The "Small Guys" Guide to Walloping Wal*Mart: [Be] a community star! ("Sell" local-ness per se. Sell the hell out of it!)
--Tom Peters
This is so very difficult when these big box stores can offer so much for so cheaply when dealing with large quantities, gotten at steep discounts. It seems the only way to combat or compete with a Wal-Mart is to offer excellent service, to bond personally with the members of your communities. But this may not be enough.
About a year ago I was talking with someone that I have known a number of years who owns 15 supermarkets. He was saying that it is becoming increasingly more difficult to do business and this Dutch supermarket chain knows how to bond with the communities that they serve; they have done so for many years.
What now? The competition seems overwhelmingly in the favor of Wal-Mart. But such "walloping" may come in serving underserved communities where community is much tighter simply because there is not a means to get to a Wal-Mart which is typically on the outskirts of towns, not in the centers.
2 comments:
I tried to boycott Wally World for a few months, but had to give in due to financial difficulties. They ARE cheaper. I just hate that the minute Sam Walton died, they stopped their "Made in America" buying. I only go there for stuff I just can't get anywhere else cheaper like pet food, mainly. Their tee shirts are so transparent, you can't wear only one. They're made in Cambodia, Viet Nam and China. I say they should go back to "Made in America" only. It would be a boon for our country. I buy my produce and most food locally, though.
I understand what you have written for sure, Marion. Globalization has not always been a plus and Free Trade has not always been free.
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