Walmart vs. Target

[angus]

Do you view Wal-Mart and Target in the same light?

I was discussing this w/a teacher the other day and said this which I really pondered:

"Target and other stores like that really do the same thing as Wal-Mart, but they are more friendly and have a better PR department"

Is there a difference or do you have the same opinion of both?

No, Walmart's a tad cheaper, though not quite as cheap as Kmart.  But then I don't shop at Kmart--yes, even we poor, cheap, white trash consumers have limits.   

Of course I wouldn't buy a bicycle or a dining room suit or shoes or a computer at either, but if it's something to eat, drink, or wrap around my son's ass, I shop at Big Box retaillers often.  And Walmart has the edge, price-wise.  Target does sell some nice chinese sweatshop-made trinkets that you can't get at walmart.  We bought a nice bathmat for the boy about a year ago.  Just under ten bucks.  The just under ten bucks bathmat at Walmart we didn't fancy.  And of course there was a nice seven-dollar candle holder that Target carries which looked remarkably similar to a fifty-dollar "Mediterranean sconce" that sold at Pier One Imports.  But overall for cheap chinese-made and indonesian-made trinkets, Walmart has a better track.  Maybe they manage their slave labor better.  Maybe Walmart has a better PR department--after all, being the butt of jokes needn't distract us from the fact that Walmart is kicking Target in every measurable parameter.  (I suspect it's a bit of both.)  Either way, I definitely prefer Walmart overall, though I prefer either of those to Kmart, though.  Actually, WSJ had a nice article about a week ago about all three of these Big Box retailers, along with a few others.  It may answer some of your questions.

I also like the Dollar Tree from time to time, which is cheaper than even Kmart.  No good for durables, of course, but for really, really rock-bottom prices on consumables dollars stores such as Dollar Tree, Dollarama, and Dollar City are the best!

[angus]

Never been to a Walmart-- not that I have anything against it, oh no. I might shop there quite often. None has ever been built anywhere I've ever lived. In fact, I have only seen a Wal-mart once, when I was visiting my cousin in San Jose and we were trying to Monterrey to visit some of his other kin. I saw it over the left side of the interstate, and yes, it was huge. Otherwise, I have shopped at just about every store imaginable, Target, Lowes, Home Depot, Hechts, Kmart, Sears, the Salvation army etc., massive shopping centers, you name it. But never seen a Wal-mart in the past 6 years.

I understand your frustration.  I lived in Arlington, TX for five years.  No Walmart.  Kmarts and Targets, but no Walmart.  Then I lived in Boston for five years.  No Walmarts there either, but if you're in the greater Boston area, the nearest one is in Lynn, near the Lynn/Revere town limits, just na'ath of Revere.  Not one of the more impressive ones, though.  Then I moved out to California for three years.  Woo hoo!  Walmarts everywhere.  Nice climate too.  Then I moved to Columbus, MS and have been here for two years.  In Columbus I discovered the Walmart Supercenter.

"Dude, this is the coolest thing I have ever seen."
         --Butthead

Indeed.  You can get a head of lettuce, a quart of motor oil, a fried chicken, insurance, a bouquet of flowers, and your hair and nails done all under one roof.  I probably mentioned that I've been to walmarts in four countries and in nearly every state in the union.  Been to quite a few supercenters too.  I once went to four Walmarts in one day.  Been to neighborhoods where walmart is considered very chic and somewhat expensive (e.g., Mexico City) and neighborhoods where they're dumps (e.g., Lynn/Revere).  I know that there are towns with no Walmarts, but you're never really that far from a Walmart.  If you truly desire it, you can generally find one within an hour or so from whereever you are, assuming you're not in the desert or in the middle of the sea.

www.walmart.com has a store locator for your convience.  Just a click away. 



