To many Walmarts?

[Megospidey]

Target.

Regards,

Geoff

Sorry. Target lacks in a lot of things that Wal-mart has that we use as a family.

don't get me wrong - we LOVE Target. Great store - and they are getting better. We go as often as we can. Their toy section is much better than Wal-mart for sure.

But I will be a Wal-mart person probably until the day I die because of the Arkansas connection.

[Nostalgiabuff]

the nearest one for me is about 45 minutes, in any direction. so i very rarely shop there. just not convenient. i have a Target much closer and shop there often

[HardyGirl]

I'm glad Target is finally closer, but I miss Walmart. Since I don't have a car, there isn't a Walmart close enough to catch a single bus to. Actually, I'm not sure how many buses it would take to get to Walmart, but that would really limit how much I could get. Who wants to schlep around big bags from bus stop to bus stop? I also really miss KMart. But at least Target is closer now.

[JDeRouen]

I live in Rogers, Arkansas, which is right next to Bentonville, the WM capital of the world. There are 37 Wal-Marts here for every person in northwest Arkansas. That said, I prefer Target as well, but, especially in this part of the country, there are certain things you can't get other than at WM. We have no Super Targets, Krogers, etc., they are really the only game in town (other than regional grocery chain Harps) for groceries.

[Sandman9580]

A lot of peeps still have the mind set that Wal-Mart is the cheapest place to buy everything. Of course that is not always true as you indicated above.

One has to be cautious as to what they purchase as Wal-Mart does not always have the cheapest prices on everything. In fact the bigger Wal-Mart gets the more expensive they will be getting as the competition fades into the background.

I watched a video of Walmart's CEO a few days ago. He said they had to raise prices in the past to finance store renovations, but are now planning to aggressively return to the "lowest prices anywhere" model. Inflation and a big rise in energy and food prices are expected in the near future.

Digressing a bit, food manufacturers are already dealing with the higher (and rising) prices by giving you less food for the same (or slightly higher) price - and just hoping you won't notice. Cans of food have gone from 16 oz to 15 or 14.5 oz content. If you buy Frito Lay chips, you're getting 20% fewer chips than you did in 2009. The bags have more air packed into them, so they look the same on the shelf.

[toys2cool]

Same feelings here. K-Mart used to be the bomb back when I was a kid. I can still remember people literally running to get to the blue light specials.

Now it is as if K-Mart could give two craps about even trying to compete. They continue too lay down and slide off in a downward spiral without even giving so much as a little fight in the market.

A lot of K-Marts have disappeared here in the Midwest. Their are only but a hand full left. Sadly, none of them show many any thing to really warrant me to go back.

If it were not for Sears K-Mart would have been extinct long ago. Sears must be using them for a write off or something.

I think they are still working off of old money and the new kids these days that have been put in charge could care less about running a major chain. Unlike their fore fathers that built the chain from ground up.

only a few left down here as well

[sauce]

The high cost of low prices

[megomania]

I've got one close and then it's about an hour and fifteen minutes to the next closest one.

Yeah, the Pacific NW doesn't seem to be as sutarated with WM's...I would bet we have more Targets, Big Lots, and K-Marts (still kicking around). I was in K-Mart last week (hit it about once a month when I am in the area) - usually there are about 5-6 people in there at any given time.

-Chris

[Adam West]

We have two Wal-Marts that are within reasonable driving distance. One of them is pretty close to my work and I usually go there once a week to pick up non-food items (even though it is a Super Wal-Mart). With my kids being involved in a lot of activities, we need the one stop shop. We purchase most of our food and gas from the local Costco (I'm sure there is food cheaper but I think you get a lot of value for the quality) and non-food items from Wal-Mart. We have a local Safeway and Giant grocery store that we visit a few times a week to pick up things here or there. I realize that some people don't like them for one reason or another...and I completely understand. I am fortunate that I can usually hit them up first thing in the morning on my way into work when there is barely anyone there and use the self-checkout line. I do know that Wal-Mart was trying to upscale their image (maybe in attempt to take on Target) but sounds like they are giving up on that.

[Adam West]

We also have a Target. I purchase a few things from there but it is more of a once a month trip. Their DVD and book selections are better than Wal-Mart and my daughter likes their "cheap chic" decorations for her bedroom. The only clothes I think I have ever purchased at either store were the vintage Super Hero shirts. I have bought clothes from Costco...they actually carrie some pretty nice stuff every now and then and a good price (I see Calvin Klein and Ralph Lauren shirts and slacks, Adidas/Nike, and have seen Lucky Brand jeans along side Levis, etc.). I don't buy all of my clothes there but I really don't like malls or shopping in general so I try to find stores where I can buy most everything I could want or need in one trip.