Something interesting about Wal-Mart

C

Cobb1129

Joined
Jul 10, 2009
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I was in wal-mart last night checking out their knife offering (I really like the Kershaw Tanto now) and the guy there said something interesting that I hadn't heard before and wondered if any of you have.

I was telling him about the forums and how there is a general concensus that Wal-Mart is actually a good place to buy knives and I even told him about how some people have heard that Wal-Mart gets lower qualities versions of the same knives, which is something I saw someone ask in another thread.

Then he said that the outdoor department at Wal-Mart, the fishing gear, guns, knives, and so on, is operated by a 3rd party company. He said he couldn't remember the name off of the top of his head, but that it was in fact a separate company that in fact just operated inside of Wal-Mart.

The Wal-Mart i was in, however, was a Super Wal-Mart, which might have changed things a bit, I'm not sure.

Anyone heard about this? I don't think it necesarily matters, I just thought it was interesting.
 
Could be true. I know the jewelry dept is set up that way. My mother worked there way back in the day.
 
I have no idea but I can put to rest the notion that factories purposely make lower quality goods for Walmart. That would likely increase costs.
 
That's possible really.

It's the same with their shoe dept, it's run by a different company.
 
My super Walmart is anything but super when it comes to knife selection...Our WM just had the major new overhaul and is one of the new style ones.

Before we had the knife cabinet with the cardboard cutout in the case with all the different knife pictures on it.

Now with the new overhaul...the only knives they have are only in blister packaging hanging on a display with a very minimal selection...to get anything else they want you to order it online. :grumpy:
 
Kdarmy said:
My super Walmart is anything but super when it comes to knife selection...Our WM just had the major new overhaul and is one of the new style ones.

Before we had the knife cabinet with the cardboard cutout in the case with all the different knife pictures on it.

Now with the new overhaul...the only knives they have are only in blister packaging hanging on a display with a very minimal selection...to get anything else they want you to order it online. :grumpy:
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That might mean they aren't moving the better models so they stopped stocking them.
 
Cobb1129 said:
I even told him about how some people have heard that Wal-Mart gets lower qualities versions of the same knives, which is something I saw someone ask in another thread.
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I'll just speak for Kershaw, but we don't build Wal-Mart knives any differently than any other.

Then he said that the outdoor department at Wal-Mart, the fishing gear, guns, knives, and so on, is operated by a 3rd party company. He said he couldn't remember the name off of the top of his head, but that it was in fact a separate company that in fact just operated inside of Wal-Mart.
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Never heard of a 3rd party company.
 
I was a manager at Wally World, and while some areas were contracted out (different soda/food vendors and Greeting Card companies), the sporting goods department, at least at the stores in my district, were all Walmart.
 
Thomas W said:
I'll just speak for Kershaw, but we don't build Wal-Mart knives any differently than any other.

Never heard of a 3rd party company.
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I really doubted that too, :)

What they do with their electronics though is they carry a model number or 2 older than the newest models out to keep the prices low when they can. If you check the model numbers on most of their TV's, DVD players ect and compare them to what is currently the newest you will see it is true for the most part.
 
Wally World keeps the prices low by having superior operations management. They also buy products on a massive scale, and many other things, but they are known for having the best operational management. They actualy steped in to help the U.S. military improve its base operations.

A lot of the products at WM are created by WM's own companies who basicaly copy the trendy fads in kitchen wear, clothing, etc. However, I would bet that if it has a real name brand on it, that it is no different than it would be at any other store.
 
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It's possible the different "company" is in fact a company wholly owned and created by Wal-Mart. I know that they have a company that deals w/ all legal claims against Wal-Mart stores. The company has a different name and different structure, but it only handles Wal-Mart legal claims.
 
Cobb1129 said:
I was in wal-mart last night checking out their knife offering (I really like the Kershaw Tanto now) and the guy there said something interesting that I hadn't heard before and wondered if any of you have.

I was telling him about the forums and how there is a general concensus that Wal-Mart is actually a good place to buy knives and I even told him about how some people have heard that Wal-Mart gets lower qualities versions of the same knives, which is something I saw someone ask in another thread...
Click to expand...

that would be really really stupid on walmart and the kiss-of-death on a manufacturer if that were true.
 
I just read "The Wal Mart Effect" by Charles Fishman a few months ago, and he was even allowed into the corporate HQ in AR for interviews.

From the impression he gave, I have a hard time believing ANYTHING goes in Wal Mart that doesn't isn't run by Bentonville HQ.

It does seem that they break the stores down by departments, like all jewelry departments in various Wal Marts have a head guy in HQ, all pharmacies have they own head at HQ...etc.

That may have been what he meant by "different companies", but except for concessions, like Subways or McDonalds that may be inside a WM, they pretty much control their own show.
 
Then he said that the outdoor department at Wal-Mart, the fishing gear, guns, knives, and so on, is operated by a 3rd party company.
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Ummm.....nope.

The sporting goods come off the very same trucks as everything else.Yes that does include knives,ammo,etc...

Some areas..ie Frito Lay , Hallmark,..etc are handled by outside vendors.

How do I know this? I unload the trucks.
 
Knife Outlet said:
I have no idea but I can put to rest the notion that factories purposely make lower quality goods for Walmart. That would likely increase costs.
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Not necessarily so. Wal-Mart does enough volume all on their own to justify customizations. Wal-Mart also is serious enough about price reductions that slightly de-conted models to reduce costs make perfect sense. Wal-mart definitely has the power to do a little arm-twisting with suppliers- my last employer was a Fortune 50 company, and we still went out of our way to make Wal-Mart happy.

Unfortunately I don't have links, but several years ago I was shopping home theatre stuff and came across the fact that several manufacturers made slightly custom (basically just cheaper mildly de-contented) models for certain stores.
 
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The knives at wallmart are the same as anywhere else. If you are talking about name brands like kershaw or spyderco, you are safe. A skyline from wallmart is no different than a skyline from your local mom and pop knife store.

If you doubt that the knives at walmart are the same as the knives from anywhere else you could make a quick call to Kershaw's customer service line and they will probably be able to tell you the facts in five minutes or less. (calling walmart would take longer, and there are too many employees who would not be able to answer you; if you call kershaw the first or second person you talk to will likely know the answer.)

Here is the number to Kershaw: (503) 682-1966
 
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