The Best and the Worst about Wal-Mart.

Wal-Mart: ALP Infringes on Our Trademark

After a year of my blogging about Wal-Mart on ALP, Wal-Mart has had enough. WM has sent its attorneys after me -- to stop me from using their slogan "Always Low Prices", and to scoot me off the alwayslowprices.net domain.

Let me be clear at the outset; there is no scandal here. I am not outraged. This is about business and control of property -- not persecution. Unlike GM, WM did NOT send a goon squad. And though I find many of Wal-Mart's claims spurious, I am not a lawyer, and I will have to consult with my own lawyers before proceeding formally. And though they will tell me to not discuss the matter any further, I think transparency is more important than most lawyers do.

I promise to fight to keep the alwayslowprices.net domain and Always Low Prices name. And I want the blogosphere's help and advice on how to proceed.

Here is a cropped PDF copy of a letter sent to me by email and snail mail by Wal-Mart's attorneys regarding my use of their "logo". (I have removed sensitive contact information).

What is the claim?

The claim is that I am in voliation of the Lanham Act -- §1125(a), §1125(d), and §1114. Basically that I pretend to be allied to Wal-Mart, and that I use Google Ads to profit off of Wal-Mart's trademark.

I am sympathetic to Wal-Mart's desire to control its private property, but my use of this domain has in no way taken business away from them. Indeed, as one of Wal-Mart's most ardent defenders, taking this domain away from me is likely to hurt Wal-Mart in the short and long run. Who else regularly faces off against Wal-Mart's opponents, union sympathizers, and the like on the internet?

Why are they after me after a year of blogging?

WM filed for a service mark for "Always Low Prices" (with a few variants) on 2/2/04, for both retail store services and online retail store services. As of today, according to the US Patent and Trademark Office, WM has not had this sloagan registered as a trademark. However, their claim went forward on March 29, 2005, and will likely have little problem under further review (unlike WM's older slogan Always the Lowest Price, which was without a doubt, a bald but understandable lie).

As far as Wal-Mart's specific claims go, I will reply honestly:

I admit that I have their logo prominently displayed. But I think it's a fair intellectual use. Low Prices are the primary consumer aim of Wal-Mart, and should be the core of discussion about Wal-Mart. I don't think anybody has ever been confused ALP and WM, walmart.com, walmartstores.com, or walmartfacts.com. Does anybody actually think that Wal-Mart would stick "The Best and the Worst about Wal-Mart" on top of its own website?

The URL, alwayslowprices.net, is the same as the blog nam -- that's the entire point of name recognition. Anybody who comes to ALP will realize immediately that they have not come to Wal-Mart, but to a site that discusses Wal-Mart. If the URL was so critical to Wal-mart's business, why didn't they buy it 10 years ago, when they starting using their slogan?

Of course, I should have had a disclaimer up on the sidebar the entire time; As Kevin Drum once noted, I did at the beginning, but in one of my reformattings, I must have dropped it by accident. So, a new disclaimer is up.

Wal-Mart claims that I pretend to be a part of Wal-Mart by linking to walmartstores.com under the label "WM News". Does anybody find this an even remotely sensible position?

Wal-Mart claims that my use of advertising for services that "might be of interest to Wal-Mart's partners and vendors" concurrent with use of their trademark and name on the blog is against "U.S. law" and my "domain name agreement."

The entire $95.83 I have collected from advertising has not even been enough to pay for the $11 monthly bandwidth charges. Though I'd rather not have to, I have decided to take down the advertising. I know that free speech isn't free, and I'm willing to pony up.

Bloggers Who Work for Wal-Mart

It's come to my attention that hundreds of unknown bloggers and web journal users work at Wal-Mart. Most have little to do with WM, and many are rather vulgar, so don't read on if you're easily offended.

Almost every post by Ryan at News of Aberdeen speaks wisdom about the Wal-Mart debate.

Nikki lives in Ontario, Canada. So does Sarah Specht - "wal-mart isn't coming through for me. i have 2 there next week *sighs* wed and fri night. i wonder what the week after has in store for me....."

