Walmart Says We Want to Crush You Up …
In a recent Time Magazine feature, there is a discussion about Walmart’s new “Project Impact.”
Apparently it’s a threefold plan:
One goal of Project Impact is cleaner, less cluttered stores that will improve the shopping experience. Another is friendlier customer service. A third: home in on categories where the competition can be killed.
How does it affect us, the CAR or toy buyer?
GOAL ONE
Frankly, I don’t really care how cluttered or uncluttered a store is if IT CARRIES WHAT I WANT TO BUY. Frankly, I would rather go to the store with TOO much inventory than one with not enough. I don’t really get why you unclutter a store to REMOVE INVENTORY.
Yes, it’s fine to remove 50-lb drums of parafin or lard but toys? … or the other brainiac move, let’s remove them from the SELLING FLOOR and put them in gardening …
Maybe GOAL ONE should be to put MORE PRODUCTS within reach of customers instead of making it more DIFFICULT TO BUY THINGS. Merely showing off more linoleum is not really much of a plan when you get down to it. If that was your goal, isn’t this the perfect store?
Finally, an aisle wide enough to drive a Boeing 737 … isn’t that the goal of every retailer?
The store is uncluttered …
GOAL TWO – Better customer service.
I really don’t need much tech support when I’m at a Walmart. I promise not to ask the electronics clerk if the $98 Blu Ray player is DTS 5.1 or HDMI 2.0 if you would promise to freakin’ stock the toy shelves?
Deal?
GOAL THREE – Put competitors out of business …
“They’ve knocked out four of the top five toy retailers, and are now going after the last one standing, Toys “R” Us.”
Hey, it’s free enterprise and capitalism. Some will succeed and some will fail but again, wouldn’t it be a fairer fight if everyone actually stocked their shelves with CARS? Remember the first rule of FIGHT CLUB is to stage fights in dark alleys and places where no one can find you to talk about fight club … Oh wait, retail is NOT a fight club … it’s supposed to be out in the open and open for all yet, Mattel, Target, TRU & WM treats it like Fight Club.
What?
What are you talking about?
CARS?
Never heard of it.
And if you ask me again, I will kidney punch you (see GOAL TWO).
Yea, yea, I know – WM is supposed to be the greatest retailer ever … um, okay – if you say so … maybe I’m just not shopping in the right yarn-ammo-kidney bean department? Maybe it’s only toys where they sell about about 40% of what they could sell but hey, it’s the world’s greatest retailer with the world’s greatest inventory and logistics system EVER … who am I to question a giant primate?
Maybe without that thumbs things, it’s hard to type on the ordering system?
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10 September 2009
88 Comments
This all reverts back to Mattel’s case assortment. Why would any store buy 1000’s of cases of Cars when there are only a couple good sellers and the rest pegwarmers that they can’t get rid of. Not sticking up for any store but they are all out to make money and not lose money or sit on stock. Again this should all be focused at Mattel as why they put 2 or 3 new cars and the rest McQueens and Ramones in a case. These stores read reports on their inventory stock and see what moves and doesn’t and buy accordingly. Electronics is the big money maker for most and they favor that as it all comes back to what makes money and the all mighty dollar. Small toy stores can’t afford to buy cases of toys to only have a couple sell out of the case and sit on the others as they lose money and go out of business.
Here in Northern Lower Michigan we ONLY have Wal-Mart and K-Mart.
Wal-Mart opened ALOT of stores and caused “most” Toys-R-Us, Kay-Bee Toys, a few Target stores, and several K-Marts to go out of business!
Since then, Wal-Mart has CLOSED many of those “new” extra stores (in the areas where they caused TRU and others to go out of business) and GREATLY REDUCED the selection and stock in its remaining stores.
The nearest Wal-Mart to us is a 30 minute drive and they are called a “Resort” store. The Manager said they do not sell alot of toys so, they do not stock alot of toys – including NOT stocking any Wal-Mart exclusives?
Even with a VERY LIMITED selection – half the toy department is ALWAYS empty and the store is ALWAYS a mess.
(a store cannot sell nor make a profit from what it does not stock?)
Wal-Mart can clean its stores and can SOMEHOW improve service all it wants to but, NO ONE will shop there if they continue to NOT stock product!!!
When we did have Target stores – they were the RUDEST stores to shop and actually went out of their way to NOT SELL toys to its customers!?!
