Wal-mart Factoids

[NJCher]

Meant to post this awhile back but I lost it in my files. I found them when I was searching for something and decided to post them. While an item or two might be dated, I think some of this is pretty scary:

"Wal-Mart's turnover is so rapid that 70% of its merchandise is rung
up at the register before the company has paid for it."

* "Its truckers are trained to avoid deluded motorists who dream of a
collision and a Wal-Mart-sized settlement."

* "More than 70 million people already roam its aisles each week."

* "If Wal-Mart maintains its annual growth rate of 15%, it will be
twice as big in five years.

* "Wal-Mart's sales on one day last fall--$1.42 billion--were larger
than the GDPs of 36 countries."

* "It is the biggest employer in 21 states, with more people in
uniform than the U.S. Army."

* "It plans to grow this year by the equivalent of--take your
pick--one Dow Chemical, one PepsiCo, one Microsoft, or one Lockheed
Martin."

* "If the estimated $2 billion it loses through theft each year were
incorporated as a business, it would rank No. 694 on the FORTUNE 1,000."

* With no advertising, Wal-Mart's Ol' Roy dog food now outsells
Nestlé's Purina as the world's top-selling brand.

* Houston Supercenters now offer used cars, "testing a no-haggle
approach under the name Price 1".

* "Regulators have twice thwarted Wal-Mart's attempts to buy a bank."
Western Union charges $50 to wire $1,000 from Texas to Mexico vs. a flat $12.95 at Wal-Mart, "and 46-cent money orders instead of the 90 cents charged by the U.S. Postal Service."

* "Wal-Mart vacations. Internet access. Flower delivery. Online DVD
rentals a la Netflix. All happening."

* "Speed is why it routes ships from China through the Suez Canal and
across the Atlantic, so that exactly 50% of imports end up on each
coast--more expensive in the short run, but faster in the long."

* "The U.S. Mint chose Wal-Mart, not banks, to introduce its Sacagawea gold dollar in 2000."

* "A German judge once ordered Wal-Mart to raise its prices"


Cher

[ret5hd]

1. * "A German judge once ordered Wal-Mart to raise its prices"

A court here in the U.S. once did also...
i believe it was in Oklahoma...

A state law outlawed selling pharmaceuticals below "cost plus a reasonable markup" (or something like that)

WM was, of course, trying to put pharmacies out of business, and was doing just that. But of course, with the quantity discount WM is able to command, they succeeded anyway. It just took a little longer.

[cprise]

2. Walmart are becoming C.H.O.A.M.

...only worse.

[el_gato]

3. I have not shopped at walmart in years

and I have never felt the need to shop there.

[3rdParty]

4. Only 46 cents for a money order?

My bank charges $2. Nice savings!

[Gin]

5. WalMart and the Cabal....creating an end to the country we knew.

gin

[Infinite Velocity]

6. A tough game for toy retailers

Powerful trends at play, remaking sector

By RENÉE DeGROSS
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

The day after Thanksgiving, shoppers lined up for two hours in steady rain outside the Bass Pro Shops at Discover Mills. On the other side of the mall at KB Toys, a handful of customers moved easily about the store.

Perhaps it reflected the sagging fortunes of KB Toys, which last week filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection from creditors.

This holiday season also marked a tipping point in the highly competitive toy-selling industry. FAO Schwarz faltered and began liquidating its stores, including Zany Brainy and Right Start, in December -- the biggest and best month for toy retailers.

Toys "R" Us is also feeling the heat. Last month the chain announced it is closing all Imaginarium and Kids "R" Us locations.

Years of encroachment by Wal-Mart -- which surpassed Toys "R" Us as the top toy seller in 1998 -- and other discounters has taken its toll on an industry previously dominated by specialty chains.

Several factors have wounded the industry's toy soldiers.

They include the lack of hot, must-have toys in recent holiday seasons, along with eroded pricing power throughout the year.


The rise in popularity of DVDs and video games, which are not counted in toy sales, has also cut into would-be toy sales.

"Without a doubt, videos and video games are taking the place of some toys," said Michael Redmond, a toy industry expert at NPD Group, a retailing consultant.

Falling toy prices, due in part to overseas manufacturing, have held revenue down even as sales volume grows. Retailers have to sell more items to make up for deflated prices.

Last October, Wal-Mart lowered its prices ahead of the holiday season, leaving competitors scrambling to pick up the pace of their own sales.

"Wal-Mart is taking popular toys and making them loss leaders to get shoppers in their stores," Redmond said. "I wouldn't say the industry is in a crisis yet, but it's a mature industry, and you won't see the growth that you see in other categories such as videos and video games."

continues......

http://www.ajc.com/business/content/business/0104/21toys.html