I hate Walmart. I complain every time my girlfriend goes to Walmart. I tell her that she should go to Target instead. Her response is that Target is probably just as bad as Walmart, but they are a little smaller so they don’t get as much bad press.
Does anyone have any arguments for or against this theory?
Target is way better. They actually have well designed products. The store’s environment is much more pleasent as well.
Do I understand that you have never actually shopped in a Target store?
Okay, here are the big differences.
Target has more stuff that’s designed specifically for them, so it looks a little better than the generic stuff Wal-Mart has.
Target stores tend to be a little smaller, cleaner and better organized than Wal-Mart, although individual stores may be different.
Wal-Mart generally has more different things in its inventory, particularly in areas like hardware, automotive, craft items and home and garden.
Target employees make me less depressed than Wal-Mart emplyees, although both really are minimum-wage slaves.
Identical items cost less at Wal-Mart.
Their stores are cleaner and they have a waaaay hipper image, so yes, of course.
I assume you mean in a “treats their workers well, doesn’t cowtow to the religious right” type way.
I shop at Target over Wal-Mart because of the reasons mentioned above: clean stores, better selection, happier workers.
At the Target I go to, the maximum number of people I ever have in front of me is one, even during busy periods. They constantly open registers to handle the crowd flow.
Any time I have the misfortune to shop at Wal-Mart, I can count on waiting in a line of at least five people–and that’s the middle of the night. Usually we’re talking eight-to-ten.
Target actually maintains their inventory and organizes it. Wal-Mart has crap thrown all over their sparsely stocked shelves.
I am occasionally able to find something at Wal-Mart that I couldn’t find at Target, which accounts for my bi-annual trek there.
I just want to echo what everyone else has said about how much better Target is. Clean stores, decent customer service, good products, etc.
Walmart has none of those.
Somehow I think the OP might be referring to the accusations of shady business practices that befalls Wal-Mart. I don’t think the question of a hip image, lack of checkout lines, or a cleaner store is fodder for Great Debates.
Marc
Are you kidding? Short checkout lines are a matter of major national importance and are, in fact, vital to our long term survival.
Why do you hate America, Marc?
[sub]Yeah, I was kinda figuring it would get moved to IMHO.[/sub]
From BuyBlue, quoting opensecrets.org, here’s the breakdown in donations during the 2003-2004 election cycle:
Wal-Mart:
Total Spent: $1,752,750.00
21.54% to Democratic Party candidates
78.46% to Republican Party candidates
0% to Other candidates
Company-related Political Action Committees (PACs):
WAL-MART STORES INC. PAC FOR RESPONSIBLE GOVERNMENT
2004 Election Cycle Contributions: $1,655,500 (22.00% Dem, 78.00% Rep, 0.00% Other)
Target:
Total Spent: $212,440.00
17.13% to Democratic Party candidates
82.06% to Republican Party candidates
0% to Other candidates
Company-related Political Action Committees (PACs):
TARGETCITIZENS POLITICAL FORUM
2004 Election Cycle Contributions: $173,240 (21.00% Dem, 78.00% Rep, 0.00% Other)
Too close to call; I’d vote for “both equally evil,” myself.
Yeah as the OP-er (how do most people say that?) I was not referring to the shopping environment, but arguments for or against the following conversation:
“Me: Walmart is evil! They oppress workers and kill small town stores and hate unions! Don’t shop there, go to Target instead!”
“GF: Target is probably just as evil, you just don’t know about it”
“Me: Well… um…”
Looks to me like Walmart is ~9x as evil, if you judge only on the amount of political money.
Wally all the way. They sell guns and ammo. And Super WMs sell groceries. I eat Ben and Jerry’s ice cream, so ovbviously, caring about company politics means little to me.
I’m sorry for misinterpreting your OP.
Target doesn’t normally go into small towns, so they aren’t as guilty of killing small town businesses. They have, along with Wal-Mart, done a pretty good job of killing K-Mart. I’m sure if they decided to change their business model to concentrate on rural areas, they could be just as deadly as Wal-Mart.
Retailing in general oppresses workers, although as I said, Target employees don’t depress me nearly as much as Wal-Mart employees.
I don’t know if Target is as anti-union as Wal-Mart, but I’ve never seen a Target store with a union, either. That doesn’t mean they don’t exist, though.
That’s why I’m a Wal-Mart investor!
While I think that WalMart and Target both appear to be well managed, I think K-Mart might have had a small hand in it’s own demise.
K-Mart strategy:
If I recall correctly, Target donates 1% of its profits to charity. Considering how large they are, this is a sizable amount.
I don’t know what percentage, if any, WalMart donates. Does anyone have any information on that?
There was a small hub-bub last holiday season when Target declared that it would no longer make an exception to its “No Solicitation” rule for the Salvation Army. Honestly, I think this is a good thing. It’s not that I have anything against the SA, it’s just that (a) Target already donates to charity, and I’d rather donate to charity in ways other than dropping coins in a bucket, no matter how friendly and cheerful the elderly bell-ringer is, and (b) I like to shop without having to walk past a bell-ringer, who I always suspect is calling me an asshole in his cheerful elderly mind whenever I walk by without dropping coins in his bucket.
No retailer of any size is exactly sporting a halo, but Target seems to be a pretty good corporate citizen. I’d contend this: that their stores are attractive, clean and well attended to reflects the character of the people who run the company.
Target implies strongly that they donate 5% of their federally taxable revenue to community programs, but their website leaves some wiggle room there.
In Wal-Mart’s defense, they don’t carry any household items that have been inexplicably made cornflower blue and egg-shaped by Michael Graves.
Target’s been a good corporate citizen in the Twin Cities. Lots of charitable giving, arts funding, support for their employees to volunteer. (I can’t say if WalMart is the same or different). They have a program (at least here) where your Target Card rebate goes to whatever local school you specify. The Target I shop at has given $20,000 this year to my son’s elementary school in rebates. Granted, they could have a rebate program where they give it back to me, but I like the school thing.
1a) This includes CLEANING them.
(continuing the list)
4) ALWAYS have the longest and slowest lines.
5) Carry the shoddiest merchandise this side of Everything’s a Buck while monitoring WalMart so that, in the event WalMart starts carrying a shoddier product, K-Mart can downgrade their own.