Because Target thinks they are better than everyone else (including its own customers) they tend to be more expensive on prices!
Toys-R-Us was OK – if you wanted games or baby dolls but, NOT if you wanted the newest or latest figure or die-cast car. TRU’s selection was ALWAYS very limited, even lacking – getting product months after other stores.
K-Mart would be great IF they stocked more product on a regular basis – NOT just on collector event days! Also, their prices tend to be more expensive on what little they do have.
well there you have it.. we have made a full circle.. then it is decided.. everyone from T5 will start our own store. great customer service, cars will ALWAYS be stocked along with anything else pixar/disney related and prices will always be FAIR and not INCREASE just because we feel like it 🙂 hmm wow wouldnt that be perfect LOL
lol like that would happen… we T5ers already increase the prices…. just check the trading forum… 😛
Here’s another fine example of the values and morals brought forth by our friends at Wal-Mart:
http://www.walletpop.com/blog/2009/09/10/pepsi-walmart-tag-team-marketing-schemes-with-doritos-in-toy-ai/?icid=webmail|wbml-aol|dl3|link4|http%3A%2F%2Fwww.walletpop.com%2Fblog%2F2009%2F09%2F10%2Fpepsi-walmart-tag-team-marketing-schemes-with-doritos-in-toy-ai%2F
I know the link looks weird, but it will go through if you click it.
I’m expecting news of a crazed parent who will take everything out of the toy aisle and move it cart-by-cart to the grocery section. Hmm, maybe I’ll try it tomorrow!
Oh yes the absolutely stupid make NO sense 8′ section of pepsi products and frito lay chips made by pepsi corporation right next to overpriced classic hasbro games in a toy aisle that is 90% mattel and all typical toys boys like.
They didn’t put this junk in the barbie aisle or the preschool aisle NO its dumped right in the middle of the diecast aisle taking up precious space that could be better used by more cars.
Funny to me that this is a long post with many comments, entirely about WalMart and its connection to a Pixar product, but no one has mentioned Pixar’s own vision for where WalMart might be heading — the “BuyNLarge” from Wall-E. What makes me most nervous about WalMart is the loss of competition. I’m not sure I trust WalMart to keep “rollin’ back prices” if they’re not competing against anyone.
Good point! They have already been rollin’ up prices if you ask me. The savings, if any, aren’t worth the trip to the store if you ask me.
Has Walmart ever heard of a sale either? Target rocks it with their sales. When they reset after a holiday, etc – the CLEARANCE! I load up with about 2 carts of toys on those days. 75% off? Awesome! And they clear all that space to move in new toys that will sell. They just did that here.. immediately put out a store full of new toys – that they have already restocked twice because they are selling so well. Sure they may lose a little by putting things at 75% off, but at least they get something out of those items and clear a bunch of room for higher margin new toys!
Walmart clearance – “Now $30.00, was $30.97” give me a break. That just ticks me off. Trying to get you to buy it because it says clearance.. but when you look at the tag and realize you are only saving 3%… insulting.
Our old manager that left last winter was awesome he hated clearance. So it would go on clearance esp. in toys 2 weeks later he’d start his 1/2 off of clearance price so you were getting awesome deals.
I got the step 2 train table for 17.50 normally $99 2 years ago and its perfect as a cars race track. LOL
Clothes would go to .50-1 including adult.
Now the new manager would rather have clearance sit for months on end than toss what doesn’t sell at his inflated prices.
our store in our tiny town went through this remodel in may and june it is absolutely horrid.
1/2 of the store is electronics, 1/4 food the rest of the store everything else.
Toys is maybe 10 aisles, cars has a 4′ section sparsely filled and hot wheels went from 12′ to maybe 8.
I’m reminded of the satire cartoon episodes about the mega stores that come into town and drive the other business out. The few that come to mind are Simpsons, Family Guy, and South Park. I can’t remember if King of the Hill did one.
King of the Hill had Mega Lo Mart….
Just checked my satnav(gps)
Nearest Walmart 5637KM
Nearest Target 5618KM
Nearest TRU 170KM
Nearest ASDA(Owned by Walmart)68KM
So good news for me! If Walmart is decluttering they may send the stock to ASDA! Hurrah!
I go to the US every year, Chicago mostly, and I prefer Target as it seems brighter and cleaner but what would I know? Tourist.
