Thinking outside Wal-Mart | Houston Chronicle

[Ediacara]

Thinking outside Wal-Mart
In a fierce market being rocked by the big box from Arkansas, rival grocery stores are getting creative as they fight back

By DAVID KAPLAN
Copyright 2004 Houston Chronicle

The Houston grocery business has gone through big changes lately: Albertsons came and went, Safeway bought Randalls, H-E-B launched a major Houston offensive, dollar stores with grocery aisles appeared, and many more ethnic consumers arrived.

But nothing has shaken up the industry like the Wal-Mart Supercenter, a behemoth gobbling up grocery market share like it's popcorn.

In 2000, Wal-Mart Supercenters had a 2.3 percent share of the Houston market. By early this year it had shot up to 18.47 percent, second only to Kroger.

Nationally, for every Wal-Mart Supercenter that opens, two supermarkets will go under, according to Retail Forward.

More at the Houston Chronicle

[Catch22Dem]

I hate the Wal-Mart grocery stores

They suck. Set aside everything that is evil about Wal-Mart, and their grocery store still sucks!

[dumpster_baby]

1. I live a block from a walmart "neighborhood" grocery store in Houston

It is not a supercenter--it sells only groceries. But we do not shop there--there are not many specials, and the fruits and veggies are expensive.

There are many stores better than Walmart.

[NMDemDist2]

3. i find Sam's Club (super SuperWallyMart) produce to be

one day away from spoiled over and over again when I did catering and river trips professionally

if you didn't use it in 48 hours, it was dead

i don't use the Walton stores for anything cuz they suck in quality and customer service

Costco, Target and Safeway or Fry's (in AZ) get my hard earned cash TYVM

[Eloriel]

4. Meat is "Select" not "Choice"

in our area, according to my husband. He woudln't touch it with a 10-ft. pole.

[efhmc]

9. Just curious, do you live off Gessner?There is a store near

the Kempwood intersection and one of my conservative friends hates it and will not shop there, hoping it will go out of business. She says it is ruining the other stores. She loves Fiesta.

[dumpster_baby]

11. no, near meyerland (hillcroft& braeswood)

Most of the supercenters referenced in the article are way out away from the city center away. I don't go out there....

I really don't see why people shop for food at walmart anyway. Why would we want to pay twice as much for fruits and veggies?!

[RodneyCK2]

2. I read somewhere that 60% of their products...

come from China who has no labor laws (ironic since they tote American products). Yes, small children in sweat shops are making all those low-cost goods.

I luv Wal-Mart, like a boil on an a*s.

[liberalmike27]

5. The

Well, the only thing that will really stop the behemoth of Walmart will be both the counter-actions of real people against their abuses of the labor market, and small businesses. I agree that is having some effect.

But some nice laws would be good too. Make vendors sell at the same prices to all stores, for instance. Walmart would lose the competitive advantage of buying in quantity, so other stores could compete on price.

Another thing that absolutely has to happen is, getting the employees organized, perhaps by government fiat. The forces, and an actual union busting squad from within the company, are far too strong for the employees to ever be able to unionize themselves. It should be open, public, and done through the phone and Internet, getting all employees registered outside of Walmart, internationally if possible.

They do a lot of other stuff, but if these two things were done, their supremacy would be ended, and most of the problem solved. Most people don't realize that Walmart has become the largest employer in at least 15 states (as of my reading Newsweek two or three months ago, it may be more). An employer this large should be required to engage in allowing employees collective bargaining.

[schultzee]

6. Boycott the pigs. I do.

[lottie244]

7. Then, after RW owns all the grocery stores we will all have to buy food

from them. This isn't 'capitalism' this is 'conglomerism.'

[xchrom]

8. indeed

[Mari333]

10. When the supercenter moved here we lost our best store

and I lost my job.
I wont set foot in Wal Mart.

[William Bloode]

12. Here in my area.......

They already had a old style super center, the kind without the full grocery store. Well several yrs ago they tried to buy more land and build one of the new type super centers complete with grocery store. This was stopped by the citizens of our town in quick order.

Well to get around it they bought the plot of land next to the existing place, and helped the attaching Lowe's hardware build themselves a new building. While of course they take over the vacant part left by Lowe's, and just remodel the whole thing to be the new super center. Slick way around i must admit.

Jokes on them though. Bad location, far away from any residential area. Stuck right in the middle of our shopping district. It's so bad getting in and out of the area no one is gonna make the special trip just to grocery shop.

[Skittles]

13. you can see the curvature of the earth in those f***ing stores

:puke:

[Swamp Rat]

14. I HATE Wal-Mart!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We voted against the Wal-Mart planned for the Garden District in New Orleans. Wal-Mart financed the elections of new city counsel members that rejected the earlier counsel's vote. Then they tore down housing for poor black folks, displacing them, and began construction AGAINST OUR WILL! This Wal-Mart will destroy one of the greatest communities/small business districts in the USA, along Magazine Street.

The people who own and run Wal-Mart have no souls. I want to say VERY horrible things right now but I may be banned from DU if I made my thoughts public.

:mad: :grr:

[MaineDem]

15. I haven't been in a WalMart for at least 5 years

I despise them!

Kudos to those who boycott this horrible company!

[fedsron2us]

16. Cargo Karma

Kunstler's article 'Cargo Karma' which compares American attitudes to Walmart with the cargo cults of the Pacific islands is both hilarious and perceptive. Well worth a read

http://www.oriononline.org/pages/oo/curmudgeon/index_curmudgeon.html

[Democat]

17. Support Costco, boycott Walmart!

Costco is far more worker friendly!