[kach22i]

Originally Posted by mcrews

1. Walmart is a retail store. Not a manufacturer.

I saw a 60-minutes or equal (PBS, Dateline, 20/20) program years ago which explored how Walmart went to China decades ago and set up their supply chain.

This included establishing exclusive contracts and operating agreements in partnership to get products and goods made just for them. They financed the plants being built by guaranteeing their orders, providing substantial deposits and embedding themselves with the provincial governments which are in control of everything.

Walmart undercuts the competition by being more than just a retailer, they contract in such a way so they are also in essence a producer. Walmart rewrote the book when it comes to doing business with/in China and have reaped the rewards. As a result not only were they able to provide many goods at lower prices, but also at higher profits resulting in the loss of many American jobs.

This is where the irony of the situation with the some of the latest news reports comes full bloom.

Wal-Mart attempts 'made in America' push
Wal-Mart attempts 'made in America' push

ORLANDO — Wal-Mart Stores is spearheading an effort to bring together retailers, suppliers and government officials so they can figure out how to bring more manufacturing jobs to the United States.

The world's largest retailer hosted its first two-day U.S. Manufacturing Summit in Orlando last week, hoping to capitalize on the company's recent commitment to drive more manufacturing in the U.S. The "made in the USA" campaign could boost Wal-Mart's image, which is constantly under attack by labor-backed groups who have criticized the retail behemoth as a destroyer of U.S. jobs rather than a creator.................

The summit comes seven months after the Bentonville, Ark.-based discounter pledged that it planned to buy $50 billion more U.S.-made goods over the next decade. That's the equivalent of just more than 10% of what Wal-Mart will sell at retail this year. Wal-Mart said that if other merchants do the same, it would mean an additional $500 billion in American-made goods over the next decade.

It not like suddenly Walmart cares about it's corporate image, but to me it does seem like suddenly they are actually doing something about it.

The most likely reason for the change in my mind is a change in leadership.

Sure cost in China are rising, the writing is on the wall. And sure protest groups are raising public awareness to the point it may be getting uncomfortable at times. However as in the past, Walmart is getting a jump on some future trends (like Aero-Trucks).

Wal-Mart attempts 'made in America' push

"It's an economic advantage when you have the wind in your back, instead of having the wind in your face," said Hal Sirkin, a senior partner and managing director at the Boston Consulting Group and an expert on manufacturing. He is serving as a consultant to Wal-Mart. He believes that the movement could create 100,000 jobs over the next decade.

Maybe the board of directors just hired a different Public Relations firm, a different supplier and manufacturing consultant...........I'm sure Forbes, the Economist or PBS will be doing a feature story on this if they haven't already.