NYT/Reuters: Wal-Mart to Cut Prices After Poor Sales

[DeepModem Mom]

Wal-Mart to Cut Prices After Poor Sales
By REUTERS
Published: November 30, 2004


NEW YORK (Reuters) - Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the No. 1 U.S. retailer, on Tuesday signaled it will cut prices in the weeks before Christmas after a strategy against deep discounts backfired on the first weekend of the holiday shopping season.

The retailer said it had taken a ``more balanced'' approach to discounting than in previous years on the day after Thanksgiving -- known as Black Friday, as it used to be the day that retailers moved into profit -- but this dampened sales.

Wal-Mart has cut its forecast for November sales, saying traffic in the last week of the month was down and sales were disappointing on Black Friday, one of the year's biggest shopping days that kicks off the holiday shopping season.

``We are disappointed with our sales performance for the Friday after Thanksgiving and the full weekend,'' Wal-Mart spokeswoman Sharon Weber said.

``While our prices were generally as low as they have ever been, our competition was even more aggressive. We have learned from this and will move quickly to respond to what our customer has told us during the rest of the holiday season,'' she said....


http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/business/business-retail-walmart.html

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

1. Squirm, you bastards.

Squirm.

[LifeDuringWartime]

4. when walmart squirms

its probably a sign we'll all be squirming soon enough

[The Backlash Cometh]

48. I don't know about that.

Think about this for a moment. First, how did our parents do it when the depression came about? They saved, they did without, they even became creative and resourceful.

Walmart's loss sales may just reflect different choices that Americans are making. And, besides, it's not American manufacturing jobs we're hurting by not going to Wal Mart, it's overseas manufacturers that are losing their consumer base.

[warrens]

54. Not necessarily

We may just be seeing the decline of a business model. Sales at Best Buy, Costco and dollar stores are doing just fine. Not everyone shops by price only anyway, and at WM, that's about the only attraction.

[LSparkle]

2. you couldn't pay me to shop there anyway

Hope they lose a bundle this holiday season.

[Proud2BAmurkin]

3. Won't help. Millions are boycotting.

Walmart is in denial.

[tewl]

41. I haven't shopped there in over 5 years

Feels real good! :thumbsup:

[Career Prole]

5. They're on the run! Don't weaken!

Make 'em eat the whole inventory!
:toast:

[nadinbrzezinski]

6. cry me a river Walmart, cry me a river

now fucking die....you unamerican company...

Why do you hate us for wanting Unions and a pay so we can afford your shit?

[ashling]

14. They hate us for our freedoms

I believe that is the main criteria for being a terrorist organization.

[OutsourceBush]

26. good one

[Anakin Skywalker]

7. My Boycott is WORKING!

Glad to hear this latest news. :) Who's Next? Line up these outsourcers for me.

[mtnester]

8. Too bad...so sad

not not not not NOT

Last time they saw any of my money was 1984.

Proud to be 20 years free of Wally World!

[Bluzmann57]

9. Been thinking about this

and I wonder if the massive boycott of Wal-Mart is having some effect? I believe it is and is showing up now, finally. Hoefully, Wal-Mart will suffer some consequences from this slump. I was going to start a thread about this, but it would die if I did.

[hatrack]

30. Don't know about boycott effects per se . . .

My guess is simpler and uglier - blue-collar and middle-class America just ran out of money, plain and simple.

[SlavesandBulldozers]

10. they think its the prices?

they really are seriously delusional.

[central scrutinizer]

11. we already subsidize their workers

with our taxes - their wages are so low that many Wal-Mart employees have to go on food stamps or other public assistance or use Medicaid to cover their families. Fuck those assholes - I have never set foot in a Walmart and never will. Look at Costco for a viable alternative - their workers make a living wage (and their execs contribute to Democratic candidates).

[The Doctor.]

12. Doesn't matter - the slide will continue..

Lemme guess, they'll also have to start laying off workers, creating more unemployment and making sales drop even further...

Unless they figure out how to outsource in-store service.

[SlavesandBulldozers]

15. you got it

now when they start laying off workers they'll blame it on the holiday slump when, in fact, it will be due to a broad base of americans deciding never to go there.

[fedsron2us]

16. The layoffs are already planned

A Wal-Mart employee stated on another board that his stores Blitz (day after Thanksgiving) sales were down $22,000 dollars on last year. Apparently, they had over 5 pallets of their hottest commodity, $22.95 DVD players, unsold at the end of the day. In addition there were 12 $49.99 6 drawer tool boxes left over and 20 pallets of 27" TV/DVD combos that did not sell. All hiring has been halted for 6 weeks. The firings will start if there is no pick up within two months. It seems that the recession has now really started to bite in the USA. China will be feeling the blow back soon. Wal-Mart and all the other outsourcing bastards only have themselves to blame. No job equals no income equals no one to buy your lousy products.

edit for spelling

[LifeDuringWartime]

32. "China will be feeling the blow back soon."

maybe thats why theyre holding that east asian free trade summit

[The Doctor.]

