WAL*MART: Low Prices Uber Alles!

The latest Wal*Mart fun...
The very good American Rights at Work campaign says:

Wal-Mart's recent announcement that it will close down its store in Jonquiere, Quebec, is much more about its hostile labor relations strategy than its bottom line. The company says the store will close because it hasn't turned a profit. But, a closer look at Wal-Mart's practice of opening and closing locations suggests its anti-union stance might be a more accurate reason for its decision.

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The More You Sell, The Less You Make

Something is not quite right with that headline. As long as a business has sound fundamentals, how can it be the more a business sells ... the less it makes?

Two words : WAL*MART.

According to a recent BusinessWeek article, only 9 of the 38 companies generating 10% or more of their total sales volume at Wal*Mart are recording above-average profitability and shareholder returns.

Proctor & Gamble, which generates 18% of its sales volume through the Wal*Mart channel, is one of the nine. The article mentions P&G has found prosperity at Wal*Mart by not selling commodity goods like paper towels. Instead P&G focuses on selling goods such as Olay skin products which command higher margins and are not easily commodified by private label producers. [ Brand Autopsy ]

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And if you didn't catch the amazing Frontline episode "Is Wal-Mart Good For America" you can now watch the whole program online.