It is not all bad!
Nearest Smyths(big Irish toy store) 18KM. Lots of cars but man you would not believe the assortment we get!
No, you’ve picked up a lot, the shopping experience at Target is much more satisfying than Walmart. They don’t have any cockroaches at Target, anyway. 😉
Yea… First they stopped Lay-a-ways so one can NO LONGER put all those McQueens up until needed,
and now they are taking away the perfect hiding spot, by replacing the bottom storage shelf/box with a shelf supported by 4 bed post type frame…whereas any one could just see if something was under it????
Also, no need to place things up into the restroom celing, and then go back later to get them… WHY you ask, because the Restroom will still be closed for remolding/repair for another month or two…
Why it’s getting so that the only place to shop for Disney/Pixar Cars is at K-Mart… If only they would turn the over head lights on, so one could see/find something!!!
Yea I want it like it was beforewhen we had: Lay-a-aways, Hiding places, Lights to shop by and oh yes.. The $2.59 (98% Die-Cast) McQueen, and the #0.05 Coke
Word, Bobbie … Word…
I heard Kmart is going to turn off all the lights, and give shoppers flashlights as they enter the store. They’re also going to do away with them new-fangled electronic cash registers, and go with the manual ones from the 1940’s. “Hey, get me, I’m givin’ out wings!!”
I hate it when they turn out the lights mid-day! It’s like I walked into a cave, and it takes a while for my eyes to adjust. Once I walked out of WM as the lady was ringing me up when they did that.
🙂
She didn’t think so….
Do the Greeters have your photo now, and stop you as you attempt to enter?
Fortunately this happened at another WalMart. 😆
Must be the Wal-Mart in Lakewood, WA.
Close to that one!! They didn’t just dim the lights that day, they actually turned them off thinking the “skylights” would provide enough lights.
Here in Canada since Wal Mart came, we have lost Kmart, Towers, Eatons, Woolworths, Simpsons, and probably more…all those were dept stores….
And if you hire mostly part timers then you dont have to offer them insurance or the opportunity to buy insurance. And if the hours are minimal enough, not any benefits at all!!! Pass along the savings!!!
Exactly. And good luck getting your employees to provide “better customer service” (Goal two…) with working conditions like those.
I think it is interesting that Target is not considered a competitor in this article. Does WalMart really sell that many more toys per store than Target? Obviously Walmart has more stores than Target, but per store sales should be at least comparable I would think.
You’re right. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a Target that didn’t have a Wal-Mart within 50 feet of it.
hahahhhaha
I actually have 5 Targets within about 10-15 minutes of my house but the nearest Walmart is almost an hour away…….
Now that sounds like a dream come true!!! (I am being serious, by the way). Here in VT we have no Targets, but dumpy, empty Walmarts abound.
I just want a Super Target 🙂 If Matty would get their act together I could say goodbye to my trip to Walmart once every two weeks.
Hey Lorri, after disclosing that you have 5 Targets that close to you, expect massive emails if and when the Final Lap series ever drops!! 🙂
LOL!!
Who are the 4 Toy chains they’ve knocked out? KB Toys is one of them, I can’t come up with the rest.
Your question got me thinking… I did a search for Defunct Toy Stores… I found a site that listed several defunct retail chains (more than just toy stores)… I found listed Child World and Circus World… I thought I used to buy toys at a chain that started with either an E or a G…
There was also an Internet based company… was there something likes Toys.com?
(eToys – bankrupt – bought by KB Toys & sold after their bankruptcy to TRU – they were always an online store but I suppose you could count them along with FAO Schwartz – be hard pressed to name any other toy chains that were not regional – maybe some in Midwest or South – none that I can think of on the West Coast).
Children’s Palace… found it listed on another site… they may have been affiliated with Child World. I remember going to one in the Dayton, Ohio area in the 1980s.
eToys… I couldn’t remember that one… Thanks Met!
I think FAO Schwartz may still live on inside of Macy’s stores… Last November, I found several case B launchers (Vitoline, Tank Coat, and Shifty Drug) inside a couple of different Macy’s, and I thought that FAO Schwartz was listed on the receipt in addition to Macy’s… not that I can find those receipts any more.
(MET: TRU Also bought FAO but didn’t do it until earlier this year …).
