Walmart ☀

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What about Walmart's reputation, or rather its patrons? When ever I read, hear or see something about it, I perceive it as an allegory of white trash, uneducated, overweight America. Maybe I could be wrong, but these views are always connected with Walmart.

Yup, I started shopping at Walmart when I became a Republican. Makes me feel good to be among my people.

I once saw a loudmouthed fat lady that looked like a bulldog pull a wad of rolled up cash out of her sweaty, sunburnt cleavage and start handing them to the cashier.

The worst part?

Her children were on leashes.

[Ban my account ffs!]

What about Walmart's reputation, or rather its patrons? When ever I read, hear or see something about it, I perceive it as an allegory of white trash, uneducated, overweight America. Maybe I could be wrong, but these views are always connected with Walmart.

Yup, I started shopping at Walmart when I became a Republican. Makes me feel good to be among my people.

I once saw a loudmouthed fat lady that looked like a bulldog pull a wad of rolled up cash out of her sweaty, sunburnt cleavage and start handing them to the cashier.

I don't know if that is supposed to be sarcasm, cause I've seen such a picture of Walmart.

It's probably not that uncommon.  I definitely am speaking from experience.

[Ban my account ffs!]

Wal-Mart’s chief retail competitor, especially in the Midwest and west coast, is Target...which has a much better reputation.

Their Super Target (a Target store with a full scale grocery store) concept has not been nearly as successful as Wal-Mart so they have focused on expanding the limited grocery options at their traditional format stores.  Target is also doing well competing with online retailers by building stores in urban areas and offering delivery, store pickup, and free shipping without any membership required.

They have been much better than Wal-Mart in urban environments

Philadelphia


Chicago

A typical suburban Target with the Greatland concept which basically has more lifestyle merchandise (sports, outdoors, clothing)

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Atlas is the kinda place that would sneeringly look down on people who buy clothes from Target... but I think you can get great value out of Target's clothes.  Also, Target has this odd reputation of being where you go to buy a swimsuit when you need one right away.

Target really struggled mid-decade because of their disastrous entrance and retreat from the tasteless retail blackhole that is Canada.

Revenue growth was very good in 2018 but margins have been suppressed because of increased expenses in expanding delivery/online options and also increased store hours and employee wages.  They are raising their minimum pay to $15/hour by next year.

They're also launching a whole bunch of new apparel/accessory brands, especially for children because while birth rates are down, spending on baby/childrens' apparel is up.

This idea that Wal-Mart is where you go for sundries and you go to Target to buy a cute bracelet and a napkin holder isn't really true.  The urban smaller format Targets focus on the basics the most knowing you can get the napkin holder at Williams Sonoma.  Their competitors are CVS and Walgreens in these areas.

What had been hurting Wal-Mart earlier in the decade was online competition and competition from below.  Someone beat Wal-Mart at their game and stores like Family Dollar and Dollar Tree have done incredibly well.  They are capturing the dollars of the working poor.  I imagine Aldi would really hurt Wal-Mart's grocery bottom line in these rural areas as well.

Target is kinda stuck between Wal-Mart, online shopping, specialty stores, and the dying behemoth department stores from which it was borne.  But I think they'll do fine.

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You are not wrong that Target and Wal-Mart do have differences in which departments they devote different amounts of space to... but it's not "basic sundries" vs "softlines and housewares"

Target devotes almost no space to automotive and relatively little to outdoors outside of what you might find on a deck or suburban backyard.  Sporting goods is also similarly underlooked.

But laundry detergent, household cleaning supplies and appliances, etc is at least the same.