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Leaked Walmart memo reveals competitive threats

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Re: Leaked Walmart memo reveals competitive threats

#301

Post by emodendroket »

kortilla wrote: post #243
andreilys wrote: post #150

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In the last 20 years they’re stock has only gone up 150%.... Yes that’s better than bankruptcy but Walmart is a far cry from a successful old incumbent being able to address new upstarts. Also what makes you say Walmart Labs has great tech and hires top software talent? A quick look on Glassdoor shows the salary is quite low (esp. as it’s based in San Bruno). I know plenty of new grads that are earning much more, eve…

Glassdoor grossly underreports the range of tech salaries to the point of being useless. Something tells me only people who feel insecure about their pay report it to Glassdoor... Point being, Glassdoor data is so incomplete that I don’t think you can meaningfully compare even two companies on it. Especially if they have different comp structures.

I figured it was because they have old data but I noticed the same.

Re: Leaked Walmart memo reveals competitive threats

#302

Post by emodendroket »

turtlebits wrote: post #212
paxys wrote: post #107

Walmart gets a lot of flak for being old school and allowing Amazon's rise, but they are one of the very few retailers who have actually been able to respond to competitive threats over the last decade or two. Walmart Labs has some great tech and hires top software talent in the industry. They aren't shy about making large acquisitions when needed (like Jet). They have built out their own delivery and logistics netwo…

The Walmart in-store pickup/returns experience is horrible. Long lines, employees are slow and unorganized. Several times I've gone to pick up an order and waited an addition 10+ minutes to have someone bring the item to the front of the store. I would say the only thing that makes them competitive is their price.

Something to be said for just being able to walk in and do all your shopping for everything from groceries to clothes to televisions.

Re: Leaked Walmart memo reveals competitive threats

#303

Post by emodendroket »

handrous wrote: post #12
mc32 wrote: post #2

I think Wal*Mart has an image problem. I’ve gone into their stores. Their stock assortment isn’t bad compared to the competition. In fact, aside from Whole Foods on the organic/bio side of things, they measure up very well and better compared to their competition. They are more of a hypermart where you can do one stop shopping ala Carrefour. The issues I see are: very drab color palette. Working class shoppers. Sure,…

Observations about the nearest Wal-Mart: 1) All the employees look sad, all he time. 2) They've obviously carefully tuned their check out staffing so that the lines are always long. This is such a constant that it has to be intentional, and they're doing a good job of it. 3) Sometimes they attempt to check receipts at exit. I don't get that at any other non-membership store. 4) All the shoppers look sad. 5) It's the…

I gotta say that either your Walmart is worse than any I’ve ever been to or you’re in your own head a bit.

Re: Leaked Walmart memo reveals competitive threats

#304

Post by thrower123 »

dimmke wrote: post #214
Spooky23 wrote: post #138

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Walmart has some weird cultural issues that make store operations hard to adapt. It’s a pretty miserable place to work. They hire anyone, turn them out quickly, and have weird work rules for things like gathering in a group. Target’s pickup operation is superior in every dimension. They made the decision to put it front and center, and their employees seem happier. It takes The other issue they have is that their log…

This is really the problem with everything Walmart has done wrt eCommerce/online pickup IMO - It's like all the pieces are there, but they can't bring them all together. I've hit their website from Google looking for an item, and the lead time to ship is 2+ weeks and it's highlighted that it's sourced from a partner. Putting aside the obvious - it's just a worse deal. For most items, they're competing with 1-2 days,…

I've given up on Walmart online ordering after a couple experiences where my order was fulfilled by a dropshipper who bought the wrong item and had it shipped to me as a gift through Amazon. Massive confusion all around, and it ended with cancelling and getting a refund from Walmart.

Re: Leaked Walmart memo reveals competitive threats

#305

Post by thrower123 »

kevin_thibedeau wrote: post #217
Spooky23 wrote: post #138

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Walmart has some weird cultural issues that make store operations hard to adapt. It’s a pretty miserable place to work. They hire anyone, turn them out quickly, and have weird work rules for things like gathering in a group. Target’s pickup operation is superior in every dimension. They made the decision to put it front and center, and their employees seem happier. It takes The other issue they have is that their log…

I'd just like them to observe Walton's imposed limit of no more than two customers in line. I'm getting really fed up with retailers that won't staff their registers. And no, self checkout is a slap in the face where you exit the store as a presumed criminal after providing free labor. It's like they want me to buy from Amazon.

The store I regularly go to has eighteen or twenty registers, and I've never seen more than three staffed. This issue has persisted for years.

Biggest reason I don't go grocery shopping at Walmart. Doing a full cart through a tiny self-checkout area is a PITA.

Re: Leaked Walmart memo reveals competitive threats

#306

Post by mc32 »

handrous wrote: post #282
Auracle wrote: post #257

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I haven’t noticed a difference in most things. Some things are cheaper at Walmart, but they also often have companies make worse versions of products for them just so they can sell them cheaper.

Clothes are notorious for this. "Wow, [mid-tier jeans brand] is only $16/pair at Wal-Mart, and they're $40 when you find them on sale on [jeans brand]'s web site. What a bargain!" ... but then it turns out they're not the same thing, even if they're made to look very much like they are even down to the labelling, and in fact the manufacturer produces a separate low-end- and outlet-stores version that's much worse tha…

A different phenomenon but somewhat related is when good brands have an unusual sale item (not a close out). It seems to be where the MFG had a bad run and they’re noticing a higher rate of returns so they put them on sale. It’s not worth it, get the full price version and avoid the defects (like seal quality, adhesive quality, material quality, etc.)

Re: Leaked Walmart memo reveals competitive threats

#307

Post by dogman144 »

Animats wrote: post #4

Instacart is a threat to WalMart? That's a surprise. I had no idea Instacart was that big. I think of them as a gig-economy delivery service that delivers only 80% of what you order. The whole business of sending people to do shopping in retail stores seems a temporary business until the grocery industry gets fulfillment figured out. It's like a throwback to the early days of Internet commerce, when the web site didn…

Used to do retail tech work.

Instacart collapses brand identities as consumers don’t care where the food comes from. This is very top of mind of whatever reason for retail/grocery execs.

Re: Leaked Walmart memo reveals competitive threats

#308

Post by eloff »

emodendroket wrote: post #300
cgriswald wrote: post #267

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I dislike Walmart rather intensely but I know if I order a new Kitchen Aid mixer from them I’m going to get a new Kitchen Aid mixer. Ask me how I know the same isn’t true of Amazon. No matter how good your delivery logistics, it’s not “nailing it” if I get the wrong thing fast.

Do you really though? They do the same third-party seller thing as Amazon.

It's not third party sellers, it's comingling inventory from third party sellers. That breaks the reviews / reputation as a way to check, and it means if there's even one bad egg, even if I buy from Amazon itself, I can still get the wrong product.

Re: Leaked Walmart memo reveals competitive threats

#309

Post by mc32 »

refurb wrote: post #204
handrous wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Observations about the nearest Wal-Mart: 1) All the employees look sad, all he time. 2) They've obviously carefully tuned their check out staffing so that the lines are always long. This is such a constant that it has to be intentional, and they're doing a good job of it. 3) Sometimes they attempt to check receipts at exit. I don't get that at any other non-membership store. 4) All the shoppers look sad. 5) It's the…

It’s funny seeing many posts on HN rallying against capitalism, decrying the cycle of poverty and food deserts and then see someone complain about seeing poor people at Walmart. Sorry you have to mix with the “rabble”!

I think you lost the context. Wal*Mart is threatened by other retailers. Why might they be losing foot traffic/customers/sales?

People want to shop with others of similar taste/preferences. They presently cater to the one of the lowest common denominators (Dollar stores could be lower, I guess), so how could they appeal to other shoppers?

That’s the crux of the question. The current stores appeal to one audience but not another.

Whole Foods has the same problem, except from the other direction. Working class folks will sneer at Whole Foods. It’s not their bag. Amazon would have to open something that caters to price conscious shoppers if they wanted to expand groceries to working class shoppers...

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