A spark in the dark - "I'm Nick, 20 years old, St louis Missouri area. I work at wal-mart because I suck and dropped out of college, trying to make ends meet on my own on a meager salary."

Quixtar Criminals is a construction manager for Wal-Mart.

Anonymous works at WM, and has a good friend working for Target.

i3ai3ygurl1101 is a WM cashier in Florida; she's looking to be a customer service manager soon.

Let Sara describe herself - "I'm 19 and I go to school currently at UW-Eau Claire. I am an Environmental/public Health major with the intent to do hazardous waste management or something to that extent....we will see how long that lasts cuz yea, I majorly suck at science right now....I work at Wal*Mart back home in The Grove. Don't hate on the mart or else i will have to come and beat you up!"

The Gum Guy works for Symbol in Wal-Mart Headquarters

John Hicks is a cashier at Wal-Mart.

Big Crazy has been at Wal-Mart for six years, and has good advice for new assistant managers - "So, the guy says,”I need to have your school schedule on file,” and I say fine. Then he wants to know what I’m doing on my days off. It’s none of your fucking business what I’m doing on MY day off!! It’s MY DAY OFF!!! If I want to hang-glide naked over the Illinois River, then I should be able to do it as long as I don’t have a Wal-Mart vest on when I’m on my day off….plain and simple. That’s why there are Availablity Sheets, and on them you put what days, times, hours, etc., that you are AVAILABLE! All other time is yours and none of Wal-Mart’s goddamn business."

Chris Dempsey works a lot at Wal-Mart.

Melissa Meloche writes frequently about work at WM as an Inventory Control Specialist

Erica Lynn works in a Wal-Mart portrait studio..

Gimme a break writes candidly about working 30 hours a week for Wal-Mart. Read this entry on the attitude that one customer gave...

Heather is paid $8.15 an hour at Wal-Mart. Kohls offered $6.50.

Another Big Box Blog

Big Boxes Blow:

A home for those who want to keep their hometown from becoming "Anytown, Anywhere". News about Big Box stores and how to work to keep them from taking over your community.

Chinese Labor: "Shortages" and Rising Wages

The Eclectic Econoclast notes that there is an apparent labor shortage in China, and that the manufacturing wage rates -- both freely set and regulated -- are rising in China to attract workers. According to the NYTimes:

And if wages keep rising... some companies could face a fate familiar to many manufacturers in the United States - they would have to move to a country with cheaper workers.

Wal-Mart: A Business We All Can Look Up To

McGroarty sends in a short article by John Semmens of Capitalism Magazine. The skinny: the basic principles of economics vindicate Wal-Mart:

Wal-Mart’s "lowest price" policy is stimulating its suppliers and competitors to be more efficient, which requires higher productivity.

Higher productivity, in turn, is the key to prosperity. By encouraging international trade between the U.S. and less_developed countries, Wal-Mart is helping put these countries on the path to higher standards of living as well.

Wal-Mart is doing all these good things with a profit margin of less than 4 percent. To call Wal-Mart a "corporate criminal," as an article in the January 3 issue of The Nation does, is libel. Wal-Mart is a model of success that should be emulated, not reviled.

Pow Wow in Bentonville

Expect a plethora of articles this week as the company has a meeting with journalists to help boost its image:

As part of a national image-polishing campaign, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. will play host to nearly 100 journalists this week for meetings with top executives and tours of its Bentonville, Ark., home office.

The two-day conference is intended to help "set the record straight" on issues such as employee benefits and global factory standards, said Wal-Mart spokesman Gus Whitcomb. After struggling with bad press for several years, the world's largest retailer also hopes to create something less tangible — a bond with reporters.

"We want people to have the opportunity to meet [Chief Executive] Lee Scott, to learn that we're human beings and to see firsthand what is the Wal-Mart story," Whitcomb said. (The Times was invited and is participating.)

Another Anti-WM Blog

Add another to the list -- Global Watch Wal-Mart -- whose author prefers to remain anonymous:

I hope my reflections and random thoughts will stimulate discussion and action on Wal-Mart's global conduct. By way of disclosure, my blog does not pretend to be objective or neutral. But my critiques of Wal-Mart will be accurate.

