Wal-Mart Enters NetFlix's Business

wcbrown writes "AP reports that Wal-Mart is entering into the online DVD rental arena, currently dominated by Netflix. Wal-Mart is starting out with 13,000 titles, six distribution centers, and competitive pricing. With a seriously tremendous infrastructure and expansive will, Wal-Mart stands poised to overtake Netflix. To say the least, that's not going to be good for business."

Comments

Re:Selection problems

[MrLint]

you are obivioulsy much to self important to worry about anyone outside of your preception of 'middle of the road'

The Net effects of Wal-Mart...

[cnelzie]

...is that the money that used to spend its time in various community related transactions at least 7 times before leaving a community now leaves that community within 2 to 3 transactions.

In most small towns that a Wal-Mart is dropped on, the vibrant downtown area dries up and becomes a shell of its former self with only a few niche shops and perhaps one or two restaurants that typically go out of business as well, since nobody has money to buy from them anymore.

There are some EXTREMELY rare cases where that is not the case, but that is typically due to other mitigating factors that simply aren't available in most small towns. Things like Colleges and Art Academies or tourist attractions.

If you drove to 200 or so small towns that Wal-Mart moved into, check the City Records one to two years before Wal-Mart moved in to see how many businesses were registered and paying taxes and then look at the same records one, two, three and five years later. Most ALL of the time you see the number of businesses drop away.

This erodes the tax base since many of those business owners will either lose everything and become a VERY underpaid Wal-Mart employee or will pack up and skip town.

All in all the net effect is that many community leaders, that may have sponsored local events, as many small town shopkeepers and business associations do, will disappear. This causes an abrupt ending to many local events and eventually destroys the heart and the soul of those small towns.

Wal-Mart is a community destroying corporate monster that knows no bounds, sells cheap merchandise from overseas manufacturers, denigrates its employees and does what it can to destroy ALL competition. (Like it is attempting to do with Meijer's here in Michigan. I know that because I had overheard a Wal-Mart location scout chatting away on his cell phone regarding a new Meijer's store.)