For the Walmart haters

[Fatty]

And fans alike.

http://reviews.mtbr.com/meet-one-of-americas-richest-and-forward-thinking-mountain-bikers

[oliver1850]

Nice article. Looks like a great place to ride. Good to see the Waltons using their influence (and cash?) to develop the area around their home. Kind of ironic to see that the original store was so like all the ones across the country that Walmart helped put out of business.

[Tickdoc]

Not a fan of the company, but it looks like he is doing good. I do love crystal bridges museum in bentonville. Now that is good use of walmart money.

[bikinchris]

If you guys go to the Bentonville area for a ride, stop by at the Catfish Hole in Fayetteville for a lunch. Great fried catfish, chicken etc. and the meal includes hush puppies, green tomato relish, and cole slaw. Also, two great BBQ places in Fayetteville are Whole Hog BBQ and Sassy's Red House.

[Vientomas]

https://www.ialumbra.com/founder/

https://www.ranchocacachilas.com/hiking-and-mountain-biking/

[SlowPokePete]

Bet he doesn't buy his bikes from Walmart.

SPP

[Mikej]

Bet he doesn't buy his bikes from Walmart.

SPP

Hmm if they decided to, they could really change the dynamics of how we buy bike stuff...I'd be all for some Wally World employees helping with trail maintenance!

[oldpotatoe]

Hmm if they decided to, they could really change the dynamics of how we buy bike stuff...I'd be all for some Wally World employees helping with trail maintenance!

I've always said if places like this invested in a bike service section, trained employees for assembly and service, they would put the hurts on more than a few LBS.

[Tony]

Here is what some of the trails look like on a bike.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uKGI_b4dLKc&t=239s

[adub]

I wonder if between going to the food bank and working a 2nd job some of the walmart employees get a chance to ride these trails they have subsidized?

[oliver1850]

I wonder if between going to the food bank and working a 2nd job some of the walmart employees get a chance to ride these trails they have subsidized?

I think so, if they are disposed to. I have friends that work for WM that spend their free time tooling around in their $20,000 Polaris ATVs.

[oldpotatoe]

I wonder if between going to the food bank and working a 2nd job some of the walmart employees get a chance to ride these trails they have subsidized?

Inconvenient truth-

"Wal-Mart employees earn somewhat more than do similar employees at other retailers and somewhat less than at others."

http://www.forbes.com/sites/georgeleef/2013/12/17/wal-mart-is-no-different-than-other-stores-but-turning-it-into-a-hobgoblin-is-a-political-necessity/#193621322180

Not defending Walmart but my mother in law lived in Holly CO, during drought years, when ranchers and farmers had to take a second job to make ends meet...and w/o the Walmart in Lamar, many would hurt much more than they would otherwise.

Don't think the Target CEO is helping cycling in small towns, USA.

"Mr. Cornell, who joined Target in August 2014, received make-whole compensation of more than $14 million that year. For 2015, Mr. Cornell's salary more than doubled to $1.3 million, while his stock awards declined to $13.4 million from $27.4 million, according to a regulatory filing."

[unterhausen]

my daughter works at Walmart. She isn't full time, no benefits, but she is a student and they are very flexible for her. Of course, she's working crummy hours, but that's what she wanted and they don't switch them up like the worst places do. And they start people out at above minimal wage. The vaunted small business that walmart put out of business didn't do that, I'm sure. Pretty sure walmart looked at their numbers and realized they were giving the good people enough experience to land their next job that would treat them better and decided to reform their practices.

I don't think walmart would go into the bike business in a serious way because it would be a money loser for them. The places where their model would work, it has already worked with the horrible bikes that they sell now. And to really put the hurt on the LBS, they would have to fix those Denalis. Ha, good luck with that.

I still don't shop there, every time I go I find myself disappointed. Either the prices are too high for what I want or the quality is too low, or the place is a mess. Just don't need that. Target is a lot nicer environment. Of course, I don't go there very often either.