I found this blog by looking for the "Center for Community and Corporate Ethics". I don't know who the author is, but the domain registrant is Nicco Mele, who was Howard Dean's webmaster, and is CEO of EchoDitto.

EchoDitto put together that deceptive Purple Ocean site I debunked earlier.

New Anti-WM Coalition

Via The Box Tank. Stephen Greenhouse writes about the new coordination of anti-WM groups:

In the next few months, those critics will speak with one voice in print advertising, videos and books attacking the company, they say. They also plan to put forward an association of disenchanted Wal-Mart employees, current and former, to complain about what they call poverty-level wages and stingy benefits.

The critics have already begun lobbying in 26 states for legislation intended to embarrass Wal-Mart by disclosing how many thousands of its employees do not receive company health insurance and turn to taxpayer-financed Medicaid.

WM Flasher Arrested

Reader McGroarty emails a perverted use of WM:

On Friday Butler County sheriff's deputies arrested Michael Hamblin, a registered sex offender, on a parole violation.

Grant County deputies say they put him in a lineup and the two girls identified him.

Deputies say he led the girls to the doll aisle and that's where he exposed himself.

I can see that now...

"Number two, step up!"
"No, it's not number two. He definitely wasn't Jewish."

Middleton said police believe Hamblin had done this at other Wal-Marts.

"It's kind of like a bank robber: if they get away with it once, they'll keep doing it until they get caught," Middleton said.

Rich Bloggy Goodness

Nicole Bross peppers her anti-WM diatribe with wonderful anti-WM links.

WM is all out: cute chubby babies.

It's against store policy to take pictures in Target. Marissa Sims does so anyway.

Out, Out Damn Spot hates Wal-Mart but had a wonderful retail experience there.

Bill Dennis puts forth an interesting way to get journalists to cover stories regular people care about:

I've just about come to the conclusion that the best training for journalists would be to require them to spend a semester or a summer working at McDonald's or Wal-Mart, and requiring them to actually survive on what they earn there, including the paying of rent, groceries and health care.

McChronicles

A blog all about McDonalds. It has photos and evaluations of service and food delivery in McDonalds throughout the USA (including one in WM--"slow business and slow service").

That's something I never really thought of doing for Wal-Mart...

UFCW Fails to Unionize Brossard WM

Via WM's press release:

MISSISSAUGA, ON, April 1 /CNW/ - For the fifth time in less than two years, Wal-Mart Canada associates have voted No to being unionized. Wal-Mart associates in Brossard, Quebec, today voted in a democratic, secret-ballot vote against being unionized by the United Food and Commercial Workers union (UFCW).
Today's vote result follows a clear and consistent pattern of Wal-Mart Canada associates repeatedly voting against union representation when given the chance to express their views in a democratic, secret-ballot process. To date, no Canadian Wal-Mart store has voted in favour of unionization when given the chance to participate in a democratic, secret-ballot vote.

With the help of our activists, we will help convince the employees to resist the fear campaign that Wal-Mart organizes for such a vote. They should no longer have to fear the Wal-Mart special envoys who come to intimidate them at our information meetings, like the one held last Wednesday they were heckled by Wal-Mart managers from Ste-Hyacinthe and elsewhere. The multinational Wal-Mart claims to be democratic, but why doesn't it allow people to get information to make an informed and democratic choice?" asked Mr. Bellemare.

Neither side disclosed what percentage of votes was for or against the union.

More Wal-Mart and Gasoline

Does anybody actually read Rolling Stone? Can't say I ever ran across anybody who does. Via Land of Black Gold, I found an article which predicts Wal-Mart's demise due to declining oil output:

The way that commerce is currently organized in America will not survive far into the Long Emergency. Wal-Mart's "warehouse on wheels" won't be such a bargain in a non-cheap-oil economy. The national chain stores' 12,000-mile manufacturing supply lines could easily be interrupted by military contests over oil and by internal conflict in the nations that have been supplying us with ultra-cheap manufactured goods, because they, too, will be struggling with similar issues of energy famine and all the disorders that go with it.

