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That kind of snobbery almost destroyed Levi Strauss. They refused to let Walmart carry their jeans and their business fell off a cliff.

Today, that episode is a classic business school case study.

Go where your customers are. The iPad is a consumer electronics gadget. Lots of people buy lots of consumer electronics at Walmart.

Yup. It's funny that people would be snooty toward a WalMart. Here in GA the Apple stores are all deep inside a mall. I do not go to malls. Those are for people that like bad parking spaces, long walks, and high prices. And teeny-boppers.
 
Insecure, no. Worked for them for 10 years through high school and college. Really my posts are meant to point out that Wal-Mart may have merchandise from China. Apple makes all of their computer hardware in China. People say Wal-Mart abuses their employees. Apple hardware is manufactured by Foxconn where they seem to have a suicide problem. No not insecure, just pointing out some of the hypocrisy on this forum. :rolleyes:

Very well said! You are 100% correct.

Despite their fierce denial, the fact is Apple belongs in mainstream big box stores. Especially since the iPhone 4 proves they are no better than your average mass produced brand X product.

Sad but true.

Apple is now focused on the same goal as Walmart. To do whatever it takes to sell in mass
 
How about the boat loads of products they buy from CHINA? Walmart is the crown prince of outsourcing at the expense of the US economy. They also offer dead-end jobs to less fortunate people so that they can capitalize on the cheap labor.

So, basically... Walmart is a Chinese storefront.

Excellent. So, the iPad will fit right in with their other products. Oh, the irony...
 
With the iPad having such a huge head start with apps and sales and now being sold in places like Target and Wal-mart, I think it is safe to predict game over in the tablet market. The iPad is the new iPod but for the tablet/slate segment.
:cool:
 
Wal-Mart

Aristotle took the words right out of my mouth. Actually there are two words: "Android tablets".

My 1.97 cents on the subject: Apple is making the right marketing move here just as it did with iPods and iPhones.

MacBookPro 15" i7 (no iPad yet)
 
I still think $499 is expensive for a "base model" iPad.
Wow. What price do you think they should offer it for? And what are you comparing it to? Netbooks? Other Tablets? If you can compare it to something else, I could understand your frustration, and perhaps I could help your through these dark times. You do realize that before these were coming out, EVERY ANALYST ON THE PLANET thought the price would be $999 and felt that would be a bargain.
 
How about the boat loads of products they buy from CHINA? Walmart is the crown prince of outsourcing at the expense of the US economy. They also offer dead-end jobs to less fortunate people so that they can capitalize on the cheap labor.

Lots of stuff in all stores come from china. I am not sure what world you live in, but here on earth in the United States that is pretty common, because the people here will not work at the same wage to make the products as the chinese will to make them.

They offer dead end jobs? Nobody is forcing anyone to work for wal-mart, and it seems the people who work for wal-mart are better off than the chinese making the products ALL American retailers sell.


The reason other stores couldn't compete with Walmart is NOT always due to mismanagement. It has to do with ability for Walmart to buy and sell for pennies on the dollar due to bulk buying and cheap labor.

That is called mismanagement. If you are getting aced out on price alone, you are doing something wrong. If you can't compete with them on price because you can't compete on volume then you must do something else to make your experience/service/store attractive to consumers, or else you go out of business. God should strike down Wal-Mart for providing cheaper goods to the American consumer then they could ever dream of, thus substantially reducing their cost of living and providing them money to spend on other things. The horror.

Wal-Mart competes by providing the barest bone or service and experience. If you choose to offer the same minimal experience for a more expensive price, you deserve to go out of business.



Smart business practice, but it drove most mom and pop stores out of business. Those mom and pops made up the foundation of american businesses. Now it's all going to the larger corporations and they are one of the main reasons our economy is in a hole.

That is ridiculous. Those mom and pop businesses had to overcharge consumers because they had to overpay for goods themselves, and to top it off their workers had almost no benefits, because individual little stores could not afford to provide benefits.

So actually the consumer and employees are all better off with the net result. You don't get allowed to run a small business and suck at it, just because you are a small business. You have to compete by the same rules as everyone else. If you can't compete you go out of business.


But, nice try defending them. You work there?