[Hilltopperny]

Walmarts business plan was to buy in such bulk and keep prices so low as to knock out all competition. Once that was done the prices went up and the quality went down. My wife went and bought a Spaulding branded basketball pump just yesterday for my daughters new basketball. When I went to pump the basketball up the needle immediately broke inside the ball. It ruined the $45 brand new basketball that I bought from a sporting goods store.

The quality of the goods there are very poor and so are the good folks that work there. They have 5 out 20 lanes open with actual humans and 10 automatic checkout areas.

Overall they had a very good business plan, but they are not the philanthropic wonderful people they portray if they can't provide full time hours to their employees at a living wage. Maybe the Waltons could spend more money on their employees and make their manufacturers produce quality goods instead of funding other things that are most assuredly for tax breaks and not the greater good?

[adub]

Whats the difference if your families trust has 100 billion or 10 billion, besides the obvious fatter trust account? Maybe the chance that your family legacy would be you were a fair employer?

I guess I benefit as I can buy a 3 pack of Asian made sweat pants for $9.99..

[unterhausen]

since I posted before, my daughter asked me if I had any long sleeve t shirts in blue or white. I told her to go to target and buy her own. Apparently walmart doesn't have anything that meets their own dress code.

We definitely have become poorer because of the walmart influence on the market. You used to be able to buy decent quality stuff (side benefit: made in the U.S.), and now all that's available is either junk or high end, with high-end price to match. Sometimes I try to buy quality for work, where money is not much of an issue, and the only option is low-end Chinese knock-offs of the good stuff that you used to be able to buy.

[bikingshearer]

I'm glad that one of Sam Walton's grandchildren is doing something decent. The fact that it involves bicycling is icing on the cake.

But it's a very, very small cake. I will never in a million years think of WalMart as anything other than an evil corporation run by people set on doing evil things. WalMart has destroyed the local economy in more towns than you can count. And they did it with the intent to destroy local economies; or at least with the intent to destroy local retail. One of the family doing something nice can not and does not make up for that. Even if this WalMart scion turns out to be the second coming of St. Francis of Assisi, it would not make up for that.

The fact that we stupid idiots allowed this to happen by abandoning our local merchants to save a few of shekels is a different rant. And yes, there is an LBS parallel here.

And while it is nice the junior is "giving back," never forget that he is doing it with money siphoned off from your town and mine (well, not mine - Berkeley will never let WalMart in).

[oldpotatoe]

I'm glad that one of Sam Walton's grandchildren is doing something decent. The fact that it involves bicycling is icing on the cake.

But it's a very, very small cake. I will never in a million years think of WalMart as anything other than an evil corporation run by people set on doing evil things. WalMart has destroyed the local economy in more towns than you can count. And they did it with the intent to destroy local economies; or at least with the intent to destroy local retail. One of the family doing something nice can not and does not make up for that. Even if this WalMart scion turns out to be the second coming of St. Francis of Assisi, it would not make up for that.

The fact that we stupid idiots allowed this to happen by abandoning our local merchants to save a few of shekels is a different rant. And yes, there is an LBS parallel here.

And while it is nice the junior is "giving back," never forget that he is doing it with money siphoned off from your town and mine (well, not mine - Berkeley will never let WalMart in).

You need to look the definition of 'evil'. Kinda like 'hate', big words.

No not a Walmart fanboy but Walmart isn't any more 'evil' than any other large succesful corporation. Eliminating competition and maximizing profits is bigbiz 101.

[Cicli]

I hate anything walmart.
They have done no good around here. Except draw in crime.