Wal-Mart & Gasoline

At Market Power, Phil Miller is all over the accusation the Sam's Club is engaging in "predatory pricing" of gasoline in voliation of Minnesota's minimum gas price law:

First, if consumers in the small town have an option to buy low-price gasoline at a "corporate" gas station, why should the government restrict their options and how would this be devastating to the community? It would have just the opposite effect. Sure, the owner of the gas station would feel a negative effect, but the consumers of gas in the small town would gain. Not only could they get gas cheaper, but they can put the savings towards the purchase of other things.

Second, those who use the predatory pricing argument say they fear monopolization. Never mind that the evidence suggests that predatory pricing exists in models but not in practice.

What's Good for WalMart is Good for America?

ALP correspondent Dave Meleney sends in a link to a debate about Wal-Mart entitled What's Good for WalMart is Good for America? on April 6, 2005 in Manhattan . It features top speakers:

A battle of ideas between two of the world's most respected weekly magazines.

Co-sponsored by The Economist, The Nation and the New York Society for Ethical Culture.

Featuring

Ben Edwards, US Business Editor, The Economist

Steve Malanga, Contributing Editor, City Journal and a Senior Fellow at the Manhattan Institute

Liza Featherstone, Contributing Editor, The Nation

Jonathan Tasini, President, Economic Future Group

Moderated by

WNYC's Brian Lehrer, of The Brian Lehrer Show

Wal-Mart's Prices are Different in Each Store

Some people found this out the hard way:

A mistake? Nope: Wal-Mart calls it "competitive pricing."

A Wal-Mart spokeswoman in bentonville arkansas told us:

--"We set suggested prices for each item. But store managers are allowed to lower them further to remain competitive with nearby stores."

That may mean a Wal-Mart close to a Target store may have better deals than a stand-alone Wal-Mart.

And if it's close to Target, Meijer, and Biggs, you may have hit the jackpot.

For loyal Wal-Mart shopper Lesley Parrett, it was all "a big surprise, a huge surprise!"

My advice? If you have a choice, look for discount stores that are clustered together: For instance a Wal-Mart, Kmart, and Target all within a block or two.

With so much competition, you may get lower prices, so you don't waste your money.

I'm John Matarese.

[H/T: EastSouthWestNorth]

Dealing with a New Supercenter

A new supercenter will be hard on many existing retailers, but will be even harder on all existing politicians. So writes Kenneth Stone in PM Magazine:

So why is there so much controversy about Wal-Mart? This question could be answered in several ways. First, nearly everyone likes a winner. Wal-Mart's financial success has definitely shown the retailer to be a winner. Sometimes, however, winners can be bullies. And some people view Wal-Mart's power as a bit, or a lot, too much....

[H/T: EastSouthWestNorth]

More on Tom Coughlin (and an Introduction)

Coughlin's attorney commenting in this morning's Arkansas Democrat Gazette:

An attorney representing former Wal-Mart Vice Chairman Thomas Coughlin denied allegations that his client misspent as much as $500,000 in company money. "He’s not guilty of any wrongdoing," William Taylor, a Washington D. C.-based attorney who specializes in white-collar crime and litigation, said late Tuesday.

According to what I've heard from former co-workers at the home office, this is probably correct as a legal matter, but apparently there was some knowledge of what was happening that wasn't addressed.

The other "unnamed officer" that was either asked to resign or fired (depending on who you talk to) was Rob Hey. Hey was a long time director in the operations department on the Wal-Mart Stores side and was later promoted to VP. He was also a Coughlin protégé.

WM Vs. Target Price Comparisons

Via Eighty-Twenty, we find a monster article on the prices of the two discounters on cockeyed.com. Comparing 20 items, Wal-Mart came out ahead $4.89, for a savings of about 4% over Target:

It was fun to compare prices in Target and Walmart. Obviously a 20-item test isn't a particularly thorough price-comparison, but I'm satisfied that these results will help to illuminate the difference in these two discount retail chains.

I really tried to be as impartial as possible, but with statistics, it is almost impossible to describe a situation without a bias.

The obvious next comparison is the newly-merged K-Smears, but I think I'll check how Amazon stacks up first.

Thank you.

