Re:Lessons learned from a failing local mall
by coredog64 on Saturday April 28, 2018 @07:46PM
(#16950016)
Just to add to this, WalMart is primarily a grocery store. Like most grocery stores, it has a net profit margin that hovers around 3%.
The Waltons are not rich because each WalMart vacuums money out of a community. The Waltons are rich because there is a metric shit-ton of stores that do a high volume of business, and they get their 2-3% slice of it.
Re:Lessons learned from a failing local mall
by bkdbkd on Monday April 30, 2018 @10:25AM
(#16958764)
That would be nice, but they make money from sucking wealth.
When Walmart Comes to Town https://economics.mit.edu/files/7575
Bloomberg https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-01-25/wal-mart-...
An early Snapper Mower take on walmarts practices: https://www.fastcompany.com/54763/man-who-said-no-wal-mart
It's a common one, but I don't really buy this argument. Small local businesses don't usually hire more people than large chains and they don't pay their employees more. Small shops are notorious for low pay and no benefits.
In the case of a discounter like Walmart the profits don't get siphoned elsewhere as much as never spent in the first place. There may not be a local shop owner anymore, but everyone else in the community has spent less money.