[Red Tornado]

It's always nice to see someone with the means help out their community in any way, shape or form. I'm sure the dirt riders there love it, and I probably would, too if I lived there. +1 for the guy in that regard.
Walmart as a whole? Not a fan. Came into the small town close to where we used to live, and just like another poster mentioned, drove prices (and margins for the locals) down until several years later there literally were almost no local businesses (or retailers, to be more specific) in that town. The only survivors were the handful that served niche markets/needs. After this happened, Walmart ran the prices back up slowly and for general stuff (groceries, clothes, hardware, toy) they still are the only game in town. Want to start a hardware store to compete? They'll just lower their prices and run you out;this happened a few times with different products. They want to own the town, so to speak. Unemployment in that town is still higher than the pre-Walmart days, and wages (adjusted for inflation) are lower than pre-Walmart days - so says a financial friend of mine who has access to that type of info.
I have no problem with their tactics in larger urban areas, where there are plenty of customers and other large chains who have a chance to compete. But coming into smaller, rural communities and pulling this crap? Not cool.
Is this business practice illegal? Probably not or they wouldn't be doing it.
Unethical? IMHO, yes.

[adub]

Y a I guess there is a bright side- Good thing Walton Jr. is into cycling and not Monster Truck Jam..

[bikingshearer]

You need to look the definition of 'evil'. Kinda like 'hate', big words.

Just double-checked "evil" by consulting both an on-line dictionary and a print Merriam Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (from 1997, but probably still a reasonable source). I'll stand by my use of the word. You may disagree. 'S'okay - reasonable minds can differ.

No not a Walmart fanboy but Walmart isn't any more 'evil' than any other large succesful corporation. Eliminating competition and maximizing profits and is bigbiz 101.

To my mind, there is a difference between trying to maximize profits and actively trying to drive everyone else out of business. Milton Hershey did not run an evil operation. John D. Rockefeller did. So did Andrew Carnegie. Ditto Bill Gates. Again, reasonable minds can differ on this point, but again, I will stand by my use of the word "evil" in this context.

And I will never enter a WalMart except under pressing need with no reasonable alternative. It's happened three times in my life, spread over more than 20 years, and I felt like I was in one of Dante' rings of Hell each time. My choice and my reaction. YMMV.

Now, let's go have a beer and talk bikes. :beer:

[Tony]

y a i guess there is a bright side- good thing walton jr. Is into cycling and not monster truck jam..

:)

[tiretrax]

The Walton Family Foundation is the lead sponsor of the coastal restoration conference I am attending. There is good and bad from everything. Corporations are benign - it's the people that work for them that can be good or evil, i.e. Wells Fargo, etc.

[thunderworks]

You need to look the definition of 'evil'. Kinda like 'hate', big words.

No not a Walmart fanboy but Walmart isn't any more 'evil' than any other large succesful corporation. Eliminating competition and maximizing profits and is bigbiz 101.

True that business is all about eliminating competition and maximizing profit . . .but what sets Wally World apart, and makes them "evil" is that they mercilessly pursued their business agenda while hiding behind waving flags and soaring eagles. For many years their marketing and imaging campaign hid behind the slogan . . . "What's good for America" . . .tear jerker ads, glorious imagery . . . All the while bankrupting small town America and teaching the consuming public that they didn't have to be responsible for their buying decisions. IMO, Wally World really is the pinnacle of nefarious corporate behavior.

[Benneke]

IMBA held their Summit in Bentonville this year in an attempt to court sponsorship from the Walmart foundation. Tom Walton is kind of IMBA's only hope for survival. Since Subaru pulled their sponsorship, IMBA has been in bad shape financially and they have laid off ~10 employees and more layoffs are planned if they don't come up with a big sponsor soon. As of now, Walmart hasn't stepped in yet. Hopefully Tom can come up with some pocket change to throw at them so they can keep doing good work. I do understand his reluctance, the organization could be run a lot more efficiently, and many of the people laid off haven't been doing much lately. (Source: I work at a nonprofit that works with IMBA on public lands advocacy).

[oldpotatoe]

Just double-checked "evil" by consulting both an on-line dictionary and a print Merriam Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (from 1997, but probably still a reasonable source). I'll stand by my use of the word. You may disagree. 'S'okay - reasonable minds can differ.



