Of the almost one hundred new stores which WalMart plans to open in China this year only one will be a SuperCenter. It will be called: The Great WalMart of China.

We don’t have to be serious all the time do we? But the fact that Walmart isn’t interested in the inner cities of America is no joke. Peace

I believe their notariety is because of their size and how they trampled their competition with low prices. Everyone guns for the big guy on the block.

Remember circa 1990 when Microsoft was a small outfit, among the many?

But I don’t get the owning their own manufacturing companies. Wal-Mart sells Tide, Crest, Colgate, etc. They force these manufacturers to reduce their prices or they won’t sell their products. Because Wal-Mart has such a large presence in the market, these manufacturing companies are forced to lower their prices and lower their wages to workers. What companies or manufacturing plants do Wal-Mart own?

I looked on their web site for any manufacturing indicators but I couldn’t find anything.

I did find something very interesting about their supplier network. Wal-Mart reviews their suppliers about health and safety issues and will begin third-party suppliers this year. Of the total 14,750 inspections during 2003-2004, 20.7% were found without any violation ‘green’. There were 42.75 percent who received a ‘yellow’ rating. There were three major categories of violations resulting in “Yellow” ratings.

• Health and safety concerns.

• Excessive working hours (61 to 72 hours a week).

• Seventh day of rest violation.

35.9 percent received a ‘red’ rating mainly

resulted from infringements concerning compensation such as:

• Legally required benefits not paid.

• Failure to pay legally required overtime premium.

• Failure to pay minimum wage.

• Wages unverifiable or wage systems unclear.

0.7 percent of their suppliers completely failed (107 inspections).

And you would admit that working 60 hours a week would be considered excessive by most standards. But that doesn’t seem to bother Wal-Mart or its suppliers.

I realize you’re not defending Wal-Mart but the more I learn, the more I shop elsewhere.

Sure they do. Atlanta, Los Angeles area, Philadelphia, New Jersey, Denver.

Some of these areas may not be classified as straight-up ghettos, but they are located in lower-income areas of these cities (these are the cities I can personally speak of)

And Wal-Mart plays a heavy hand on their producers (ask any major corporation about their price dropping tactics). If Colgate-Palmolive, Rubbermaid, etc. have to lower their prices to Wal-Mart, how do they do this? It won’t be by lowering executives’ pay!

Simple, they own most of their own manufacturing companies.

Please understand, I am not defending or supporting Wal-Mart here. I am just trying to bring up some valid points.

The other issue (which you brought up last week about hair weaves) is the connection with Wal-Mart and China sweatshops. If those hair weave plants treat their ‘employees’ in such a brutal fashion, do you think they’re the exception or the norm?

And Wal-Mart plays a heavy hand on their producers (ask any major corporation about their price dropping tactics). If Colgate-Palmolive, Rubbermaid, etc. have to lower their prices to Wal-Mart, how do they do this? It won’t be by lowering executives’ pay!

People (poor and middle-class) shop at Wal-Mart at their own peril.