NetFlix 1, Wal-Mart 0

Dollarwise has a personal comparison:

Similarly, Netflix was clearly the winner in offering DVDs by mail. When Netflix was started it patented its services so that no one could offer the same service immediately. But once the patent expired, Wal-Mart started a similar service. Trust me, I tried both Wal-mart and Netflix but Netflix was far better than Wal-Mart. First of all, the user interface of Netflix is million times better than Wal-Mart online rental store. Second of all, DVDs were slower to arrive from Wal-Mart whereas Netflix was immediate. So the key thing for Netflix is to retain its customers and add more customers.

Wal-Mart Credit Reports

WM really does sell almost everything for less.

For instance, 3-in-1 credit reports for $26.88, or $7.36 for a single TransUnion report. That's compared to $29.95 and $9.50 if you go to truecredit.com without going to Wal-Mart's website first.

Interpreting Liza Featherstone: WM Not Guilty of Widespread Discrimination?

Check out this interview with the infamous Liza Featherstone:

STAY FREE!: I was amazed that some of these women--who had been through hell with Wal-Mart and had incredibly solid cases--would opt for a class-action suit, because they'd get a lot more money out of a private lawsuit. Also, they wouldn't have to worry about the case dragging on for years.

FEATHERSTONE: Yes, actually, in their cases, they have the resources to pursue individual suits, but they really want to change Wal-Mart. If they were to sue as individuals, Wal-Mart would settle and it would never have to make any institutional reforms. The only reason these women are doing the class action--aside from the strength in numbers--is because they want to change the company.

STAY FREE!: But if a bunch of women sued Wal-Mart individually, wouldn't Wal-Mart see that they're losing money and see that discrimination is ultimately against their interest?

FEATHERSTONE: No, there would be so few cases that it wouldn't matter. A million dollars every few years is nothing to Wal-Mart.

STAY FREE!: How successful are class-action suits in changing companies? If the workers win, what then?

FEATHERSTONE: With a class-action suit, you can order a company to pay back wages to the people it wronged. You can order it to change its promotion system, to provide better incentives for promoting minorities, to post its jobs, and you can have some degree of enforcement. That's the ideal scenario. Those reforms are so much better than nothing, but they're ultimately kind of limited because they don't really change the balance of power between the worker and the employer very much. What you can accomplish with a class-action suit is nothing next to what you can accomplish if the workers organize. [Emphasis added]

Although Ms. Featherstone meant to imply that the economic damage of losing individual discrimination suits would not be devastating to Wal-Mart -- especially compared to the impact of a class action loss or unionization -- her assumptions undermine the morality and justifiability of the class action.

It is Ms. Featherstone's explicit estimation that the women (like Betty Dukes) who have plausible discrimation complaints agains Wal-Mart have the resources to sue individually. However, they chose to sue as a class because Wal-Mart has not discriminated against enough women to make a difference in the way the company operates if all the alleged victims actually won their cases.

This admission is startling, for several reasons. The most important being that it shows that the plaintiffs (and their legal team) probably have no good reason to believe that most of the women in the class were actual victims of discrimination by Wal-Mart. The plaintiffs have chosen to use over a million women as pawns in their lawsuit-cum-social-engineering experiment. They're nothing but a pile of bargaining chips...

Will Wal-Mart Save Iraq?

GOP Vixen sets out her plan for a peaceful, democratic Iraq:

Step One: Welcome to your friendly neighborhood Baghdad Wal-Mart! Encourage democracy through discount shopping. Who would want to roll car bombs down the street when you're rolling back prices down at the supercenter...

As an added bonus, Saddam’s legendary information minister “Baghdad Bob” can be the country’s first Wal-Mart greeter, lying to store guests about which aisle harbors the Charmin.

Wal-Mart and Mt. Monadnock

Hoarded Ordinaries has a marvelous post (and photo) contrasting Wal-Mart with Mt. Monadnock...

Keene, NH lies ringed with hills in the shadow of Mt. Monadnock, a clot of culture settled in a bowl of stone. Over time I've posted various pictures of Mt. Monadnock, and here's another. Isn't it ironic that one of the best views of Mt. Monadnock occurs at the junction of Key Road and Winchester Street, right across from Wal-Mart?