21c to partner with Wal-Mart heirs

Robin,
I am not yelling but I don’t like to read comments or editorial on people slamming the big box stores or chain restaurants. They all provide jobs and goods for those who choose to shop there. Trust me, I try to shop and eat locally too which I feel most foodies do the same.
Just a raw spot rubded the wrong way, but a good banter back and forth.
Have a safe and cool weekend, Doug
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Again tell us where you shop.

I try to buy locally as much as I can, Doug. Please don't yell at me, though. When people demand that I do this or do that, I tend to dig in my heels.

Doug I appreciate your loyalty to Walmart for whatever your reasons are, Yes, they employ a good number of folks and I have friends that work (happily) for Walmart. Walmart has their place in our economic system. But when I read this from you:

Wal-mart is a true American company

I cracked up. Perhaps you're too young to remember the HUGH push Walmart did back in the 70s to "Buy American" and shop and Walmart because everything sold at Walmart was made in the good old USA. Sounded good until it was later exposed that Walmart was buying clothing manufactured in China and sewing "MADE IN THE USA" labels in them. Kind of gave me an idea of what Walmart was all about and how they viewed the American public.

Correction...Wal-Mart in the 1970's was still small , only in about 5 states. The buy American Program started in the late 80's and it did keep alot of companies from folding in the US and moving to Mexico.There was never a claim that WM bought everything in the US. The textile company is very different however, most if not all of the apparel that Wal-Mart purchases is produced in the same warehouses that Macys, Dillards ect... purchase their apparel. Next time check the label of your Liz or Ralph and see what third world country they are produced in. A reminder of the buy American Program from WM, they kept the Fruit of the Loom company in Bowling Green from folding and moving to Mexico. Like I said earlier the company has some good and some bad points about it, but that is with any company. I did spend almost 20 years with WM starting from ground level working my way to upper management and I did not consider myself a low skill and under paid worker. I left only to raise my child.

Walmart has always been a place where one can observe art. For evidence, simply check out the people of walmart website...http://www.peopleofwalmart.com/?page_id=9798 ....amazing stuff there. (*or visit after midnight for free live shows 24/7). But in all seriousness, I've lost a lot of my respect for 21C.

Here's a fashion example. "21st century US":

I meant that it is a U.S.own company. There are very few stores that just sell U.S. made products. Where do you think all of our jobs have gone? I do remember when they tried to say that they sold all U.S. made product. Shows my age. Thanks for the comments.
Doug

Doug I appreciate your loyalty to Walmart for whatever your reasons are, Yes, they employ a good number of folks and I have friends that work (happily) for Walmart. Walmart has their place in our economic system. But when I read this from you:

Wal-mart is a true American company

I cracked up. Perhaps you're too young to remember the HUGH push Walmart did back in the 70s to "Buy American" and shop and Walmart because everything sold at Walmart was made in the good old USA. Sounded good until it was later exposed that Walmart was buying clothing manufactured in China and sewing "MADE IN THE USA" labels in them. Kind of gave me an idea of what Walmart was all about and how they viewed the American public.

[quote="Debbie Gray"]Correction...Wal-Mart in the 1970's was still small , only in about 5 states. The buy American Program started in the late 80's and it did keep alot of companies from folding in the US and moving to Mexico.There was never a claim that WM bought everything in the US.

I respectfully disagree.
This from the Walmart Corp web site...

In 1979, Walmart became the first company to reach $1 billion in sales in such a short period of time. The company closed out the decade with 276 stores, 21,000 associates and $1.248 billion in sales, and the addition of its 11th state, Alabama.

Walmart was in KY in 1973.

A national "Made in the USA" campaign actually started in the late 1920's. It's not a new idea and obviously not originated by Walmart but it has always been part of the Walmart pitch to "Buy American". Which is where my problem (or one of them) is with Walmart. Why do they promote buying American made products when around 85% (according to PBS) of their products come from outside the USA? If Walmart took their own advice and bought American can you imagine how many textile mills alone would return to the USA? It seems a bit hypocritical and misleading to me.

Please don't get me wrong, I am happy you had a long and apparently happy employment with Walmart. I certainly don't fault you for your many years of faithful service to them. I DO find fault with their misleading advertising practices. If Walmart is going to advise the public to "Buy American" then it stands to reason that they should as well.

Their campaign to Buy American was just that. Buy American when possible. There were and are so many companies that fold up and go south or overseas. Wal-Mart can not control every business from leaving the US. They have saved alot but not everyone could be.
As far as the pictures from inside a Wal-Mart do you think they are staged? I never saw anything like that in all my time working in the stores. I will continue to shop WM because they offer the best prices and we are on a budget. I think it is smart to save money and not give it away to another store.

Wal-Mart: The high cost of low price. It's a movie. Watch it.

Their campaign to Buy American was just that. Buy American when possible. There were and are so many companies that fold up and go south or overseas. Wal-Mart can not control every business from leaving the US. They have saved alot but not everyone could be.
As far as the pictures from inside a Wal-Mart do you think they are staged? I never saw anything like that in all my time working in the stores. I will continue to shop WM because they offer the best prices and we are on a budget. I think it is smart to save money and not give it away to another store.

There's an interesting irony in your post, in that while Wal-Mart cannot control every business from leaving the US, it sure has its sights on controlling as many businesses as possible.

I'm not against low prices. I'm just against a fiction that those low prices come free of consequence.

I will continue to shop WM because they offer the best prices and we are on a budget. I think it is smart to save money and not give it away to another store.

Can you elaborate on this point? I don't catch your drift on the last sentence.

As far as the pictures from inside a Wal-Mart do you think they are staged? I never saw anything like that in all my time working in the stores.

We have seen several of "those pictures" in local Wal-Marts! If you look at the captions they are from Wal-Marts all over the country. I have seen several on the website from Louisville and one of the vehicle in the parking lot pictures was some one we know!!

But in all seriousness, I've lost a lot of my respect for 21C.

But why? The Waltons made their gazillions by being more ruthlessly efficent at selling people stuff than K-Mart or Kroger. The Brown's made their gazillions by... well, by ruining people's livers. Now both families are (and you can argue about the scope), giving back to their communities by spending metric funk-tons of money in investment, bringing art to the people, and in the case of the Waltons spending loads of money on education.

You can argue about Sam Walton and Walmart's business practices til you're blue in the face. But if the heirs want to make Bentonville a better place by bringing top notch art to the common man, I'd seriously like to know what's wrong wíth that? Or does Louisville (suppressed snicker) need to feel better about itself by keeping the likes of Bentonville an art/culture-free zone?

I guess we can find for the oddly dressed every where. Just take a drive thru the highlands on an given day and you will likley see the same sights as on the picutres on the net.

You can argue about Sam Walton and Walmart's business practices til you're blue in the face. But if the heirs want to make Bentonville a better place by bringing top notch art to the common man, I'd seriously like to know what's wrong wíth that? Or does Louisville (suppressed snicker) need to feel better about itself by keeping the likes of Bentonville an art/culture-free zone?

This is a valid point and harkens back to what I said in an earlier post about community responsibility. I am happy to see them giving a bit back to Bentonville. And the fact that it's in the field of art makes it even sweeter since local government usually drops the ball in that field in favor of sports.