Wal Mart Plans to shut down 269 stores

[Pete from Boston]

I've noticed lately that a lot of businesses are joining into this rewards pool called Plenti, which means they are pooling their data.  No surprise–I figured someone was doing this anyway.

[vdeane]

Tops is a ghetto mart everywhere. When Ahold owned them, they didn't update any stores. They're independent now, but trying to pay off the debt accrued by Ahold. Many of the old Grand Union locations are crappy from when they were Grand Union.

There's at least one in the Rochester area that's decent.  At least it was 20 years ago.  Was quite a shock when I moved to Rome and saw how ghetto the tops there was.

And as far as Kroger goes, if an item's not on sale there, it costs a war price to buy it. Their sales are decent but i you need something that isn't on sale, you're screwed. I always heard that was because Kroger is so heavily unionized. Even the part-time cashiers who are high school students have to join a union to work there.

Tops is unionized and has a similar issue. I knew a bunch of people who worked there during high school and they had to join the union. Prices are high unless something is on sale. Their main competitors (Wegmans, Price Chopper, Hannaford) are not unionized and, ironically, tend to have more pleasant employees as well as lower prices.

Haven't closed shops been outlawed for decades?  Of course, agency fees for non-union employees in unionized employers exist, since it's not possible to be employed on a separate contract, and the non-union employees would otherwise be freeloaders.

My second reason for not wanting to take part in such programs is simply that I don't consider them to be worth the bother. The bother of having to sign up, the bother of having to either lug around those stupid little keychains or stand there reciting your phone number to the cashier, the bother of having to use a manned checkout lane because you can't recite your phone number to the self checkout, etc.
As far as I'm concerned, the inconvenience of having to deal with all this crap is not worth a modest discount here and there.

Price Chopper and Wegmans use ones that are credit card sized and can easily be put in a wallet.

All Kroger Marketplaces I've been in are a sad imitation of Wegmans. Nothing more.

Ever go to "Market Bisto" (aka Price Chopper's flagship store in Latham)?  Same deal.  I still wonder why the rebranding is to Market32 and not Market Bisto (maybe because of the restaurant in Long Island?).  Will be interesting to see what happens to the ghetto marts as the rebranding happens.

Supermarket profiles can be used against consumers. For instance, Von's Supermarket of California sought to introduce "loyalty card" records in a court case where a consumer had slipped and injured himself in the store. Von's wished to prove that the customer may have been alcohol impaired, and that his loyalty card would show numerous purchases of alcohol. The evidence was ultimately never introduced.

Makes me wonder if they decided they didn't want to open themselves up to bad publicity for something that wouldn't have likely worked anyways (as they could only prove the purchase of alcohol, not its consumption).

[cl94]

I've been to Market Bistro. Obvious imitation of Wegmans. I will give their NY-style deli props though. Actually tastes right and the sandwiches are as big as they should be.

Closed shops are legal in most states.

[realjd]

Closed shops are legal in most states.

Half of the states, actually. The other half have right-to-work laws which outlaw closed shops.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Right-to-work_law#U.S._states_with_right-to-work_laws

[US71]

Closed shops are legal in most states.

Half of the states, actually. The other half have right-to-work laws which outlaw closed shops.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Right-to-work_law#U.S._states_with_right-to-work_laws

Arkansas has Right to Work.

[Brandon]

Closed shops are legal in most states.

Actually, they're not legal at all.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Closed_shop

The Taft-Hartley Act of 1947 makes them illegal.  You instead have to have what is called a "Union Shop".

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Union_shop  These are what is legal is about half the states.  Those states with "right to work" laws have made the Union Shop also illegal, permitting only Open Shops.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_shop

[cl94]

Closed shops are legal in most states.

Actually, they're not legal at all.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Closed_shop

The Taft-Hartley Act of 1947 makes them illegal.  You instead have to have what is called a "Union Shop".

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Union_shop  These are what is legal is about half the states.  Those states with "right to work" laws have made the Union Shop also illegal, permitting only Open Shops.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_shop

My apologies. The differences, while present, are minute and the intent (and effect) is the same: everyone working for more than a short time must join the union.

[vdeane]

Technically you don't have to join at all, but you do have to pay them and are covered by the contract (because, really, the contract is stipulating what the company's pay and benefits are, and you still work for the company).  You don't get to vote on the contract or for representatives without joining, however, and since the agency fee is the same amount as union dues, there really isn't any reason not to join.  Plus there tends to be peer pressure to join; people in the union tend not to look too kindly at their non-union coworkers.

