism I’ve heard of Wal-Mart is that there was a widespread practice of having workers work extra hours off the clock. Totally lousy. They got sued and had to pay $640 million.
Most of the other criticisms apply equally to other national low-cost retail stores. An Alternet study found that Target’s wages and benefits were no better than Wal-Marts. Target stores are likewise non-union.
[rq=1388796,0,blog][/rq]They should call it “wood-fired style pizza”
I just purchased a printer-cartridge at Staples that had the same sort of sticker. Exept it said “found for sale at a location other than Staples please call 1-800-…
Here is a shocking expose where a reporter went undercover to get a job at WalMart:
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/opinion/opedcolumnists/item_K8hD47GcZBkh1v3SjNYldI/1
Wal-mart doesn’t negotiate. They threaten suppliers.
http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/77/walmart.html
They also threaten the free-market.
And any government interference in any area including pharmaceuticals (minus the interference that may prevent catastrophic physical harm in my opinion) threatens the free market. I oppose anything that may do such a thing.
Jebus, not the “giant jar of pickles” article again. It’s 7 years old.
Here’s a clue. Wal-Mart tells its suppliers to lower their prices to X. Suppliers who want the Wal-Mart contract lower their prices to X if they think they can profitably produce the product at that price. If they’re right they make big bucks. If it turns out they’re wrong their profits suffer. Welcome to reality.
Do you think Costco, Target, Krogers, Home Depot and other big box stores don’t push their suppliers to lower prices?
“They also threaten the free-market.”
I’ll need more than proof by assertion.