Plumbing Huh?

[dbacksfan 2.0]

It's begining to sound like Walmart has just over-saturated the market, and buyers are not shopping there for several reasons, and apparently Target is having issues having gone down the same rabbit hole of the super center big box concept. Here are a couple of articles from last year forecasting the issues with Walmart.

http://www.cnbc.com/id/101380735

http://www.cnbc.com/id/101680657

[rdj]

Groceries are a low margin business...with competition (for some odd reason) getting stiffer at the high end.

I predict Wal*Mart goes small and nimble, similar to a big CVS/Walgreens.  Lower stocking costs, higher margin smaller items, BIG pharmacy, no meat market, tiny bakery.  Visit the Neighborhood Market at 32nd & Harvard.  Much smaller footprint.

[patric]

Here's business insider's take:

http://www.businessinsider.com/wal-mart-suddenly-closes-stores-2015-4

I heard another story yesterday that they were looking at cutting out a layer of management throughout their system. They also cut about 2500 management jobs at Sam's back in January.

Target is also laying of home office personnel.  Must be something in the, uh, water?

http://www.bizjournals.com/twincities/news/2015/03/05/target-layoffs-ceo-brian-cornell-samsclub-2010-wmt.html

What the closed stores seem to have in common is each participated in wage protests.

[AquaMan]

That'll show 'em! No soup for you!

[heironymouspasparagus]

I can see Quebec from my house.

I lived on Quebec for a few years.  Nice neighborhood except for all the cheesy/sleazy car lots on 11th.

[sauerkraut]

I drove by the Tulsa Wal-Mart and noticed cars in the parking lot and two cop cars by the south doors. My guess is the cars are that of  workers who are loading up the store goods onto trucks. Issues about low pay for Wal-Mart workers as being the reason for the closing  does not jive either because Target and other stores pay workers the same amounts or even less. Target stores along with K-Mart  are always pretty empty, many times you see more employees than customers in those  stores. The Wal-Mart Stores are always full of customers. The fast closing of Wal-Mart is  strange indeed. All I can think of is crime/shoplifting and union talk as being the reasons.  The issue of  too many Wal-Mart stores in the area could be a reason but even so they are all busy and full of customers. The store that closed was said to be one of the most busy stores around and they just remodeled that store in 2010 Who Knows!

[RecycleMichael]

Who Knows!

I am guessing not you.

[Townsend]

I am guessing not you.

Damn, right?  His anus must be stretched the size of Texas, the amount of BS he yanks out of it.

[AquaMan]

Stretched, but not to the size of Alaska......
http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/michele-bachmann-the-rapture-is-coming-and-its-obamas-fault/ar-AAboZhG

We need to poll all those who thought she was just the sh*ts and make that list public.

I doubt she understands just what a great thing it would be to be responsible for the rapture. According to scripture only God knows when and how and he has delegated Obama to make it so? Major accomplishment for a Democrat I would say.

[Townsend]

Stretched, but not to the size of Alaska......
http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/michele-bachmann-the-rapture-is-coming-and-its-obamas-fault/ar-AAboZhG

We need to poll all those who thought she was just the sh*ts and make that list public.

I doubt she understands just what a great thing it would be to be responsible for the rapture. According to scripture only God knows when and how and he has delegated Obama to make it so? Major accomplishment for a Democrat I would say.

Thanks Obama!

No seriously, the rapture already happened.  May 21st, 2011.

The rest of us have to deal with Walmart plumbing.

[AngieB]

Stretched, but not to the size of Alaska......
http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/michele-bachmann-the-rapture-is-coming-and-its-obamas-fault/ar-AAboZhG

We need to poll all those who thought she was just the sh*ts and make that list public.

I doubt she understands just what a great thing it would be to be responsible for the rapture. According to scripture only God knows when and how and he has delegated Obama to make it so? Major accomplishment for a Democrat I would say.

And what does this have to do with WalMart closing? Beer-related thread drift is one thing, but you are really reaching in posting this here...

[cannon_fodder]

The union angle is possible, and conspiracy level interesting for sure. But if that was the intent you would think they would want to be more public about it, at least enough so the workers understood what was happening. Otherwise the deterrent effect isn't there. UNLESS - of course, there is more than we know. For instance, if these 5 stores were planning on announcing something.

Suit has been filed regarding the union angle, so the Courts will sort it out.

But I haven't read anything, anywhere, that says the "plumbing story" makes any sense at all. That store is always busy, even if it has more loss than usually they are still making money. You can fix damn near anything and keep the cash flowing if you want to. If shutting down stores for plumbing issues was a thing, someone else would have had it happen by now...

[dbacksfan 2.0]

I think it was an article about the Florida store where they interviewed a store supervisor that had been there for a few years never saw any plumbing issues in the last couple of years.

I think there is a kernel of truth to the union angle, I don't think the theft problem was a real issue, although the Tulsa store seemed to have a higher rate than the others, the amount of theft I think would have to be way higher than what the store was earning per month. The other stores seemed no higher or lower than other stores in those cities according to some of the stories in the news.

I really think that the bigger picture is Walmart is going to change there store system and go to smaller stores and neighborhood markets. The model that Tesco came out with, with the Fresh N Easy stores was a good idea, but they started too many stores, and I don't think the areas they placed the stores were quite ready for the way the stores were run. People were turned off by having to check themselves out and bag their own groceries to save money.

[Ed W]

If I recall right, Walmart closed stores in Canada when workers unionized, and when their meat cutters here did the same, Walmart outsourced the work, eliminating their jobs.

[AquaMan]

I think it was an article about the Florida store where they interviewed a store supervisor that had been there for a few years never saw any plumbing issues in the last couple of years.

I think there is a kernel of truth to the union angle, I don't think the theft problem was a real issue, although the Tulsa store seemed to have a higher rate than the others, the amount of theft I think would have to be way higher than what the store was earning per month. The other stores seemed no higher or lower than other stores in those cities according to some of the stories in the news.

I really think that the bigger picture is Walmart is going to change there store system and go to smaller stores and neighborhood markets. The model that Tesco came out with, with the Fresh N Easy stores was a good idea, but they started too many stores, and I don't think the areas they placed the stores were quite ready for the way the stores were run. People were turned off by having to check themselves out and bag their own groceries to save money.

I shopped the Brookside Market last nite (against my will). Asked a store worker if they anticipated any plumbing problems at their store and she opened up a bit. It seems they are not quite sure what is happening themselves but have heard that WM likes the success of Dollar General, Dollar Saver and those type operations. They may be turning the closing stores into training centers as well where new trainees will not be hired if they cannot pass the "in store" training scenarios. Seems everything is on the table and impeding unions is merely sop rather than the core reason.

The wheel of retailing is turning.