[Desert Man]

In the Great Recession, more customers went to thrift stores, dollar stores and even food banks more often than before...and less trips to the Wal-Marts when the economy was in bad shape. It's ironic there are small towns in the country very dependent on Wal-Mart, after all the big box stores closes down main streets and downtowns, shopping malls with department stores too and even drive out competitors like K-Mart or Target out of business. If a town loses a Wal-Mart, their local economy can get a lot worse, then again Wal-Mart is thought to cause negative economic issues and are blamed for other things happening after Wal-Mart opened.

[realjd]

Closed shops are legal in most states.

Half of the states, actually. The other half have right-to-work laws which outlaw closed shops.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Right-to-work_law#U.S._states_with_right-to-work_laws

Arkansas has Right to Work.

Yes. Doesn't my link show that?

People often confuse right-to-work laws with employment-at-will laws. Right to work laws mean you don't have to join a union; employment at will laws mean you can be fired for no reason, but can also quit for no reason (no employment contracts).

[US71]

Closed shops are legal in most states.

Half of the states, actually. The other half have right-to-work laws which outlaw closed shops.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Right-to-work_law#U.S._states_with_right-to-work_laws

Arkansas has Right to Work.

Yes. Doesn't my link show that?

People often confuse right-to-work laws with employment-at-will laws. Right to work laws mean you don't have to join a union; employment at will laws mean you can be fired for no reason, but can also quit for no reason (no employment contracts).

Wal-Mart does both. Remember when they shut down the meat packer's union? Anyone talks about union, there are immediately terminated. You be fired for no reason, but if you quit for no reason they will make your life hell with prospective employers.

[okroads]

In the Oklahoma City metro, we have been seeing Walmart's death grip on the grocery sector start to slip over the past few years. Part of that is because a local chain, Crest Fresh Market, has been opening stores that are priced on par with Walmart (some things are more expensive, but enough things are cheaper that it's a wash). Another part of that is because a lot of national chains that have traditionally shied away from Oklahoma City have been giving it a second look and opening successful stores here.

OKC tends to be passed over by many national chains because their metrics don't mesh well with how the city operates. Retailers traditionally look at the demographics with a circle of a certain radius around a potential site to come up with potential sales figures. Owing to the lower population density here compared to other places, potential OKC stores are often written off as being unprofitable based on these metrics. But they don't account for the fact that OKC residents are willing to drive further distances than those in other cities to visit a destination store. The retailers that have taken a chance and opened an OKC store are amazed at how their projections are blown out of the water. Seeing this trend happen time and again has led to more retailers giving OKC a chance, and we're getting things like Whole Foods, Trader Joe's, and WinCo for the first time ever, all of which have been eating into Walmart's market share.

I do not boycott Walmart, but I do actively avoid shopping there. Walmart is usually my fifth or sixth choice; I prefer to shop at Crest for my groceries and try to source everything else from other stores. My distaste of Walmart is not solely from their business practices: I find their stores to be actively irritating to be in, because the aisles are too narrow to maneuver around other customers in, and the large warehouse aesthetic unpleasant.

When I lived in OKC, I lived 1/2 mile from Walmart but 3 miles from Crest. However, I usually went to Crest for grocery shopping because they were better all around. Now that I live in Columbus, Ohio, there aren't nearly as many Walmarts around, and there are more choices for grocery shopping (ie. there are 3 Krogers that are closer to where I live than the nearest Walmart). I have been to Walmart exactly once in the four months I've lived in Ohio. So far, I don't really miss Walmart.

[triplemultiplex]

Walmart: Always low prices; no matter what the cost.

[US71]

Walmart: Always low prices; no matter what the cost.

I'm surprised Alice can afford her booze...or her museum.

[GCrites]

When I lived in OKC, I lived 1/2 mile from Walmart but 3 miles from Crest. However, I usually went to Crest for grocery shopping because they were better all around. Now that I live in Columbus, Ohio, there aren't nearly as many Walmarts around, and there are more choices for grocery shopping (ie. there are 3 Krogers that are closer to where I live than the nearest Walmart). I have been to Walmart exactly once in the four months I've lived in Ohio. So far, I don't really miss Walmart.

Wal-Mart came to Columbus very late (early-mid-2000s), so Meijer and Kroger had such a massive head start here it was hard for them to do much. At the same time Big Bear and Big Bear Plus shut down Giant Eagle moved in. Even in the surrounding cities only Circleville had a Wal-Mart that had been open a long time (early '90s) to my knowledge (I don't know much about Delaware, Newark, London and Washington CH). Wal-Mart is actually scared of Meijer.

[cl94]

When I lived in OKC, I lived 1/2 mile from Walmart but 3 miles from Crest. However, I usually went to Crest for grocery shopping because they were better all around. Now that I live in Columbus, Ohio, there aren't nearly as many Walmarts around, and there are more choices for grocery shopping (ie. there are 3 Krogers that are closer to where I live than the nearest Walmart). I have been to Walmart exactly once in the four months I've lived in Ohio. So far, I don't really miss Walmart.

