Right, Sal. Do you have any evidence that Wal-mart has lost money for years on any particular store? They've closed stores, you know.
I do plenty of shopping at Wal-mart, unlike most around here, I'm sure. They got their good points and their bad points. In general their prices are good, not exceptional. I can handle Sam Walton as a hero of business a lot better than Bill, he didn't quite have the overwhelming hubris thing about him. In general, he brought a better selection at a better price to most of the places Wal-mart went into at the beginning. Mostly, Wal-mart got to be big by going into rural places the big chains of the time wouldn't bother with, not by driving people out of business by selling things at a loss. When, exactly, did Wal-Mart ever give anything away to drive somebody out of business? For two years running, that seems to have been Microsoft's main business plan. Standard Microsoft business practice, I know. I wish more people understood that.
Think Sam ever thought of building his own little Xanadu when he was the richest guy in the world? When they opened the local Wal-mart and he flew in, the story was that all the store managers dressed up to go out someplace fancy to eat. Sam took'em to the Wal-mart lunch counter. "If it's good enough for the customers, it's good enough for me". Think Sam ever personally directed his lawyers to go into court with a "beyond the comprehension of mere mortals" line in any of his numerous legal battles? Somehow, I doubt that.
Cheers, Dan. |
