Several members of Mrs. GS’s family are involved in hometown bakeries. One in particular (although several have been approached by Wal-Mart) had a rather unusual encounter with a Wal-Mart buyer. Her specialty is pastries. Wal-Mart approached her and asked if she would consider selling her wares through the local Wal-Mart. When she asked about pricing, she was told that Wal-Mart would undercut her in store prices by not less than 5% but not more than by 10%. When asked what she would be paid, she was told that Wal-Mart would examine her cost of production, make recommendations on to how she could reduce her costs so that she would not have to wholesale at a loss, but that her in store profits would rise through greater efficiencies. 

To make a long story short, she would have to forgo her premium ingredients (which gave her pastries their appeal to her customers) for the generic ingredients that Wal-mart would supply. She told Wal-Mart to take a They told her she would be out of business in a year. 8 Years later her business still thrives, and the local Wal-Mart only sells commercial bakery products, which should not be eaten by humans.

HA! I knew there had to be a catch. Interesting insider’s tale.

They told her she would be out of business in a year.

Assh*les. Very interesting GS.

Having lived in a small town/rural area all of my life except the past year, I’ve heard the all the Walmart-puts-small-business-out-of-business crap.  They put a hurtin’ on it, yes.  But I found it interesting that when they came in to my area, the older business owners retired and closed shop, but the young ones innovated and did something Walmart wouldn’t.  None of those businesses run by younger folks closed.

I wonder if they’ve approached any of my once-local farmer-friends?  Walmart can be Assh*les, but then a lot of business people are (me included).  Nobody beats Verizon for assh*lery. 
Thanks for the skinny, GS.