It sort of lives on…. but pretty much knocked out of the competition due to bankruptcy… like KMart…. There were quite a few online toy businesses that also went bankrupt that were considered in the top 5 online toy retailers… but I am not sure that WalMart could be considered an online retailer – they seem more focused on brick & mortar sales.
The beauty of news – you don’t have to readily supply your sources for your facts…… 🙂
I think FAO Schwartz is on the list…
I would say 65% of my Wal-mart trips result in feelings of rage and frustration for a variety a reasons (I have stats and research to back this up). When it comes down to it, I have bought most of my cars lately at TRU, and if Target and TRU continue to stock them, I will continue to buy them there. It is just a simpler, more pleasant shopping experience.
I think WM is in part trying to mimic Target to a degree. Target stores (at least the ones in my neck of the woods) are more pleasant to shop, because they are indeed less cluttered. I don’t know if Target stores are larger in square footage, or have fewer SKU’s overall. They certainly don’t have fewer CARS toys; they all devote more space compared to WM.
So if everyone is so mad about wamart and their selection why do people shop there still? Seems easy enough that you can just cut it out of your routine. I rarely find stuff their either but I don’t go daily hoping to find stuff…..
Because we want to be able to shop there. Wouldn’t shopping at an improved store be better than not shopping there at all?
YES that’s what I am trying to say! But you are cutting walmart down by mocking them and making fun of their statement. It’s not possible for every walmart to have the cars everyone wants anyways they don’t pack 9 new ones per case. Be mad at mattel not walmart. They pack the cars that we obsess about. It’s not always walmarts fault for lack of selection. This is turning into a ludicrous conversation about why walmart doesn’t have what everyone wants. Unless your pegs are empty you shouldn’t complain to walmart. plain and simple
(MET: Um, yes, the pegs are empty – hence the sarcasm. Is it totally WM’s fault, of course not but WM ever run out of Tide, paper napkins or closer to home, Hot Wheels? And then whose fault is it? The retailer who touts they are the greatest retailer and the greatest in supply chain mgmt? Wm seems more intent on clearing aisles than in realizing a concept called population density … that a WM store that serves a million people might want to get restocked a little more often than a store that serves 50,000?)
there you go met.. hah 😀
LOL Right buy cars are not a necessity. I would LOVE to think they are but most people think thank toilet paper and detergent are. LOL
Uh, Im pretty sure Cars are more a necessity than BW.
no choice really.. there are some people that thats all they have in their town or they have to rely solely on trading or evilbay. most people dont have a tru and a target lol.. i mean i do but i can totally feel for the ones that dont.. just ask babychristianscars she’ll tell ya 😉
Aaron & Jeanne Scriven, I totally agree! but you still can’t be mad at walmart for not having enough if it’s full on pegs. It’s mattels fault for case selection.
heres the thing.. you dont seem to understand.. some people ONLY have walmart .. in their town they dont have the option of going other places.. so when walmart doesnt get something LIKE cars in stock but they have WATERMELONS out the ass which are almost the same price BOTH equally on the BOTTOM of the priority list to walmart but watermelons sure fill space in the produce section. then what do they do? hmm.. they STILL go to walmart.. because hmm lets see walmart has a clothing dept, toys, groceries, now they have a photography place and SOME even nail salons (which i find unsanitary in a GROCERY store.. and then yah the prices are lower than everyone else right NOW but when they take out the rest of the mom and pops stores and everyone else.. then what can they do .. hmm RAISE the prices and WHY can they do that.. because they have taken over all the other competition, so then not only do people have to deal with the price increases they also get to deal with crappy customer service and whatever else walmart decides to offer. this is only the beginning..
Then when all the small companies are out of business and WM is the only employer left, they will close the store cuz no one has jobs anymore….sad but true!
MMM…watermelon….
Exactly … what were we talking about? Who has watermelon?
I agree with this. Our Walmart doesn’t have much for selection – and its not just cars toys. Same goes for other toys. I read that article yesterday on Yahoo and thought, how can they compete with Toys R Us? Granted they have a cheaper price… but not near the selection.
