Walmart: A Discount Store with Consequences

Overview:

Wal-Mart is an American corporation that runs a chain of discount department stores and some warehouse stores. In 2010 it was the world’s largest public corporation in terms of revenue. The company was founded by Sam Walton in 1962 with intentions of making this a “super store”. The first Wal-Mart “super center” opened in 1988 in Missouri. At some point in 2005 there were estimates that Wal-Mart controlled 20% of the retail grocery business. Wal-Mart has different divisions such as “Wal-Mart Supercenter”, Wal-Mart Discount Stores, and Sam’s Club. Sam’s Club is a chain of ware house stores which sell groceries and general merchandise, often in large amounts. Sam’s Club stores are membership based stores and most customers buy annual memberships.

Criticism of Wal-Mart:

Wal-Mart has been criticized for doing what’s called predatory pricing. Predatory pricing is when a store puts products at prices so low, that consumers buy at Wal-Mart only because of it while driving the other stores out of business. This draws customers away from the smaller stores which hurts the community. In May 2010, Wal-Mart’s US stores pulled its Miley Cyrus necklaces and bracelets, three months after the Associated Press told Wal-Mart that the jewelry contained harmful amounts of the toxic metal cadmium. Long-term exposure to cadmium can lead to bone softening and kidney failure which is a serious issue. Wal-Mart has faced a ton of lawsuits and issues with regards to its workforce. These issues involve low wages, poor working conditions, poor health care, as well as issues involving the company’s anti-unions policies. Critics point to Wal-Mart’s high turnover rate as evidence of an unhappy workforce. 

Opinion:

I shop at Wal-Mart to get good deals on products such as Electronic games, and shoes. For the case of video games, those games are overpriced to begin with. When I bought NHL 10 last year it cost me $49.99 plus tax instead of $59.99 at GameStop or Best Buy. Same thing for NBA 2k10, it adds up to around $21 of savings. As for the shoes, I bought a pair of Shaq shoes for $32 and they look great. May not have been the cheapest shoes but they fit fine. I also buy things such as graphic t-shirts, socks, and sports apparel from Wal-Mart since you can’t get a better deal than a $10 Tampa Bay Buccaneers official hat.