What do you want to see at Walmart?

silenthunterstudios

silenthunterstudios

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I'd like to see the basics, like the Endura and Delica with FRN handles, keep the Native, maybe something like the Dragonfly and or the Cricket, and the Salt series in the fishing section. I think that the Delica and Endura are the bread and butter of Spydercos operation, Sal and Kristi might have different figures, but the Endura and Delica are pretty much the flagships of this company IMHO. I think that a smaller EDC Spydie would do great, I think that the Salt series wouldn't fare so well. Maybe in a store like Gander Mountain, Dicks Sporting Goods, etc. I saw a lot of Benchmade red class knives at REI for blue class prices, and think that Salts could sell there too. Any fishing specialty shops that sell high end gear could benefit from the Salt series. Even the Catcherman would do well IMO, maybe a fixed blade version would do better.

Having said all of that, I wouldn't want to see the Manix, Military, Chinook II etc at Walmart. First of all, I'd love to get them at rock bottom prices, but I think it would only hurt WM and Spyderco, and would not be beneficial to the customer.


Just for the record, did not want to cause a flame war.
 
Cranes with wrecking balls, firetrucks if I can't have that then unions and well paid workers who are knowledgeable about the products they sell.
 
Well, from what Sal has repeatedly said, the Native was an excellent choice for allowing Walmart customers who may never otherwise have even heard of Spyderco to enjoy a quality, USA made Spyderco knife. It also allows Spyderco to reduce the price to all dealers of a model that, up until now has been doing relatively poorly due to minimal interest from those dealers. So perhaps that will boost non-Walmart sales of the Native as well. I wonder if, when other dealers start reducing prices on the Native to approximately what WalMart is charging, if guys like edgetrip will insist on paying the older, higher price, "on priciple".

As for the rest. Since it appears Walmart wanted a US made knife, there would be some question as to whether they would be interested in Delica, Endura, Dragonfly, Cricket, or Salt series, as none of those models are made here. Even if they were interested, there's the issue of whether Spyderco would be able to have those models produced in sufficient quantities to satisfy Walmart's needs in addition to those of regular Spyderco dealers. And, aside from the Native, I have a hunch the other US made Spydercos would be too labor intesive to make ramping up production to meet Walmart demand practical in the immediate future. I'm happy to see the Native being sold at Walmart, and hope the arrangement works well for both companies, but do think it's a bit too early to start expanding the selection there.

Then again, I would not object to seeing an FRN handled, S30V bladed, "made in Golden" Stretch anywhere, including WalMart. :D
 
Deacon, I agree with you, the made in Japan stamp on those models I listed would probably be shunned, unfortunately.
 
Paul, I do lots of things "on principle". Sometimes it means paying more, driving further or doing without. It's actually not a bad way to live and fortunately it's always been my plan to leave my kids with my ideals and not my money. :D

Jack
 
edgetrip said:
Cranes with wrecking balls, firetrucks if I can't have that then unions and well paid workers who are knowledgeable about the products they sell.
Click to expand...
Beat me to it friend ;)
 
I predict that this experiment is going to fail for Spyderco. If this takes off for them Walmart can outsource an identical knife from China and sell it for more profit or Walmart will beat Spyderco down on margin to the point where they can't afford to sell it to them or both. This comment is with no malice towards Spyderco but if you read some of the horror stories about Walmart and their suppliers you can see there is little success for American sourced products. I hope I'm wrong but past history is against this.
 
I should say that my above comment was not intended to bash Spyderco. I think Spyderco does a whole lot of things right in regards to products and in regards to being a company that is concerned with its end users. I wouldn't dream of commenting on Spyderco's decisions regarding buisness. That said I think that Wal-Mart has some apalling practices which I will go so far as to qualify as anti-American. So to answer an above question, no I wouldn't buy a Spyderco at Wal-Mart. I am not however going to say I wouldn't buy a spyderco though, guess I am just not that principaled.
 
donovan said:
Paul, I do lots of things "on principle". Sometimes it means paying more, driving further or doing without. It's actually not a bad way to live and fortunately it's always been my plan to leave my kids with my ideals and not my money. :D

Jack
Click to expand...
Jack, I do a fair number of things that way too, but I'm sorry, I just do not see WalMart as being an evil force which needs to be defeated. Please note that I was not suggesting he purchase from WalMart, merely questioning whether he would refuse the savings that his regular dealer may offer based on the lower wholesale price to all vendors which selling to WalMarts allows Spyderco to offer on the Native.

Perhaps part of the reason for my question was that, when I think of unions, I think how much they helped our steel industry, at one time the greatest in the world. I think of how they helped the newpaper business. In my youth there were a dozen daily newspapers in New York City, now there are four. I think of the American automobile industry down from a dozen makers to two and a half. I think of the airlines. I try really, really hard not to think about the railroads. Edgetrip associates union labor with well paid, knowledgeable workers. I associate it with someone who walked off in the middle of a sale because their contract said it was break time. That last is from personal experience, not some urban legend. So it is very difficult for me me to hate WalMart for fighting unionization tooth and nail.
 
Yeah, but the fact is its only in America that Wal-Mart is anti union, Wal-Marts in europe are unionized as I understnad it. The fact is Wal-Mart doesn't treat its workers well and seems to have very little interest on its impact on communities. They make plenty of money, I would just ask that they be a bit more responsible.
 
I want a Walmart that is completely devoid of all Spyderco products. :thumbup:
 
I dont wanna see spyderco in Walmart, nor in other hyper shopping syndicates. I dont like their policy, how they make pressure on the dealers.
Its not a fair trade IMO.
 
edgetrip said:
Cranes with wrecking balls, firetrucks if I can't have that then unions and well paid workers who are knowledgeable about the products they sell.
Click to expand...

Testify, my brother!
 
Delica I can't see at Walmat because I believe I remember Sal on the other walmart thread saying it tends to compete with the Native in sales. As for the rest.. I think most people who shop at Walmart are not going to pay more then $50 bucks or so for a knife so that limits selection.
 
I don't want to see any of the better-selling Spydercos at Wal-Mart.

The Native was not a hot seller by most accounts that I've seen. It was designed for Wal-Mart anyhow. Put some popular sellers like the Delica, Endura, and Police there and it's going to significantly affect knife dealers. They won't be able to compete with the prices on those knives.

Wal-Mart isn't a dedicated knife dealer. Knives are just another thing they happen to sell and their selection will always be limited. The end result for the consumer is less choice and employees that are ignorant of what they're selling. Aside from the usual side-effects of National Walmartism.
 
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