Our Target is doing a great job lately – TONS of toys. Heck, our Ross has more toys than our WalMart…. Plus at Target, they restock here. They don’t buy 1 billion of one case, skip a few cases, and then order some more. AND the toy managers seem to know half a clue about their products. I overheard a toy manager talking in there today about their Christmas plan. They want to have a very LARGE variety in small quantities. That is a better plan to me. Then they can restock once something sells out, but you can’t just expect to sell 100 google eyed McQueens in a small town. UGH! He said most likely after Halloween they will start getting in a TON of toys because that is their big Christmas focus. Get this, he even encouraged the customer to call in frequently to see if they were getting their Christmas toy stock in yet.
Goal 1: Accomplished – organized, clean aisles
Goal 2: Accomplished – pretty good customer service for a BIG chain
Goal 3: Not their outspoken goal to eliminate the competition – but instead to do better than the competition.. which I think they are . At least at our stores around here.
Time for lunch!
I actually read this article yesterday too. From my experience, some stuff is actually cheaper at Target than Wal-Mart. That has included Cars in the past.
Yeah, I agree with you. New Cars (and a few other toys) is the ONLY thing we buy at WalMart anymore. WalMart doesn’t always have the best price, seems to me most things are exactly the same price, or different by only a few cents (higher or lower). It just isn’t worth it to me to shop there regularily.
My favorite thing about WalMart – their return policy! You can return things without a receipt. This is my one major gripe with Target. Even when I registered there for my baby and wedding.. they wouldn’t accept returns without a receipt that were gifts. Come on people! You only get 2-3 times per year, under $20 to return things without a receipt. I understand why they do it, but it still bugs me big time. Which is why I would never recommend to anyone to register there…
Apparently I am feeling long winded today…… um, sorry all!
really? did I just read all that? that was the worst article ever here. sounded like a big complaint about wal-mart trying to be friendly to the shopper and you complaining because you can’t have more toys….. wow I am officially embarrassed.
Um, I think it is supposed to be funny, ironic, satirical. As in, instead of addressing a lack of inventory, they call it “decluttering”.
Blake probably works for Wal-Mart. 😀
I don’t work for wal-mart but I do appreciate what they do for customers. I think that this has extreme bitter and rude undertones to a company who is trying to change their image. I think they are doing a GREAT job and I for one am glad I can push a cart there. I shop there a lot, not just for cars toys. I just don’t see the point in complaining about them helping their customers…. Why would anyone make fun of someone for doing what their customers asked….. this seems very backwards.
I think that is the point MET is trying to make.. they are trying to help their customers by reducing inventory and decluttering…. That seems backwards. I guess I don’t get the cluttered feel going into WalMart – only cluttered with too many people.
I think the cubes work great! You can find cars without knocking them all off the few pegs they are crammed on. I wish there was a better way to sell toy cars. Looking through Hot Wheels and Disney Cars at Walmart usually ends up in knocking half of them down to the shelf because they are so crammed together you can see whats in there. Hardly ever do I have the patience to look through them all because of this. And I wouldn’t call that cluttered.. because directly next to them are 10 or more empty pegs that could be used to spread out these cars… but aren’t.
I do agree with you though – thank goodness Walmart is making steps to improve things for customers – especially service. However, if they want to change their image, maybe they shouldn’t make it a publisized goal to kill the competition. Some competition is good. This just makes WalMart look like a big mean hungry Gorilla to me…….
OK I can see that but not every store is a vast wonderland of space. Mine is TINY and does not have room for pallets. I can’t get a cart through the aisle at my walmart until lately. I like it. I am on their side. (And they reduce inventory for the same reason everyone else does “it costs too much”. It costs a lot of money to have inventory ready at all times, it’s not possible to stock every size, shape, color or style. Which is why you have to wait sometimes to have cars)
(MET: I think the point of inventory control is to stock items that sell).
Wow maybe you should go to your local walmart for some fiber because you are uptight brother
I love that when I voice my opinion I am uptight but when everyone else does it’s just fine….
well you didnt actually just voice your opinion (about walmart) the reason everyone is on your case.. isnt just because we are dissatisfied with walmart.. but you did ‘personally’ attack met for posting it in the first place.. when it was just for fun.. soo maybe you could have voiced your OPINIION of WALMART differently
Hear Hear…..
Complain as much as like about CTC or Mattel, but when Met posts something, on HIS FREAKING site…show some respect and ENJOY the HUMOUR!!!
Snap to that. I think we should change your post to read should have not could have! LOL 😉
To me, this article was mostly pointing out the absurdity of WM bathering on about decluttering, improving customer service and crushing the competition, while overlooking the most basic way to make more money, namely, stocking the stuff that sells well.
there you go! 😀 the ACTUAL reason walmart does suck most of the time.
