:salute:

[ChargerMatt]

Can 'The All American Store' Reverse Our Nation's Walmartization? - DailyFinance

 

Deep in the heart of Ohio, a new store is challenging the "Walmartization" of America.

 

What do I mean by Walmartization? For one thing, I refer to the trend toward superstores, each one alone the size of a shopping mall. It's also the goods these stores stock -- the proverbial $1 dozen-pack of tube socks, and all the other things -- from Barbie dolls to HDTVs -- adorned with the "Made in China" label. And it's the service, or rather the lack thereof: Vast expanses of retail space with nary a minimum-wage employee in sight and 24 cash registers at the front, of which two are manned, and 12 are self-checkout.

 

If you scan through the nearly 700 comments that DailyFinance readers posted in response to my column last month on the rise and fall of Sears Holdings (SHLD), you'll find numerous references to such issues: There were more than a few complaints about lousy customer service, unattractive storefronts, and the impossibility of locating, much less purchasing, anything labeled "Made in America."

 

More generally, though, Walmart's (WMT) conquest of of America embodies a decades-long drive toward the lowest common denominator. It's a trend by companies to cut costs and maximize profits, and they often end up reducing quality in the process. But is it a trend we can reverse?

 

We Make It and We Sell It

 

Folks in Brookville, Ohio, think so. That's where, two years ago (several months after the Great Recession officially ended), an intrepid group of entrepreneurs pooled their capital to set up a new kind of retailer by the name of "The All American Store."

 

The All American Store is exactly what the name implies. It's a corner retailer. A hardware store. An echo of the old general stores that used to be the mainstay of retailing in so many small towns across the land. And AAS sells American-made goods -- much like the goods I argued that Sears should consider selling.

 

To those who say it's not possible for Sears to reinvent itself -- that "Made in America" is too quaint a concept to work, or that "we don't make anything in America anymore, so how could you sell it?" -- AAS has a response: Yes, we make it. Yes, we sell it. And yes, this can work.

 

[DaveVY]

I read another article but I think the same author arguing that Sears should consider differentiating themselves from the competition by having at least 51% of their products be USA made products.

 

This would be an awesome idea and would make me want to go back to Sears again (haven't shopped there in years)!

 

[chas]

They need something like that in Northern Virginia! Would definitely be awesome if this spread.

[Vincenzo]

You don't understand that 90% of shoppers really don't mind or care. I work at Kroger and I see the people who go shopping and what they buy. I have never heard anyone complain or even seem dissatisfied that almost all of our products are imports. We pride ourselves on how we sell stuff made or grown in Ohio or the neighboring states, but aside from a handful of tomatoes and some peppers, all of our produce is grown in Mexico. These are the same people who don't wrap their produce in plastic and set it directly on a belt that has had raw meat, cat litter, beer, bleach, and live plants potted in fertilized dirt rolling down it all day long. The same people scratch their asses and finger samples, and honestly expect the carts they use to be clean, even as we dump garbage bins in them right in front of their eyes. They want to be clean and environmentally friendly, so they buy re-usable bags. The re-usable bags are actually made in foreign countries with no control over the manufacturing process, so they pollute even more then our normal plastic bags, which are made in Mexico. Then, even though the bags are machine washable, they never actually clean them. The bag that held Clorox last week holds raw beef this week, and the bag that smells like rotten fish gets to hold unbagged produce. Consumers don't care. People are mindless, thoughtless animals that move purely on muscle memory and instinct. The American consumer is not a thinking, feeling, individual, but a machine that does everything other people tell it to. I would say that on average, my store deals with well over 2 thousand people a day. Out of those people, I deal with about 25% at some point during their "shopping experience", and I can only think of a handful a day that strike me as intelligent functioning members of society. It's not just sad, it's not just a disgrace, it's pathetic. While it is great that there is SOMEONE out there that is atleast TRYING to do the right thing, there is just no way to make enough of a difference with these people. To this All American Store, I wish them the best, but I'm pretty sure I already know how this is going to go.

[ChargerMatt]

You don't understand that 90% of shoppers really don't mind or care. I work at Kroger and I see the people who go shopping and what they buy. I have never heard anyone complain or even seem dissatisfied that almost all of our products are imports. We pride ourselves on how we sell stuff made or grown in Ohio or the neighboring states, but aside from a handful of tomatoes and some peppers, all of our produce is grown in Mexico. These are the same people who don't wrap their produce in plastic and set it directly on a belt that has had raw meat, cat litter, beer, bleach, and live plants potted in fertilized dirt rolling down it all day long. The same people scratch their asses and finger samples, and honestly expect the carts they use to be clean, even as we dump garbage bins in them right in front of their eyes. They want to be clean and environmentally friendly, so they buy re-usable bags. The re-usable bags are actually made in foreign countries with no control over the manufacturing process, so they pollute even more then our normal plastic bags, which are made in Mexico. Then, even though the bags are machine washable, they never actually clean them. The bag that held Clorox last week holds raw beef this week, and the bag that smells like rotten fish gets to hold unbagged produce. Consumers don't care. People are mindless, thoughtless animals that move purely on muscle memory and instinct. The American consumer is not a thinking, feeling, individual, but a machine that does everything other people tell it to. I would say that on average, my store deals with well over 2 thousand people a day. Out of those people, I deal with about 25% at some point during their "shopping experience", and I can only think of a handful a day that strike me as intelligent functioning members of society. It's not just sad, it's not just a disgrace, it's pathetic. While it is great that there is SOMEONE out there that is atleast TRYING to do the right thing, there is just no way to make enough of a difference with these people. To this All American Store, I wish them the best, but I'm pretty sure I already know how this is going to go.