36. Wow - for a minute you sounded like a firesale ad....

Made me wanna run right out and git that toolbox.

:D

[fortyfeetunder]

45. Reminds me of the old Billy Preston tune

Lyrics go like this

"Nothin' from nothin' leaves nothin'....ya gotta have somethin'...

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

13. Not necessarily.

One of my best friends is a conservative(I know, I know...we are an odd couple, but he's got a heart). He refuses, for all the typical reasons, to shop Walmart.

It is unlikely he is unique.

[trogdor]

55. Well, "buy American" is sort of a conservative issue.

Think about it. Do you see very many Toyotas (autos, not trucks) with flags, ribbons, and W04 bumperstickers on them? They were the ones who started that "buy American even though it's crap" shit back in the 1970's.

Now, so that I don't sound so much like a troll, I still believe in buying quality, and letting the rest take care of itself. Problem is, most of the junk at Wal*Mart was made by the lowest worldwide bidder, quality be damned. It is reasonable to expect American workers to compete on quality, but it is not reasonable to expect them to compete on wages, especially when you're competing against someone making 33 cents an hour.

[Trajan]

17. Lower prices ? ...

I dont have a pot to piss in OR the proverbial window to throw it out of .....

I NEED A FUCKING JOB before I can pay EVEN LOW PRICES!

I USED to get over $25 per hour, and worked overtime to boot ....

I bought EVERYTHING and ANYTHING my weak little mind fancied ...

NOW ? ... the best I can do is a TEMP job paying $7.50 per hour ..... and that job was over 10 days ago (just in time for xmas) ...

Now ? ... I stare at December 25th, with hazy figures of my three teenage children and hardworking wife looming in the fog ....

Welcome to the GOP vision of America .... super rich fat cat supporters ... and no middle class ....

FUCK Walmart ...

and FUCK the GOP .....

[stevedeshazer]

27. Welcome, brother

Your story is mine. My temp job lasts until mid-January at best. First job in 20 months, at 40% of my previous earnings.

:thumbsup:

[Geek_Girl]

18. I noticed their Stock Prices were dropping today

I don't think this is going to be a good holiday season for retailers in general. But I think I'm going to be doing my holiday shopping among local businesses and try and stay away from the Mall.

[DeepModem Mom]

21. The article, re. stock price fall --

"Wal-Mart shares fell 4 percent on Monday after the retailer cut its sales forecast, closing at $53.15 on the New York Stock Exchange. In pre-market trading on the Inet electronic trading system on Tuesday, the shares were trading at $53.18."

[The Jacobin]

19. BUY MORE USELESS CRAP!

[Zech Marquis]

20. i hope the Geat Wallmart dies quickly

I personally get sick in my stomach seing some of my family members happily shop there. Not ME! I want the great wallmart to suffer, just like they've made so many of their underpaid employees suffer from their facists policies. So this is ndeed good news to me :evilgrin:

[SlavesandBulldozers]

22. me too

this is best news ive seen in months.

[durablend]

23. While I'd relish Smiley Mart disintergrating

I'm pretty sure they have the knowledge that they're in effect invincible..."you can't do anything to us...the economy would go straight into the crapper without us--HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

[NashVegas]

24. I Wonder How Target Fared?

only a small step up the scale

[JennC]

25. I haven't been in Walmart since Halloween. I was a three times a week

shopper there before the election. Now I am putting my money where my mouth is.
I am also taking great joy in spreading this trend as far as I am able. A conservative friend of mine and I were discussing groceries and how the prices have gone up and I told her I have started buying all of those items I use to get from walmart at my grocery store because even if they items cost more I still end up saving money by not being in Walmart adding impulse items to the cart. I also don't *see* a bunch of items I think I need to go back and buy a few days later. She thought she might do the same ;-)
Now all I need to do is locate a local Costco and I will be all set. Are they affiliated with BJ's stores?

[Politicub]

28. Weird

This reuters article is like an advertisement for wal-mart.

"We're cutting prices for the holidays.... we're craaaaazy!"

And people doubt the exsistence of a corporate media - lol

[NMDemDist2]

29. Walmart supports abortion -- maybe the word is getting out

since WalMart uses lots and lots of chinese made goods, they support abortion for all the chinese workers that the state imposes, right?

[Digit]

31. They could offer DVD players for $1.00 and I STILL would not buy one.

I absolutely refuse to step foot inside of a Walmart.

