On Nov 15, 5:56*am, Ed Pawlowski wrote:
On Wed, 14 Nov 2012 22:57:44 -0500, wrote:
On Wed, 14 Nov 2012 22:28:43 -0500, Ed Pawlowski wrote:

On Wed, 14 Nov 2012 20:27:34 -0500, wrote:

*What I dislike most about the big "W" is they will target a product
and guarantee nobody will undersell them - so soon the only place to
buy it is at the big "W". A short time later, they find they are
loosing too much money on it - or the supplier finds they cannot
afford to supply it at the price the big "W" will pay them for it - so
it is no longer supplied - and it is no longer available in the
genereal markrtplace.

The suppliers make dumb decisions too.
Vlasic pickles
http://www.fastcompany.com/47593/wal-mart-you-dont-know

versus Snapper mower
http://www.fastcompany.com/54763/man...id-no-wal-mart
*Yup, but when Walmart has effectively killed your market, it's hard
to say no.

Everyone's used to buying, say, Vlasic pickles for *$.79 *when the
realistic price is $139, and it's hard to build a market outside of
Walmart at even a bargan $129 - what's a company going to do???

I don't blame Wal Mart, all Vlasic had to do was say "no" and refuse
to sell at a lower price.

Also right in the article it says no one says the gallon
pickle issue was a critical factor in the bankruptcy.

I found this from a story at the time of their bankruptcy
filing:

"They were dealt a difficult hand," said Mitchell Pinheiro, an analyst
at Janney Montgomery Scott who has a "hold" rating on Vlasic stock.

"They were saddled with $500 million debt, which didn't seem all that
onerous at the time [Vlasic was spun off], given cash flow. But the
cash flow was deteriorating and the need of the brands was greater
than first thought."

Vlasic listed $458.3 million in assets and $649.9 million in debts in
its Chapter 11 petition filed in U.S. District Court in Wilmington."

And the story starts off implying Walmart is responsible
for clothing manufacturing going overseas. We all know
that trend was already well under way as far back as the
60's, with places like New England having them close
right and left. That was long before Walmart was a factor.
Digital Eqpt, the computer company, started in an old
abandoned textile mill in the 60's. I see this whole thing as more
of an evolving world economy, than the evil of one giant retailer.








A few years back, one of our biggest customers was Frigidaire. *They
use similar tactics on their suppliers. *The parts we made for them
were seasonal. *After year one, we were asked for a 10% price
reduction. *Their logic was that over the year, we found better and
faster ways to make their parts. *There is some truth to that and we
wee able to reduce the price and maintain profits. A couple of years
later, they sent a letter and asked for a 25% reduction, a rebate for
the previous year, and longer terms. *We said "no thanks, where do you
want the tools sent?".

One of our competitors happily snatched the job from us at the reduced
price. *Years later, we are still making a profit, they filed
bankruptcy. *The Frigidaire business is long gone as they moved the
plant to Mexico the following year.

More recently, we make a product for a customer that potentially sells
to Wal Mart. *We sell it for 1.10. *WM said they would buy it at 85�.
Again, we said no. *Would have been a big order, but with no profit
and we would *have had to skimp on material.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -