Most of the time, it’s quiet (the humming of their A/C system and lack of stale music makes you feel aboard mothershiply terrain – even on weekends), clean, organized, and they’ve always got original, “hip” line of product at great prices that attracts younger people. What can I say? They’ve got creative ideas each season that really click with a modern generation – it’s always fun to see what they’ve got each week over there.

Now I’m often the one defending Wal-Mart in my circle (mainly for their perceived ills in business practices) but I will avoid shopping them at every opportunity even if means driving the extra mile(s) to find one. I have to say I can’t stand the mess at my local Wal-Mart(s), the home goods and clothing are mostly ugly and undesirable. Plus, even if you walk in there to buy a few things, you’re likely bound to stand in long lines. If you ask me, even if Wal-Mart saves you a few dimes, the crowd and mental anguish are taxing enough.

Luckilly, Target’s on the build to areas without stores around to combat Wal-Mart’s domination on the landscape.

Friends of mine know just how much I cheerlead Target as a pleasurable shopping experience. In no way do I wish Wal-Mart ill nor am I celebrating their loses. I think they’ve just got some work to do before they make my wandering eye look apart the bullseye. They may (debatable) have the best prices, but their selection is terribly ordinary and stores need some help.

Wal-Mart isn’t going away, but like K-Mart in the 80s, they’ve lost their rudder. They’ve put themselves into a position where they are stuck with low margin lines and a lack of new ones that can raise the bottomline. There aren’t many more places to cut costs–their “flexible” labor scheduling was a pr disaster and probably would just accelerate the deteriorating service and stociking of the stores. The remaining markets for them are more expensive to enter and less politically friendly. Even in places like metro Atlanta, where developers routinely are allowed to build anything, Wal-Mart has run into public opposition.

So, Wal-Mart will stick around, but they’re stuck in a model that no longer works. Look for them to bumble along like Sears or K-Mart for many years, continuing to bleed customers and sources of profit. Wall Street is already interfering with their management, recommending smaller stores. Wall Street usually wrecks retailers (think most of the mainline department store chains)–they push selling assets and cutting labor, which is the kiss of death for a service business. The Waltons are a bunch of greedheads with no interest in the nuts & bolts of the company. They and the institutional investors will soon be wanting ways to plump up the stock and the dividends. Between them & Wall Street, we’ll probably see the sale of Sam’s Club (a relative failure) and some of the foreign operations–probably the the money losing Japanese stores. None of these moves will help the core business model. Unless, Wal-Mart can find real sources of new profit, they will continue on a long slide.

Not to mention their faltering Builders Square chain, and ridiculous spending to acquire the OfficeMax and Waldenbooks chains, both of which they dumped within a mere 2-3 years anyways.

Give it a few more years…I’ll bet K-mart will be another name joining the likes of Caldor, Woolworth, Ames, Zayre, Prange Way, Bradlees, etc, anchoring that big megamall in the sky.

Oh, and in my neck of the woods, I mention P-way around here…everyone I’ve brought it up with so far has said that they miss the stores, as do I.

But in the retail world now, it reigns supreme and probably will for many generations. Children of today are being raised not to go shopping, but to go to Walmart, all those other stores you pass on the street on the way are just there if you can’t find it at walmart first is what they probably think, who knows?

That reason among others, is why I try to patronize my local ShopKo store for general merchandise, and will be hitting a grocery chain called Festival Foods for grocery items when they open next month. Both chains are Wisconsin-based, and both kick Wally-World in the behind IMO.

The towns I feel the most for are the little ones where Wal-mart all but wiped out the central business districts and killed off any other outlying retail.