WI: No Wal-Mart?

What if wal-mart never existed? Would mom and pop-type stores continue to thrive? Would the likes of zayre, caldor, etc be more succesful, or would target simply become what wal-mart already is?
 
K-Mart tried the all-in-one concept nearly 40 years ago when its larger stores had K-Mart foods. In fact Sam Walton got his idea for expanding variety stores using K-Mart as a model.

By the early seventies, K-Mart decided to spin off the grocery business, for whatever reason. I lived in Missouri at the time and in Kansas City, the three largest food chains in the U.S., Safeway, A&P and Kroger were very prominent. National Foods was in St. Louis. Today, the big players are gone from those markets, as smaller regional chains dominate. Wal-Mart moved in as the national player.

Now look at Chicago. How many Wal-Mart stores do you see in the city? Who dominates the grocery market: Safeway (aka Dominick's).

Wal-Mart reached critical mass when it took the grocery market. Keep the large food chains healthy and you keep Wal-Mart out of the market.

Wal-Mart would remain a variety discount store, like K-Mart, Woolco and TG&Y, the latter two being extinct.
 
Another point about Wal-Mart is that it is steadfastly non-union. For that reason, you don't see them in many urban markets where unions still dominate.

Grocery stores, especially meat cutters, have strong union traditions.

In 1970, something happened that forever changed the role of labor unions in the U.S. That was the Occupational Safety and Health Act, creating OSHA. The issue of workplace safety, once a union issue, became one of federal compliance. Labor unions would see their ranks shrink over the next several decades.
 
In 1970, something happened that forever changed the role of labor unions in the U.S. That was the Occupational Safety and Health Act, creating OSHA. The issue of workplace safety, once a union issue, became one of federal compliance. Labor unions would see their ranks shrink over the next several decades.

Doesn't the political opinons of most Americans also change during that era. Reagan was elected after all.
 
Reaganomics and deregulation were indeed significant factors in cutting the ranks of the unions. But the presence of OSHA made many believe they were paying dues for something the government was providing anyway.
 

ninebucks

Banned
Wasn't it Wal-Mart that pioneered bar-coding? And the vast databases behind them that allowed stores to more efficiently stock what was selling well, and not stock what didn't move so quickly.

I half remember this from a second-year International Relations lecture, where the lecturer argued that Wal-Mart was one of the founding fathers of the information economy, (she was quite anti-globalisation, so she made this sound like a bad thing), but if what I half-remember is true, and not hyperbolised, then it could be that a Wal-Mart-less world would be hugely different.
 
Wal-Mart really appeals to the American obsession with saving money.

I think you'd probably see something come up to take its place. I mean, look at it now -- it's so popular. That being said, I've only been in a Wal-Mart once, to use the bathroom facilities. I liked that they didn't make me buy anything.

...But I pretty much bankrupt myself grocery shopping at an organic food co-op. It's worth it to me, personally, for the better/healthier food, but not everyone feels that way, or is lucky enough to have the disposable income. EDIT: And, plenty of people just don't live anywhere near an organic food co-op.
 
What if wal-mart never existed? Would mom and pop-type stores continue to thrive? Would the likes of zayre, caldor, etc be more succesful, or would target simply become what wal-mart already is?

Mom and pop type store? When Wal-Mart was born, its great-grandmother has already been dead for some years. Little House on the Prairie plays in the Eighteen-Eighties.

Back to topic: Same shit, different asshole. WI no Wal-Mart is a WI comparable to WI no Northern Bank.

Believe me, I'm in Germany, Wal-Mart failed to gain ground here, because the boat has already become full. Metro purchased the remaining Wal-Mart stores, of course re-branding them Real, who cares? Ah yes, between No.1 Wal-Mart and No.4 Metro, the world still has No.2 Tesco from the UK and No.3 Carrefour from France. All of them the incarnation of the modern hypermarché.
 
Dr. No has an excellent point. When the boat is full, there is little room for a new, dramatic newcomer.

My point is that WalMart succeeded because it made a long term merger of the daily commodity of perishable groceries into a variety store that also sold auto repair and tires, not to mention pharmaceuticals.

Unlike the German market fleet, the American market fleet consists of "ships" that need to be replaced regularly. That is why we Americans are stuck with WalMart. And the alternatives I grew to appreciate are gone.
 

NomadicSky

Banned
It's really sad to say that I wouldn't exist if it weren't for Wal-Mart.

Don't get me wrong I think it's an evil place that brought down American industry with their slave labor cheaply made goods.

My dad was moved to New Albany by Wal-Mart where he was working as a store manger.

That's how he met my mom. No Wal-Mart no me and I'm sure I'm not the only person who exist because of Wal-Mart. Although I think the country would be better off.
 
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