To my mind, there is a difference between trying to maximize profits and actively trying to drive everyone else out of business. Milton Hershey did not run an evil operation. John D. Rockefeller did. So did Andrew Carnegie. Ditto Bill Gates. Again, reasonable minds can differ on this point, but again, I will stand by my use of the word "evil" in this context.

And I will never enter a WalMart except under pressing need with no reasonable alternative. It's happened three times in my life, spread over more than 20 years, and I felt like I was in one of Dante' rings of Hell each time. My choice and my reaction. YMMV.

Now, let's go have a beer and talk bikes. :beer:

Sounds good. and yes, YMMV. I have been in walmart 3 times in my life, my wife worked for Celestial Seasonings and CaseLogic and yes, it's their way or lose a YUGE order. But I don't 'hate' them, I don't really hate anybody, not even donnie. There is some evil in the world, real evil, people and organizations to hate. But a store or a software company head isn't one of them. Except my lying thief former biz partner, he I hate. BUT, as I mentioned, w/o a walmart in Lamar, CO, it would be way tougher on the local ranchers/farmers down there.

IMHO, of course.

[unterhausen]

Walmart as a whole? Not a fan. Came into the small town close to where we used to live, and just like another poster mentioned, drove prices (and margins for the locals) down until several years later there literally were almost no local businesses (or retailers, to be more specific) in that town. The only survivors were the handful that served niche markets/needs. After this happened, Walmart ran the prices back up slowly and for general stuff (groceries, clothes, hardware, toy) they still are the only game in town. At this point, I think walmart is living off of their reputation for the most part. Of course, the low prices shtick was always a sham, they have some gaudy low prices on a few items that they make sure are very visible, and the rest is just as high as any other retailer.

One time my family went on a trip and they pulled everything that looked like a useful cable or a phone charger out of my car. Thanks, kids. Soon thereafter, I went on a trip and my phone needed charging and I wanted to listen to my iPod. All cables were gone, so I stopped at a walmart in a town about 40 miles from here. The prices were shocking for the crap they were selling. Can't exactly order from Amazon at that point, so I was stuck. Actually, I might have been better off buying the stuff at a truck stop. However, I think I understand why there is so much traffic into State College now, I would be really curious if the prices are different here, but at least there is competition. I would hate to have walmart as my only grocery store. The economy in much of central Pennsylvania is such that you can't really run a niche business in the small towns that are remote from State College anyway. There are three sources of income here: Penn State, prisons, and payments from SSI.

[tommyrod74]

You need to look the definition of 'evil'. Kinda like 'hate', big words.

No not a Walmart fanboy but Walmart isn't any more 'evil' than any other large succesful corporation. Eliminating competition and maximizing profits is bigbiz 101.

Correct - evil isn't the word. Amoral (and possibly sociopathic, if we are ascribing human traits to a corporation), most assuredly.

Corporations will always act in their own self-interests. Thus the need for regulatory measures to keep them in check.

[Saint Vitus]

Reasons I don't like to shop there:
1) Prices. Too low to understand, the stuff must have fallen off the back of the truck
2) WalMart People®™
3) Parking Lots have waaay too many spaces and can fit RVs
4) The color blue
5) I have no #5

Joking aside, I don't care to go there because they insist on jamming up the aisles with merch so one is constantly playing chicken with giant bins of crap or another shopper with a cart filled to the gills. I also don't care much for the brands they carry (clothing for sure). Also the typical shoppers at the local one to me tend to be oblivious (which translates as rude to many).

[CampyorBust]

I don’t like Wallmart, think it would be nice if they did not exist. They have done much damage to local communities which cannot be denied. Still whenever I need some paper towels or a dipper this is where I go. I also go for entertainment and gender neutral tassels…

http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j49/PedalPusher33/db30cd78-f890-4a15-a135-e22390c68976_zpsoxmtmril.jpg

Though I must say good job to this guy. When I become filthy rich I would love to build trails and spread mtb love across the globe. Not just anybody can build nice trails like this in nice neighborhoods. This guy is using his influence in a good way, I hope he builds more. Shucks in my neck of the woods if I move a rock I get my arse chewed out somethin' fierce. Wankers even complain about leaf blowing I did not do. Just give some of these townie simpletons a reason to bitch and hysteria will soon ensue.

