Walmart Is Not Evil
Entry posted by bonesiii
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Never thought I'd blog about this, since it risks getting into politics, lol. But with the news about Walmart's boycotting of LEGO, going through the talkback and other places where yall are discussing it, I see there's some things that need said.
So rather than bury a post in the talkback, here we go. NO POLITICAL COMMENTS, PLEASE. Bold is for important points, not emotionalism.
First of all, xccj summed up the situation better than I could, albeit in large paragraphs I'll split up for easy reading.
Okay, I'm gonna make a shot, and forgive me if my data is wrong, as I'm not exactly strong in economics.
Anyway, Wal-Mart is big on low prices. When I was shopping there (I don't anymore) I always noticed their LEGO Bricks were slightly cheaper than other stores, making the Toa Mata $1 cheaper to buy there. I'm guessing Wal-Mart also goes to the same extent in Canada.
But Wal-Mart is able to keep prices relatively lower in their stores because, unlike other previous large retail stores, Wal-Mart relies heavily on Asian companies, like China. It is therefore easy for Wal-Mart to demand these companies lower their prices or else Wal-Mart won't buy their products.
Companies dependent on Wal-Mart are pressured into lowering their prices, and Wal-Mart passes the savings onto the customer. This influence lets them sell stuff cheaper, which also lets them out compete retail stores back home.
So, Wal-Mart goes through this same tactic to comply with the change in value of the Canadian dollar, and they pressure Lego. Lego is a European company, and isn't as dependent on Wal-Mart as Asian countries, so Lego doesn't comply.
Since Lego doesn't entirely depend on Wal-Mart, this sudden conflict won't force them into bankruptcy. And thus Wal-Marts pressure tactics that worked in Asia don't work on European companies.
I won't claim to know for sure, but this sounds like what is going on from what I read.
Like xccj, I'm not going to claim to know for sure what's going on here. I'm a logician -- I don't form opinions without enough data. But there's some things I do see that many are ignoring.
Too many posts were this: "Walmart is Evil!" Guys, I know it's a popular slam, especially in America (where I live) for various political reasons and just to jump on the bandwagon, but that kind of unthinking flame isn't going to help matters any.
Walmart is not the only place to shop. They like low prices -- consumers like low prices. To call that evil is nonsensical. The political argument I hesitate to bring up is that they have lower wages for employees -- this argument falls flat on its face. If employees wanted higher wages they would work somewhere else. No employees would mean no Walmart. But if you like higher prices (perhaps because you want to support those who want higher wages, which is admirable), you are free to shop elsewhere.
This is not just about Walmart or LEGO, it's about Canada too. From what I have read, prices of most things are higher in Canada. I'd love to make political comments as to the obvious reasons, lol, but that one would cross the political rule line, IMO, so I won't.
It's also possibly about rising prices of plastic due to rising oil prices (and steel molds, I heard recently), about Mega Bloks competing with LEGO (which is NOT evil, although I'll grant you the original legal stealing MB did of LEGO's idea was immoral), or the tougher toy market of today.
How much LEGO can balance the pressure to raise prices with Walmart's pressure to lower prices is a huge question. Let's not pretend LEGO isn't under the pressure to raise the prices, and is even holding the line right now against raising them as much as they'd like. There might not be a solution except for Walmart Canada simply to never sell LEGO again, as much as we might wish otherwise.
Don't forget that different businesses cater to different preferences (which can include pricing), and that's okay. Sure, this is one issue that probably isn't just about taste, but this is the toy aisle we're talking about, which is inherently tied to it.
Point is, this is a more complex issue than can be summed up in a one-liner insult.
Finally, I gotta say, as much as I defend LEGO all the time, a lot of you are going overboard by just dismissing that any blame could lie with LEGO here. The original linked news story in our news article seemed to show that other companies are doing alright by lowering their prices as Walmart demands (MB especially). In fairness, that could be a risky but strategic move to compete with a higher quality product, but then... maybe not.
In logicianspeak, the mistake some of you are making is the logical fallacy known as Personal Incredulity. It's a very rampant fallacy that assumes that because you find something hard to believe, usually because of a bias you have, it must not be true. It's a mistake a lot of Bionicle complainers make, but it goes both ways, guys.
Of course, obviously I'm not saying LEGO is evil either, so don't misunderstand. But could LEGO lower their Canada prices? Maybe, maybe not, but at least consider it!
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In other news: I know I promised an entry about taste discrimination, and I have outlines and drafts of it, but this needed said. Next week. Hopefully.
(Also, that's an entry I want to be very careful about and not just rush, since it could easily be misconstrued if worded confusingly.)-
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