[BeatleBoot]

33. I refuse to shop there or Sam's Club

[gorbal]

34. This was bound to happen if Bush won

I think alot of people have known that Walmart gives to Republicans, and Bush "winning" again probably stiffend people's resolve not to shop there. I would sometimes go to get CD's for my brother there in Maine becasue there is nowhere else, but this year I will absolutely refuse to go in the store, even if I seem strange to my relatives.

[C.C.D.]

35. As much as I dislike Wal*Mart, it is the source of my child support (m)

so please don't pray too hard for mass layoffs.

[cliss]

37. Heh heh....(evil snicker)

I wonder if our boycott worked? I read that Walled-in Mart is the worst of the worst.

I called my mom today and asked her never to shop there again. She said OK, for DU she'll do it. Called some other family members. They were on board.

Tomorrow, I'm going to print the list of 'Blue companies' of preferred companies. I'm going to distribute them at the office and ask everyone to participate.

[winston61]

38. The more people know about these bastards.,

the more they will hate their business practices. You can't screw workers, vendors and manufacturers for ever. If Americans would pull together, we could bring them to their knees. Up the boycott!

[pfitz59]

39. Not just Walmart....

Friend of mine works in a mall. Said day after T-day was very busy, but sales have been a bust since then! Seems shoppers shot their wads, and are now empty! I forsee enormous retail woes come next quarter! (Oh yes, also forsee sympathy "tax-cuts" for the Waltons and other uber-rich folk!)

[queenjane]

53. Was just at the mall . . .

picking up my free panties from Victoria's Secret. (They continue to send me coupons for free underwear, which I happily redeem even though I never actually buy anything.) Had to cut through Sears, and almost everything in the store was already marked down 30 - 50%. No one I know is buying much this year, clearance sales or no. The day after Christmas, they'll probably be giving the goods away. I, for one, don't need any more sweaters, socks, scarves, earrings, etc. Eventually, you actually have enough, which is disastrous for an economy that staggers forward on consumer spending.

[DeepModem Mom]

58. They're giving away free panties? Welcome to DU, queenjane!

[bhikkhu]

40. If Walmart was giving all their stuff away...

I still wouldn't set foot in one of their stores.

[are_we_united_yet]

42. That did it!

I'm going to Wal mart now.

[OrangeCountyDemocrat]

43. SHOP AT COSTCO

[lonestarnot]

44. I don't care if they give their crap away! I wouldn't have it!

Walmart you bushie bunch! Ruining America! You should be ashamed! You china sweat shop pukerator! Cheap buncha crap they have there thrown together by 5 year olds that work 12 to 14 hours a day.

[Obamarama]

46. This is good on one hand, bad on the other....

Well, it doesn't sound like there's a lot of foot stomping and "whoo-whoo-ing" going on at Wal-Mart this week!

I can't STAND Wal-Mart. I have only been in a Wal-Mart store a handful of times, but it has been years since I've been in one. I don't generally go in for the whole boycotting thing because I suspect boycotts usually don't make a big enough of a dent to send a strong message. That being said, Wal-Mart is the exception. If I had to go 30 miles out of my way to shop somewhere other than Wal-Mart I would. I hope they choke on their corporate policies.

The downside to this is that people may lose their jobs. As poorly as Wal-Mart pays and treats their employees, the people working there need their jobs. The satisfaction that comes from seeing Wal-Mart suffer pretty much evaporates knowing that people may be losing their jobs.

[winston61]

49. The innocent must suffer for the guilty

People work at walmart because there is no place else to work in many towns. That is just part of the shameful legacy of walmart. Walmart is a cancer on the body of America. Just as millions of innocents die every year from cancer, millions of innocents will suffer from walmarts business practices. I don't shop there and I encourage everyone I know to boycott. They are nothing more than evil, un-American parasites that will destroy American commerce and the dollar.

[Dulcinea]

47. See what happens when people don't have jobs?

Bet the dollar stores are doing just fine this year!

[goforit]

50. AHHHHHHHHHH.......too bad suckers!!!

[LakeCohoon]

51. Perhaps...

...everybody has this Xmas shopping thing figured out: Wait until the last minute and get more for your money.

This plays right into my hands as I always wait until the last minute anyway.

Merry Christmas

[nolabels]

52. Them bastards can kiss my ass

I wouldn't go in their dumps if they paid me to take the shit :puke:

[noshenanigans]

56. You just know those DVD players are crap, too

They'll all be broken by next year. I think people are finally starting to catch on to the lack of (basic) quality. You get what you pay for- one cheap-ass busted HP was enough to make one of my coworkers swear off the Wall forever.

As Fearless Leader says, "Fool me once, shame on — shame on you. Fool me — you can't get fooled again."

[DeepModem Mom]

57. Hi, noshenanigans -- welcome to DU!

[AP]

59. A victory for consumers? Don't buy next weekend and see if the prices drop

even more.