[Red Tornado]

You need to look the definition of 'evil'. Kinda like 'hate', big words.

No not a Walmart fanboy but Walmart isn't any more 'evil' than any other large succesful corporation. Eliminating competition and maximizing profits is bigbiz 101.

Just double-checked "evil" by consulting both an on-line dictionary and a print Merriam Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (from 1997, but probably still a reasonable source). I'll stand by my use of the word. You may disagree. 'S'okay - reasonable minds can differ.



To my mind, there is a difference between trying to maximize profits and actively trying to drive everyone else out of business. Milton Hershey did not run an evil operation. John D. Rockefeller did. So did Andrew Carnegie. Ditto Bill Gates. Again, reasonable minds can differ on this point, but again, I will stand by my use of the word "evil" in this context.

And I will never enter a WalMart except under pressing need with no reasonable alternative. It's happened three times in my life, spread over more than 20 years, and I felt like I was in one of Dante' rings of Hell each time. My choice and my reaction. YMMV.

Now, let's go have a beer and talk bikes. :beer:

Maximizing profits: No brainer, kinda have to do that and obviously no problems with it.
Eliminating competition and/or driving everyone else out of business: isn't that creating a monopoly? And isn't that against the law? Not that I believe Walmart could ever do it nationwide or world-wide. Probably couldn't do it in larger urban areas, either. But they sure as h&ll did it to the rural community where I used to live. Again, not illegal but unethical and low class (or no class) IMHO. They knew what they were doing.

[bigbill]

My job depends on Walmart. 70% of what we make goes to Walmart. I don't like shopping at Walmart, not because of their business model, but because of how crowded the place seems to be 24/7. Now I want to see if I can take a transfer to Bentonville.

[rnhood]

Yes, Walmart is almost always crowded but otherwise, its a good place to shop. They have a good variety of goods, and at reasonably good prices.

[pbarry]

They carry Bell branded presta tubes in 700c, (narrow and wide), 29er and 27.5. I can't hate them for that. $3.88

[bigbill]

They carry Bell branded presta tubes in 700c, (narrow and wide), 29er and 27.5. I can't hate them for that. $3.88

They have Goodyear branded here, but yup. I know in a pinch I can go get some heavy-ass but readily available presta tubes.

[unterhausen]

I think there is a real problem in a lot of small town retail that Walmart addresses. I know the local stores can't compete on price or selection. I lived in a relatively large area for retail when the first walmart local to me opened, and it was a big improvement for a lot of things. Back then, they still sold quality stuff. I think if they had shown up as a giant Dollar General, which is how I see them now, they wouldn't have made the impact they did. The kids really screwed up. Of course, if they hadn't, Walmart would probably be even more dominant.

[shovelhd]

Walmart pales compared to Amazon in terms of a potential monopoly, and they've only just gotten started. By 2020 Amazon will have a fulfillment center within 20 miles of 45% of the US population, which will allow them to do same day delivery. Say goodbye to retail stores, grocers, etc. Yet Walmart is the devil that prompts protests and Amazon is the media darling.

[Red Tornado]

You make a valid point regarding Amazon. They could be viewed as the Walmart of the Internet and I agree it could go way further than that before it's all said and done. I wonder how far it could go before Uncle Sam steps in? Or would that happen?
Would it be poetic justice if Walmart took a major hit because of them down the road? Unlikely, but.........
Coincidentally I hardly ever buy stuff from Amazon, either.
Maybe I just have a personal dislike for the "big guy" muscling his way in on the lesser folk in all areas of life; business included.

