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HBNRW posted:6 - The Golden Rule as related to customers. So you've never worked retail, have you?
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Apr 6, 2015 15:40
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quote:2 - Match prices. This is of course very difficult as Anti-Walmart will always lower it if it can. What makes you assume that rigid pricing rules mean anti-Walmart will always undercut Walmart? It seems to me that the opposite is true. Walmart is an expert at utilizing flexible supplier choices, massive economies of scale, and their strong market power to get lower prices than their competitors are capable of. On the other hand, your hypothetical anti-Walmart has a mandate to buy from small, local, more expensive suppliers whenever possible, is required to be profitable, and is also expected to treat you workers better and pay them more. I don't see how lower profit margins can possibly make up for the significant difference in the initial cost of goods from suppliers, not to mention labor costs - profit margins are already notoriously thin in the retail sector as it is. Walmart sounds like it's rolling in dough on $16 billion in net profit, but that's less than 4 percent of their total revenues of $485 billion. It seems like you're doing the Eripsa thing of coming up with a utopian theory and assuming that the world works in a way that makes your theory perfect, rather than understanding the way the world actually works and either crafting a theory that fits reality or realizing that you didn't come up with a magic way to bloodlessly end capitalism. Or you just don't know what the gently caress you're talking about in the slightest, which is entirely possible since you think Costco just charges membership fees to "nickel and dime" people because they're greedy and want more money.
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Apr 6, 2015 21:43
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Liquid Communism posted:OP, if you've got issues with how Walmart does business, start agitating for vertical integration to be considered monopolistic and subject to anti-trust action. Few pages back, but this is basically the fundamental problem with New Brunswick. Not with Wal-Mart, but with a different family. The Irvings control the majority of industry in New Brunswick and also control all media in New Brunswick save for the state broadcaster CBC, which is rapidly being defunded. They use it to portray themselves in a positive light during rent-seeking projects and labour unrest, among other nefarious things. There have been cases of outside corporate and political leaders simply ignoring the NB political structure and going straight to the Irvings to get what they need. And it isn't just New Brunswick too. Our provincial government in Nova Scotia literally gave these billionaires 400 million dollars with minimal strings attached to build some ships at the shipyard that they'd already built here. The solution to your problem isn't some fancy company OP: it's laws against media monopolies and limiting vertical integration. e: It does seem like a good idea, with some exceptions (fixed pricing?!) but any company with Irving-like control of the economy will use their regulatory capture to crush you into the ground. I'm not sure how you intend to oppose that. Isentropy fucked around with this message at 02:06 on Apr 7, 2015 |
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Apr 7, 2015 02:01
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Scrub-Niggurath posted:I mean, isn't a majority of the company owned by the workers? I cant imagine why they wouldn't just pick 2 a majority of the time Sure, but then you would be picking 2) over 1) and thus not minimizing prices. Which illustrates the point that maximizing wages and minimizing prices are contradictory goals. To further point this out: quote:2 - Match prices. This is of course very difficult as Anti-Walmart will always lower it if it can. Yeah...you can't do this without cutting into the money you have to pay workers with if you are already running at profit margins of a few pennies on the dollar. Typo fucked around with this message at 04:08 on Apr 7, 2015 |
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Apr 7, 2015 04:05
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Good thread but you have to go over in your mind a few things: - Margins. Can you offer the same quality of goods at a price competitive point. If yes? Welcome to ESTY, ZIPSHOP, ShaveClub, and a bunch of other KPCB knockoffs of the Amazon model where you take a captivated audience who is willing to pay extra for your 'holistic' solution - Product inventory: Walmart thrives on standardization in both layout and quality. So if you manage to convince everyone they should pay extra for something. And they dont. Ever. Then you need to ensure proper delivery and quality of care, which in the case of everyone who is not loss leadering, is impossible. If you do? You may want to talk to all the custom kiosks kicked off Amazon for Amazon Prime or AliBaba/Taobao since 2012 when inventory turnover became a tough go for even the big boys competing against Walmart - Overhead costs: If for some mystical way you manage to knock down 1 & 2, well then you get to answer to this point. Retail and all consumer discretionary buiz. is stupidly cost prohibitive. Only to airlines and oil refineries is there a business with such tough competition, since everyone with a box, a suburban market and a paypal account can become the next Sam Walton Provided you can answer all these questions, you will recognize someone is already doing it: http://qz.com/149811/how-10-people-built-a-competitor-to-amazon-com-for-1-million-in-90-days/ Do not think for any reason this post is a suggestion to go buy Box shares. However if you are looking for a method of how one could maintain physical store space presence, without the inventory or distribution, or balance sheet financing capability of Wallmart while matching prices to Walmart by playing payable financing games, this is your solution. If you ask Box nicely, you can even get a copy of their franchise plan which exactly says exactly how they are competing and improving the full cycle retail experience vs. walmart and its kiosk clones (Costco). Sadly, everything up-market, right up to the Unicorns like Macys and Footlocker is dead unless you have a halo product like a diamond buttplug or iPod to sell. Check out storied brands even like Ralph Lauren and Kate Spade who are being forced to kill to keep up with the cloneware.
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Apr 7, 2015 06:01
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