What usually happens is that Walmart says "oh yes we would like to buy xxx bazzillion whatever's but we need bigger jars or you need to shave xxx off the price"
Those in charge see big dollar signs so they retool and shave prices and try and meet the demand from walmart. walmart continues to squeeze them on price until they go bankrupt.
Or, if they can't meet demand, or refuse to do deal with walmart then they call their overseaes supplies and make exact copies. There was a childs clothing line, well thought of, that they duplicated in total becaus ethe original company wouldn't sell to walmart. I don't know if that company survived.
walmarts the devil, it's just cloaked in low prices. A google search turn up a million plus hits on articles about their business practices.
Oh, here's the childrens clothing thing:
March 2000
* Supreme Court Rules for Wal-Mart in Clothing Knockoff Case. On March 22, 2000 the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in a lawsuit filed against Wal-Mart for trademark infringement, holding that the retail chain did not infringe on a line of children’s clothes. Wal-Mart hired a company in 1995 to make children’s clothing modeled after a design used by Samara Brothers; Wal-Mart paperwork used in planning for the order showed photos of garments with the Samara label. Samara sued the retail chain for infringing on its copyright and distinctive clothing design. A jury awarded Samara $912,856 in damages for copyright infringement and $240,458 for trade-dress infringement. Most of the jury award was upheld by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, which found that “Wal-Mart's marketing of the knockoffs was willful piracy with an intent to deceive consumers as to the source of the product.” In reversing the verdict, the Supreme Court ruled that the clothing design was not inherently distinctive and did not serve to identify a brand but only to make the clothing more appealing to consumers. “We see it as a clear victory for our customers,” stated Wal-Mart spokesman Tom Williams. Wal-Mart Stores v. Samara Brothers, U.S. Supreme Court No. 99-150. For a detailed discussion of the legal issues in this case, see Gail Dalickas, "What Is a 'Trademark Look'?" The Legal Intelligencer (November 4, 1999), p.5. (Posted March 2000).
An another example is Buck, who uses China made knives to supply walmart. The problem is that people still think of Buck as American made and they surpised when they see their knife isn't made in US. IMO that damaged Buck's reputation.
I don't want first class dealers like NGK hurt. They are GREAT folks but when I can save $30 on a knife I can't help being tempted.