[ColonelJLloyd]

Walmart is at least positioning itself to more directly compete with Amazon. http://news.walmart.com/2016/08/08/walmart-agrees-to-acquire-jetcom-one-of-the-fastest-growing-e-commerce-companies-in-the-us

[shovelhd]

You make a valid point regarding Amazon. They could be viewed as the Walmart of the Internet and I agree it could go way further than that before it's all said and done. I wonder how far it could go before Uncle Sam steps in? Or would that happen?
Would it be poetic justice if Walmart took a major hit because of them down the road? Unlikely, but.........
Coincidentally I hardly ever buy stuff from Amazon, either.
Maybe I just have a personal dislike for the "big guy" muscling his way in on the lesser folk in all areas of life; business included.

I think you are a rare bird. Most of the anti monopoly crowd I run across love Amazon.

[shovelhd]

Walmart is at least positioning itself to more directly compete with Amazon. http://news.walmart.com/2016/08/08/walmart-agrees-to-acquire-jetcom-one-of-the-fastest-growing-e-commerce-companies-in-the-us

They've made online improvements lately to help them position better, things like adding non-WM vendors, providing live store stock information, and allowing free pickup. They are still fighting a losing battle.

Walmart has over 2 million worldwide employees. Amazon has 200,000.

[unterhausen]

I think you are a rare bird. Most of the anti monopoly crowd I run across love Amazon.

I'm a hypocrite, I buy a lot through Amazon while recognizing they treat their employees poorly and hurt local businesses. Can't be a social justice warrior all the time. They killed all the local book stores a long time ago. Funny thing was, we had a good bookstore, a little snobby, but it was nice to run over there if you wanted to buy a book. What really killed them was one of those surplus book outfits moved into town for almost a year. They sold every book you can imagine for almost nothing. But then they moved on and we don't have a bookstore.

I wouldn't call my avoidance of Walmart a boycott. I stopped going there because I didn't like it and the fact that they were horrible just made it an easy decision.

They've made online improvements lately to help them position better, things like adding non-WM vendors, providing live store stock information, and allowing free pickup. They are still fighting a losing battle.
Walmart screwed up with the race to the bottom. I'm suspicious of anything they sell. Target has a lot better image, if they chose to go head to head with Amazon it might work.

[Red Tornado]

I think you are a rare bird. Most of the anti monopoly crowd I run across love Amazon.

Ha ha, not the first time someone has made that observation about me. I tend to favor the underdog most of the time; business, sports and other areas of life.

In regards to this thread, Walmart=Amazon=monopoly. IMHO, at least. Don't understand how a person could be against one and for the other; seems to me they're basically doing the same thing. But just my personal opinion.

[shovelhd]

At least one here is willing to call themselves a hypocrite. Most won't.

Gotta go get my ass kicked on Zwift. Later.

[93legendti]

Walmart pales compared to Amazon in terms of a potential monopoly, and they've only just gotten started. By 2020 Amazon will have a fulfillment center within 20 miles of 45% of the US population, which will allow them to do same day delivery. Say goodbye to retail stores, grocers, etc. Yet Walmart is the devil that prompts protests and Amazon is the media darling.

Given the penchant here for ordering cheap bike parts from overseas and the Walmart vs Amazon dichotomy, I think it is safe to say the haters love the cheap stores/internet sites THEY frequent and save their disdain for those they don't.

[shovelhd]

Given the penchant here for ordering cheap bike parts from overseas and the Walmart vs Amazon dichotomy, I think it is safe to say the haters love the cheap stores/internet sites THEY frequent and save their disdain for those they don't.

Aka hypocrites.

[pbarry]

WM is laps off the back and is not transitioning fast enuf to make up the distance to Amazon. They may retain a retail presence in some markets, but their sloth like response to changing demographics and technology will bite them. Remember KMART. I still shop at WM, and wish they'd figure it out..

[93legendti]

aka hypocrites.

+1