This post is supposed to show how Walmart could sell Cars better, not to offend anyone or be rude. Plus, every Walmart I’ve shopped in has pretty poor customer service and a pretty dirty store. I remember going to a Walmart Grand Opening and accidentally stepping on a cokcroach in the clothes section!
(MET: Ouch!)
“Plus, every Walmart I’ve shopped in has pretty poor customer service and a pretty dirty store. ” So you do want them to change that right??? Also you do know they sell more than just Cars right? My guess is most retailers don’t care about smaller items like toys they want to move bigger mark up products like video games and DVD’s.
Ummmmmmm Blake Dude…doesn;t this blog center around CARS?????????
So of course the theme will be about CARS!!!
BUT, when it comes to Customer Service Wal Mart BLOWS…I TRIED to buy my iPod Touch there…waited 25 mins for someone to open the damn case, left and went to Future Shop, served in seconds!!
Hmmmm….let’s defend the gorilla whose CORPORATE GOAL is to KILL the competition….Hey, I know a funny joke….How do you kill the competetion?? BY NOT STOCKING THINGS THAT SELL WELL…LIKE CARS….see Blake, that was the point of this post!!! Dumbass!
Not adding on to argument: adding on to funny things I’ve experienced at Walmart. Once tried to buy a video game, but no matter how hard I tried and how much I complained they wouldn’t open the case. Another time, I kept pestering a worker as to where the bathrooms where: after ignoring the questions 5 times, on the 6th time, he yelled “Ai-yai-yai!” and stormed off. Another example: I was walking down the aisle where a “wet floor” sign had been placed. The store was full, so I had to walk on the wet floor. Big deal right? Apparently so to the worker in the area, who pointed at the sign and pretty much started screaming to me about why I shouldn’t walk on wet floors. Wow.
Okay, I think that’s enough for one night; hopefully when I wake up there won’t be someone angry at my comments. 🙁
Blake, you should talk!
I clearly recall your “bitter and rude” comments that you posted here about about CTC when the pre-ordered Haulers took a while to arrive. Frankly, that “embarrassed” me and those who read it before it got Met:Edited.
Maybe it’s time you take your hypocrisy to another Cars blog!
Yes I was mad because I was told they would be in on a specific date. That’s a little different…. And I have not nor will I ever purchase from CTC again. The lack of communication and lies I got were enough to take my money elsewhere.
And have you been able to count on WM for those purchases you wood have made from CTC?? NO…remember the Black Friday Cube? NO ONE does, cuz it never showed up until later!!
Actually I have, I have found dinoco show girls at walmart. So there and I don’t have to curse… Well you are a sailor.
Ugghhh dude, do you do anything other than complain? What a waste of 2 feet of screen space. I’m sorry you have one small, crappy Wal-Mart near you in rural MN. That sucks. Those of us with options, like options. Wal-Mart trying to squash the competition by taking out what it deems to be the last viable toy source is just aggravating. I’m glad that you can now safely push a cart through your local Wal-Mar. The fact that you think they do a great job at much of anything except buying (often time lower grade products) and selling them for less is awesome for them! Go Wal-Mart! (offical cheer pose and all) Did you know that manufacturers make cheaper products specifically for Wal-Mart so that they cans ell them for a nickel cheaper than your local grocer or Target? Do you want me to verse you on their pay practices and benefits packages? If it weren’t for the toy collection, I wouldn’t shop there at all. Crap, I just added to this garbage… Nice post by the way, MET! I enjoyed it for what it was meant to be! Let the arrows fly!
eric you crack me up 😀 we would miss you if you wernt around!
werent lol
LOL….official cheer pose and all.
Now that’s rich.
Davo
HAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHHAA~!!~~~~
Hilarious post….maybe they could order themselves some thumbs…or try those Hulk Hands…HULK SMASH!!!
If Walmart becomes the only large toy retailer, it’s bad news for all of us… prices will go up… up… and up…
Competition is good… greed is not.
prices will not go “up up and up” because it’s too easy to access cost information. While it may be possible to become the “only” brick & mortar retailer, it’s highly doubtful that there would ever be only one place to buy anything. There will always be online retailers and they’ll keep WM’s prices in check.