(even that thing is Walmart)

[angus]

Walmart has unbeatable diaper prices. A very valuable asset if you have children.

word.  they beat target by about 12%.  And they beat Target by about 20% for Ben'n'Jerry's Wavy Gravy ice cream.  For French goat cheeses and guatemalan bananas, it's a draw.  I do prefer Target for cheap chinese-made bathmats and candleholders, but for most other sweatshop-produced trinkets, Walmart has the better deals.

Yeah, I will admit that target's cleaner.  Especially the men's room.  But then I was never so well-endowed that there was any chance of it bouncing out and rubbing against the porcelain anyway, so the cleanliness of the men's room isn't particularly an issue.

[angus]

gotta say I came pretty close to making the Keystone State my next home, boss.  I had been around the country in search of situation in a more economically developed market.  Not that we don't like columbus, but the things that really attracted us to here when my wife was first rated PG are the same things that we don't really like about here now that the boy's sucked all the milk out and is ready for daycare and she's ready to get back to work.  (low cost of living is great when the old lady decides to take off for a couple of years, but unfortunately that usually also means few job opportunities for the spouse and bad schools, etc.)  So I circulated my vita and ended up with a couple of offers, one about an hour west of Philly.  But the boys at University of Northern Iowa made me a little sweeter deal, at least in terms of start-up lab funding, and offered the old lady a guaranteed one-year gig to boot.  No questions asked.  That was a major deciding factor.  It'll be her first "real job" in the US, which is good.  So although I thought I might be joining you in the Keystone state, it turns out I'll be joining John in the Cornfield state.  Or is it the Radar O'Reilly state?  Whatever.  The old lady has some reservations about the climate.  She's from the Eastern District of China, and actually likes the Columbus climate.  We'll see...

Oh, and the Cedar Falls/Waterloo area has two, count 'em, two, Walmart Supercenters.  That really sealed the deal.  But who knows....   I'm keeping notes, so be nice to me.  I move around quite a lot.  You never know, I may be your next-door neighbor some day.  (Assuming you don't have one of those silly Sex Offender registry laws.)

Wink

[angus]

never heard from F&M, actually, although I think Lancaster is more like an hour and a half.  Gettysburg?  I don't think so.  It strikes me as a whiter, but equally poor, version of Columbus but more culturally deprived, and without the SuperWalmart.  anyway, Albright and PSU-Berks are about an hour west of philly, and offered me interviews.  PSU Berks actually had a job offer for me as well, but it definitely wasn't a particularly attractive offer, though the prospect of being within commuting distance of several large pharmaceutical firms was somewhat attractive.  Doesn't matter now, since I took myself off the market as of about 3 o'clock central time today.  Sometime this summer, after my annual and customary diving/smoking/beachcombing adventure, I'll pack up and head to the Upper Midwest.  Actually, most of my relatives live within an hour or so of the MSP metropolitan area, and I often speak herein of my two uncles who served in the MN state legislature for many years, and now that I have a child, the prospect of living near relatives is attractive.  Funny thing, in my 20s, I couldn't wait to live as far away from my relatives as I could.  I've lived in, and enjoyed living in, Texas, California, and Massachusetts (and two of those places have nice warm climates), but now that I'm a boring old married guy the prospect of living in a very low-crime, suburban density city with excellent schools (Cedar Falls, not Waterloo), and being near relatives grows more attractive.  (How sad is that?)

[angus]

congratulations on the new job angus.

how old is your son now?   


mine is 10 months and into everything.  he requires a constant eye!   he is still growing like a weed.  he is in excess of 23 pounds now.  he is a monster of a boy!

fantastic.  and that's a big baby!  10 months is a great age.  My son started walking in earnest at 11 months, so yours will be soon if he isn't already.  mine will be 2 in one week, and refuses to go in the stroller anymore.  Now it takes thirty minutes to walk five blocks, because every little stone or ant is worthy of study and comment.  man, I miss the stroller days.  we're still trying hard to train him to use the toilet, but it's slow.  Glad we're renting.  This carpet has taken some serious abuse, and is beginning to aquire a permanent funk.  we're hoping to get him fully trained before we move.