No. But in the past I have worked and owned retail businesses myself, and have owned my own businesses for a long time, and I actually understand what goes on and how it has impacted thing and am not relying on propaganda spread by ignorant people who don't actually know what they are talking about.
 
these threads make me laugh. how is apple an elite product? you dont have to be a millionaire to buy an apple product. an iphone costs $199, someone flipping burgers at mcdonalds could afford one. every teenager i see walking around has an ipod touch. buying apple is not like buying an elite product for the rich such as a brand new bentley for $250,000 that only rich people can afford. an ipad is the same price or cheaper than most laptops you would find at best buy. anyone who thinks its status to have a $499 computer is an idiot. walmart has been selling apple products for years, that is part of what made the ipod so successful. its not always poorer people who shop at walmart, in a lot of smaller towns and college towns there are no best buys or apple stores so most people do the majority of their shopping at walmart. walmart doesnt necessarily sell inferior products. whats the difference between buying a playstation 3 at walmart or buying it at best buy? they are both the same product, its not like the walmart one is generic and the best buy one is sony. walmart also sells samsung tv's and sony tvs and all the other main products. only a poor person would feel rich and think they are showing off by owning $199 and $499 products lol.

I'm pretty sure these clowns would switch to Dell if the cost $2000. and were only sold at Neiman Marcus!They need to have"I'm better than you"tattooed on their foreheads and be done with it.
 
Were you aware that you can order from the internet? Some places offer free shipping, and you can usually get the item the next day. Oh, but wait! We americans are into instant gratification, so we are willing to stand in line or deal with Walmarts to get our Apple fix. I still don't see the big deal about offering Apple at Walmart.

It's obviously a very big deal to you.If it wasn't you wouldn't even have read past the headline,let alone come here and browbeat people in multiple posts about how they should order something and wait a week instead of picking it up when they are out to get some Tide,milk and cheese.
Kind of bizarre,actually.

Based on your argument I can see clearly now why they are a good match for Apple.

Correct!LOL
 
It's obviously a very big deal to you.If it wasn't you wouldn't even have read past the headline,let alone come here and browbeat people in multiple posts about how they should order something and wait a week instead of picking it up when they are out to get some Tide,milk and cheese.
Kind of bizarre,actually.

So, you've NEVER read or posted on something that isn't relative to you? It was more of a curiosity than anything... or more like a time waster that kept me from doing actual work. Now you have me curious as to why you are defending Walmart. Do you work for them? You are the pot calling the kettle... oh never mind.

And by the way... wanna know what is more bizarre than me wasting time replying to something that is stupid? It's that you are keeping track of my posts. Kinda creepy.
 
Why in heavens name not ? It's all made in CHINA. More than 70 per cent of the commodities sold in Wal-Mart are made in China and Americans never cease to stop buying these wonderful Asian made goods. I don't see a problem at all. Foxconn staff will continue to suicide so that middle class American's can tweet and facebook from the couch. No one will care for more than 5 mins and everything will just continue on as per usual.
Hey, Politico -- that is bull! Perhaps if suicide was considered a little more heinous then so many in these asian countries wouldn't be doing it left and right. Don't shuffle off this "guilt" onto the US when the tragedy is not our culture, but rather theirs that values life so little. Perhaps if suicide wasn't considered the honorable thing to do or "you get 70 virgins if you do it", these cultures that embrace it would stop and see the preciousness of Life. Of, course, this would mean they would have to understand where the gift really comes from.


Why would you buy an iPad at Walmart? Isn't the only reason to go to Walmart is to buy cheap stuff? They aren't offering any deals on iPads, so I don't see the point of putting up with such a crappy shopping experience. Now on the other hand, saving a few bucks on groceries makes it worthwhile... but certainly not for an Apple product. What am I missing?
I don't know what you're talking about, actually. The original Wal-Marts used to be sort of "blah", but the Super Centers they're building now are actually quite ok. Not the greatest, but not horrible. They take just about anything back, no-questions-asked, and have the Sam Walton directive of customer first and to be helpful and pleasant. My shopping experience is general quite alright for everyday stuff.

Yeah, because most folks who shop at Walmart can definitely afford to buy Apple products. No offense to anyone, but if you shopped at my local Walmart, you would see the irony in my post.
"No offense"? That's rich. Very judgmental statement you have there. What, people in different economic situations shouldn't have the right to save their money and get something really nice, too? Your local Wal-Mart is just that, ...your local Wal-Mart. In my hometown, everyone shops there, the well-off and those that have less than others. We're grateful to have it and we're glad we don't have to drive 2 hours to fight Dallas traffic just to wait an hour in an Apple store just to get one $499 item.
 
iPad at Walmart

I would buy the iPad at Walmart. k-mart (where i work) and sams club and here and there doesn't matter where you get it its the same product.
Even if it was $497.
And if I even wanted one.
Al tough the apple store is quite a experience thats how I got my iMac and my debit card was having issues and it took over an HOUR to get it resolved and the guy was very patient. And it was still a pleasurable trip xD
 
Exactly.