 

As someone formerly in the retail sector, I completely agree with everything you said. I worked at a hardware store and there were the old timers that had been coming for years to this place and as of late everything is made in China... even the American flags (amazing)...

 

I will say though I feel that those 20% will make up the difference. Say the same shovel they mention in the article - American made for 22, China for 9. With the 25-30% markup that most retail stores have, it equals to the American shovel bringing in 5.50-6.60 profit whereas the China shovel brings in 2.25-2.70. Meaning it's roughly 1 American to 2.5 China shovels.

 

If that 20% bumps up to 35%, well sir, that is an equal market.

 

And given the current trend with disgust toward China, heck who knows how it fast it could shift.

[DaveVY]

Every change or movement has to start somewhere by a group of people dedicated to the cause.

 

I hope that this is the beginning of a movement!

 

From a business perspective though it may not be a majority, working a niche market with a dedicated group of people can support a successful business.

[Marylander]

If there were a store that pledged to sell at least 51% American made stuff, that store would be my default first place to shop. IF they didn't have what i needed, yes, I'd look elsewhere. But I bet 9 times out of 10 the American made piece would be more expensive, but also made better. And I'd pay for the difference. In the long run you're better off with quality.

 

One example: when I was about 17 (about 25 years ago) I bought a 50 piece Craftsman socket set from Sears. 1/4 and 3/8 drive and a bunch of standard and metric sockets. I've used them on every vehicle I've ever owned, and never had an issue with them. Along the years I'd (stupidly) bought a few China-made adjustable wrenches, open ended wrenches, Home Depot "Husky" wrenches (made in China) and they've all failed or broken to some degree... occasionally dangerously. I still have the Sears set, and I bet whoever settles my estate will have the task of figuring out what to do with it. For the past few years I've been buying only Made In US Craftsman tools (you really need to check the labels these days) and I'm building up a set of tools that is going to last.

[Vincenzo]

If there were a store that pledged to sell at least 51% American made stuff, that store would be my default first place to shop. IF they didn't have what i needed, yes, I'd look elsewhere. But I bet 9 times out of 10 the American made piece would be more expensive, but also made better. And I'd pay for the difference. In the long run you're better off with quality.

 

One example: when I was about 17 (about 25 years ago) I bought a 50 piece Craftsman socket set from Sears. 1/4 and 3/8 drive and a bunch of standard and metric sockets. I've used them on every vehicle I've ever owned, and never had an issue with them. Along the years I'd (stupidly) bought a few China-made adjustable wrenches, open ended wrenches, Home Depot "Husky" wrenches (made in China) and they've all failed or broken to some degree... occasionally dangerously. I still have the Sears set, and I bet whoever settles my estate will have the task of figuring out what to do with it. For the past few years I've been buying only Made In US Craftsman tools (you really need to check the labels these days) and I'm building up a set of tools that is going to last.

Kind of funny too, I am still using my great grandfather's Great Neck hammer from 1952. Last year I looked up the model number and saw that they still made the same hammer, and I purchased it. **** thing is already falling apart.

 

 

Oh, and a little continuation of my rant. Last night at Kroger I was bagging groceries when a women cam through my line with all kinds of unwrapped produce, meat, and cleaning supplies. She had 1 big bag almost the size of the cart, and it was full of cat hair and pebbles. I asked her if she wanted me to throw the produce and meat in plastic, and she said no, it's fine. Then, when she saw me put the big, partially opened box of Clorox in a plastic bag, she got annoyed and told me to throw it all in together.

[ChargerMatt]

Kind of funny too, I am still using my great grandfather's Great Neck hammer from 1952. Last year I looked up the model number and saw that they still made the same hammer, and I purchased it. **** thing is already falling apart.

 

 

Oh, and a little continuation of my rant. Last night at Kroger I was bagging groceries when a women cam through my line with all kinds of unwrapped produce, meat, and cleaning supplies. She had 1 big bag almost the size of the cart, and it was full of cat hair and pebbles. I asked her if she wanted me to throw the produce and meat in plastic, and she said no, it's fine. Then, when she saw me put the big, partially opened box of Clorox in a plastic bag, she got annoyed and told me to throw it all in together.

 

Then the next customer wants everything in it's own bag LOL

 

Hated that job...

[Vincenzo]

Haha you know it. Actually I think the next order was a double paper with 6 12packs of coke and a screaming kid.

[Z71_Denali]

i have a kroger right across the street from me that we get most of our groceries from, but i get all our produce and meat from HEB, a couple miles away. honestly, their quality in produce and meat far exceeds kroger, and they advertise locally grown produce (grown in Texas). the only thing the kroger advertises is organic produce and Nolan Ryan beef

[Vincenzo]

Its funny you mention organic produce.... It does start out as organic produce until it gets to our store. There, it sits 3 feet away from the "Spill Magic" and bathroom cleaning supplies behind a door. Our produce guy, Emilio, does not speak any English except for the word "produce", literally. He is very pinoy despite living in this country for 10+ years and being a citizen (don't know how). He is a nice guy, but tends to not wash his hands. Ever. Anyway, once the produce goes from his hands to the shelves/baskets/displays, it is sprayed with chemically treated water several times a day. I don't know what chemicals exactly, but the produce is not organic by the time a customer picks it up. On the subject of produce, we also never clean out the shelves, so the water we wash the produce with kind of sits there indefinitely. When a bad piece of fruit makes it past Emilio, it rots in this water and becomes a frothy white mixture which then turns into mold. I am sure some of you (most of you) have reached into a basket of say, cucumbers, and gotten a wet and almost slimy feeling on your hand. That is this possibly poisonous mixture of chemicals, rotten fruit, and standing water. I am the only one they have ever told to clean the shelves, and that has only happened twice in my year of employment with the grocery store.