Wal-Mart came to Columbus very late (early-mid-2000s), so Meijer and Kroger had such a massive head start here it was hard for them to do much. At the same time Big Bear and Big Bear Plus shut down Giant Eagle moved in. Even in the surrounding cities only Circleville had a Wal-Mart that had been open a long time (early '90s) to my knowledge (I don't know much about Delaware, Newark, London and Washington CH). Wal-Mart is actually scared of Meijer.

I moved to Columbus in 2003 and the only Walmarts then were Easton and Reynoldsburg, possibly a couple on the west side (but I was never there until later). Canal Winchester opened in 2004 or so. Whitehall opened 2006-2007. Every store there is a Supercenter and always was. Meijer is typically nicer than Walmart, but we wouldn't get fresh meat at either because they put in fillers.

Giant Eagle got many of Big Bear's old stores, but they didn't take over the Whitehall locations, so there's a huge hole in their coverage. Main reason why we didn't shop there for everything.

For the size of the city, it's amazing how few chains it has. 2 classic supermarkets and 2 hypermarkets. The Albany/Glens Falls area, which wasn't that much smaller than the Columbus area before their population boom, got Walmart in the early-mid 90s - when Ames and KMart were still all over the place, the latter of which had a couple of "super K centers". This place is still oversaturated with stuff.

[busman_49]

Wal-Mart came to Columbus very late (early-mid-2000s), so Meijer and Kroger had such a massive head start here it was hard for them to do much. At the same time Big Bear and Big Bear Plus shut down Giant Eagle moved in. Even in the surrounding cities only Circleville had a Wal-Mart that had been open a long time (early '90s) to my knowledge (I don't know much about Delaware, Newark, London and Washington CH). Wal-Mart is actually scared of Meijer.

Delaware's was built in 1993 and is still a non-supercenter.  Walmart purchased land in 2007 at US 23 & Cheshire Rd for a new supercenter, but those plans were cancelled in 2008.
http://www.thisweeknews.com/content/stories/2011/10/02/Cheshire-Road-Walmart-nixed-during-economic-downturn.html

[GCrites]

I moved to Columbus in 2003 and the only Walmarts then were Easton and Reynoldsburg, possibly a couple on the west side (but I was never there until later).

Ah there was a Wal-Mart on Hillard-Rome Rd. by 1999. The current Super Wal-Mart was actually a regular Wal-Mart with a Sam's Club next to it. They merged the Wal-Mart and the Sam's Club to make a Super Wal-Mart and opened a new Sam's Club on the other side of the road a few years later. There was an on-road R/C track in the the Sam's Club parking lot that got the boot when they made it a Super Wal-Mart. The Wal-Mart also had a McDonald's in it which made it a double Evil Empire.

[formulanone]

I find it funny that folks here can remember one hundred (or more) route numbers with their termini but can't think of a long-discarded or a fake phone number?

I do this for nearly anything that doesn't actually require a call-back, because it's easy and if anyone wants to bother me, they're going to get a wrong number.

[cl94]

I find it funny that folks here can remember one hundred (or more) route numbers with their termini but can't think of a long-discarded or a fake phone number?

I do this for nearly anything that doesn't actually require a call-back, because it's easy and if anyone wants to bother me, they're going to get a wrong number.

I give places my parents' landline number. They got rid of landline service a year ago.

[US71]

I find it funny that folks here can remember one hundred route numbers with their termini but can't think of a long-discarded or a fake phone number?

I do this for nearly anything that doesn't actually require a call-back, because it's easy and if anyone overhears me, they're going to get a wrong number.

Not exactly relevant, but here's a few

521-3011 Pizza Hut
443-7777 King Pizza
521-8463 Time/Temp
328-7448  Eat $hit
867-5309  Jenny
443-4247
479-5015 (old home phones)
866-6456 (old GF)

[kkt]

I also don't want to give a phone number that might have been reassigned to some unfortunate stranger.

[Brandon]

I find it funny that folks here can remember one hundred route numbers with their termini but can't think of a long-discarded or a fake phone number?

I do this for nearly anything that doesn't actually require a call-back, because it's easy and if anyone overhears me, they're going to get a wrong number.

Not exactly relevant, but here's a few

521-3011 Pizza Hut
443-7777 King Pizza
521-8463 Time/Temp
328-7448  Eat $hit
867-5309  Jenny
443-4247
479-5015 (old home phones)
866-6456 (old GF)

634-5789 Soulsville
BEechwood-45789 Call me and have a date any old time.
36-24-36 Dirty deeds done dirt cheap.

[hbelkins]

OK, who pinned this thread, and why?

[jakeroot]

OK, who pinned this thread, and why?

It was at the top of the off-topic board all the time anyways. I too am pretty confused.