I want Apple products to be more high-brow than this.

Exclusivity is everything.

This might be the dumbest thing I've ever heard. Apple sells millions upon millions of electronics. There's nothing exclusive about it. At least their marketing works on you.
 
Buyer to Wal-mart employee: Is that an iPad?

Wal-mart Employee: Yep?

Buyer: Can you tell me anything about it?

Employee: It sure has a pretty box.

Buyer: Bye!
 
Buyer to Wal-mart employee: Is that an iPad?

Wal-mart Employee: Yep?

Buyer: Can you tell me anything about it?

Employee: It sure has a pretty box.

Buyer: Bye!

Do you always badger sales people like that ? I usually just walk into a store, point at what I want, pay and get out. The last thing I want is to chit chat for 15 minutes with a sales guy, I've got better things to do.

Incidently, I shop at Wal-mart for stuff and I don't care what anyone thinks.
 
I'm from England and therefore maybe missing something here, but why such negativity from certain people about the fact that Walmart sells stuff cheap? Over here that would be considered a good thing, who wouldn't want to save money? Also, who cares where you buy your iPad from? I bought my iPhone 4 from the Apple Store on launch day because it was only place I'd be likely to get one but if the local supermarket had stock I would have preferred to have bought it from there to save travelling.
 
Do you always badger sales people like that ? I usually just walk into a store, point at what I want, pay and get out. The last thing I want is to chit chat for 15 minutes with a sales guy, I've got better things to do.

Incidently, I shop at Wal-mart for stuff and I don't care what anyone thinks.

Where do you see that I'm badgering anyone? Do you always think on the negative side of people who post on this forum? I shop at Wal-Mart too, and really don't care what anyone else thinks.
 
I gotta girl friend better than that

Walmart is not exactly the type of retailer Apple would want their products to be associated with.

Wow, jeeze, let us not shop anyplace that is not so so chi chi.

Hey Burnsey, Walmkt has good prices on hand gun ammo!! I would be careful not to piss of the locals.
 
I'm from England and therefore maybe missing something here, but why such negativity from certain people about the fact that Walmart sells stuff cheap? Over here that would be considered a good thing, who wouldn't want to save money? Also, who cares where you buy your iPad from? I bought my iPhone 4 from the Apple Store on launch day because it was only place I'd be likely to get one but if the local supermarket had stock I would have preferred to have bought it from there to save travelling.

It's mostly just self-centered imbeciles who think too much about their own worth and their image. Walmart has done some pretty dumb things in the past, but the company has emerged as a giant who is very successful for their products and service. Some people feel too important to shop at a store where everyone else shops, they don't want to be known as the person who went down to the "cheap store" because they are afraid people will think they are poor.

People in the US spend way too much time inflating their own wealth and status. So as a result they are against anything that might make them look like an average or below average person.
 
Buyer to Wal-mart employee: Is that an iPad?

Wal-mart Employee: Yep?

Buyer: Can you tell me anything about it?

Employee: It sure has a pretty box.

Buyer: Bye!

You get that same response at Best Buy so stop picking on Walmart employees. :p
 
Where do you see that I'm badgering anyone?

Asking for a sales guy to explain what you just named by its name and then when he can't just leave ? That's badgering right there. The guy works in a big surface store with literally thousands of products, you can't expect him to know each and everyone. If you want that kind of special personalized service, you don't shop at Wal-mart.

Maybe your example was poorly phrased, but if I know a product by its name and want it, if the sales guy can't do a short speech about it, I don't walk out. In fact, if he tries to "tell me anything about it", I'll just cut him off and tell him to get the box.

And yes, I did find negativity in your post. If you don't care, why did you take the time to bash Wal-mart's sales services (ie, their non-existent floor sales) ?
 
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_0_1 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/532.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0.5 Mobile/8A306 Safari/6531.22.7)

I can't believe how egotistical some of you guys are. Truly a sad day.
 
Now that it appears Apple has finally licked the parts supply situation with the iPad, that's why you're starting to see it arrive at Target, Best Buy and Walmart stores. I expect the iPad to be very widely available by the time Black Friday rolls around this year.
 
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