AdWeek selected Walmart’s story of Patrick as the Ad of the Day first day of spring. Click the title to see the video.
I look at Walmart and I see a company that is neither good or evil. It’s a little of both, and seems to be trying to do better. Hopefully, the image campaign is more than skin deep. Walmart certainly does two things very well. It provides a wide range of products at extremely attractive prices and in this Consumers win. To do this, it has to keep the cost of operations and goods very low. So while providing low cost products, the second thing Walmart does well is drive less efficient competition from the market. As these higher paying jobs go away Walmart replaces them, maybe not all of them, with lower paying, and often part time jobs that provide fewer benefits. The small shop owner worker loses. Someone else gets the new Walmart job and consumers pay less. Does it all balance out? I don’t know. Costco, certainly has a much better record with employees and labor practices, so Walmart can do better. And they seem to be trying to address some of their weaknesses. A big investment in energy efficiency has cut the amount of electricity needed for a store. Yes, it saves Walmart money, but it also reduces prices and is good for the environment. Don’t believe everything they say. Trust but verify. And don’t discount everything either. They just might be doing some good also.