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Not Made in America, Wal-Mart Looks Overseas For Online Vendors (reuters.com)
Walmart.com, trailing Amazon.com in the number of goods for sale on its website, is recruiting vendors in China and other countries to boost its online offerings in a pivot away from Wal-Mart's Made-in-America campaign. From a report: While there is a financial incentive behind the move, Wal-Mart's decision comes out of necessity: not all the goods its customers want -- ranging from jeans to bicycles to beauty products -- are manufactured within the United States. That reality pits Wal-Mart against President Donald Trump's "Made in America" push. It also risks alienating some of Wal-Mart's existing U.S. vendors since it runs counter to the American-made pledge the retailer made in 2013 in a bid to win customers, and satisfy unions and other critics who said its drive for low cost goods was undermining American jobs. According to two sources with knowledge of the matter, Wal-Mart Stores in February began inviting sellers from China, the United Kingdom and Canada to list on the marketplace section of Walmart.com, where it earns a share of revenue from goods sold and delivered to customers by third-party vendors.
They're the last place I go to look for anything at all... its a whole store stocked with the level of merchandise you find at the grocer that isn't groceries. If you happen to find a brand name you recognize, they probably made the SKU just for Walmart, so it is going to suck anyways.
Back when Walmart was becoming a national thing, Sam Walton would be quoted, "We have the highest quality products at the lowest prices!"
So, when one finally showed up near me, I went shopping. Same shit as K-Mart for maybe a cent or two lower.
He was just another bullshitter. He had this public personae of this folksy Arkansas hick who drove an old pickup truck (Hey customers! I'm just one of you!) but in reality he was s shrewd business guy that exploited his customers and the fact the most retailers stayed away from rural areas.
That's all he did: he put stores were others didn't and sold the same shit.
Get rid of the minimum wage and they might.
Housekeepers make way more than minimum wage. I have a cleaning woman come twice a month. She cleans for 3 hours, and I pay her $120. That is $40 per hour. Minimum wage in California is $10.50.
But even at $40/hr, no American is interested, so I get to practice speaking Spanish twice a month.