Walmart Closing Stores, Willowbrook Supercenter Closing

[IronTiger]

http://news.walmart.com/news-archive/2016/01/15/walmart-continues-sharpened-focus-on-portfolio-management

 

Additionally, a Neighborhood Market store on Gessner is closing.

 

I am confused and worried, though, the Willowbrook Supercenter looks moderately popular, what's wrong with it?

[kylejack]

I don't worry when a Walmart closes, I celebrate!

[Sparrow]

There's one three miles east on Cypress Creek Parkway/FM 1960. ...and another 5 miles north ...and another 5 miles south ...and another 5 miles west. Makes good financial sense. They won't lose that much in overall sales, and now they can sell a valuable piece of real estate.

[august948]

I don't worry when a Walmart closes, I celebrate!

Party supplies are cheaper at Walmart.

[gmac]

Nice to know you celebrate a loss of jobs, kylejack.

[kylejack]

Nice to know you celebrate a loss of jobs, kylejack.

 

People have to buy stuff regardless. If they buy it somewhere other than Walmart, people will have better jobs, because it doesn't get much worse than a Walmart job. Walmart losing market share is good for workers.

[gmac]

How many years did you work at Walmart?

[kylejack]

None.

[august948]

People have to buy stuff regardless. If they buy it somewhere other than Walmart, people will have better jobs, because it doesn't get much worse than a Walmart job. Walmart losing market share is good for workers.

 

Walmart has plenty of company: Starbucks, Marshalls, TJ Maxx, HomeGoods, Macy's, Darden Restaurants (Olive Garden, Red Lobster), Sears, Kmart, KFC, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, Kroger, Target, and McDonalds.

 

http://247wallst.com/special-report/2013/11/15/ten-companies-paying-americans-the-least/3/

Why single them out?

 

Should we assume you hate Amazon as well?

 

http://www.salon.com/2014/02/23/worse_than_wal_mart_amazons_sick_brutality_and_secret_history_of_ruthlessly_intimidating_workers/

[kylejack]

Walmart has plenty of company: Starbucks, Marshalls, TJ Maxx, HomeGoods, Macy's, Darden Restaurants (Olive Garden, Red Lobster), Sears, Kmart, KFC, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, Kroger, Target, and McDonalds.

 

http://247wallst.com/special-report/2013/11/15/ten-companies-paying-americans-the-least/3/

Why single them out?

 

Should we assume you hate Amazon as well?

 

http://www.salon.com/2014/02/23/worse_than_wal_mart_amazons_sick_brutality_and_secret_history_of_ruthlessly_intimidating_workers/

Do I strike you as an Olive Garden or McDonald's kind of person? Not my thing. I've been boycotting Kroger for a long time for at least 4 reasons, one of which includes that they pay their workers much lower than HEB.

[august948]

Do I strike you as an Olive Garden or McDonald's kind of person? Not my thing. I've been boycotting Kroger for a long time for at least 4 reasons, one of which includes that they pay their workers much lower than HEB.

 

Not my point.  Point is plenty of places pay low wages.  Why single out Walmart?

 

Have you ever been is a position where you had to take a min wage job to get by?

 

If Walmart were to go out of business today that would put 2.2 million people out of work worldwide, 1.4 million here in the US.  Is it better for those people to not have a job rather than work at Walmart?

 

[IronTiger]

Do I strike you as an Olive Garden or McDonald's kind of person? Not my thing. I've been boycotting Kroger for a long time for at least 4 reasons, one of which includes that they pay their workers much lower than HEB.

Can I guess on the other three?

1. Card shopping

2. This

3. Their baked goods taste gross.

[kylejack]

Not my point.  Point is plenty of places pay low wages.  Why single out Walmart?

 

 

As I just said, I don't single out Walmart. This thread is about Walmart. Start a thread about Kroger closing a store and I'll celebrate that, too.

[kylejack]

Can I guess on the other three?

1. Card shopping

2. This

3. Their baked goods taste gross.

 

1. Lobbied Governor Perry to veto a bill that would provide a state level option to address discriminatory pay practices.

2. Low pay, crappy benefits.

3. They're carpetbaggers from Ohio while HEB is a Texas company.

4. They allow open carry of handguns and long guns in their stores. 

 

You do bring up some other good points, though.

[august948]

Stepping away for a while to run to Walmart and Kroger.

[IronTiger]

1. Lobbied Governor Perry to veto a bill that would provide a state level option to address discriminatory pay practices.

2. Low pay, crappy benefits.

3. They're carpetbaggers from Ohio while HEB is a Texas company.

4. They allow open carry of handguns and long guns in their stores. 

 

You do bring up some other good points, though.

Eh, to each his own. #1 and #4 are personal politics, #2 isn't really an effect unless you work there, and before you say anything, I did, and it did indeed suck, but I always felt that lower-ranked employees got the shaft because of unions more than anything else (and I can back that up, but not here). #3 is a non-issue, because I prefer H-E-B because it's just a better grocery store not because of state loyalty. If it came down to it, I would prefer to go to a nice and large Kroger rather than a locally-owned rinky-dink supermarket (or even a Whole Foods, because despite the fact that it is very nice AND a Texas company, I'm not made of money).

I have a number of other problems regarding Kroger (including my #1 and my #3, not so much my #2, I was just guessing on that one) but your four aren't that big of an issue to me.

I dislike Walmart because it also sucks moreso than Kroger, at least for supermarkets...anything perishable (milk, produce) has a noticeably shorter short life, the selection isn't very great (small size in and of itself, but that's undermined by them pushing their Great Value brand to ridiculous extremes, like six rows of their own ranch dressing), they're often out of stock of items, and it's the only food store I feel like I need to take a shower after.

(As for Randalls, that's a bit of a mixed bag...I don't have a Randalls near me so it's harder to gauge if I would like it or not, they do have a card and tend to be more expensive, though their baked goods are substantially better and a dime cheaper at that)

[SpaceGhost]

http://news.walmart.com/news-archive/2016/01/15/walmart-continues-sharpened-focus-on-portfolio-management

 

Additionally, a Neighborhood Market store on Gessner is closing.

 

I am confused and worried, though, the Willowbrook Supercenter looks moderately popular, what's wrong with it?

 

The Willowbrook store is quite old. HCAD reports it as being built in 1994. The building was converted to a Super Center, report by HCAD as occurring in 1999. So the oldest part of the building is 22 years old. My guess would be sales at this store plus rising maintenance costs led to the choice to sell this store. I would also assume that the distance from 249 along with the Costco right on the highway helped to influence the decision.

 

Also I'm calling the new tenant right now, it's gonna be a flea market! Walmart will probably lease out the property.

 

The Neighborhood Market is in a crappy area, It was one of the first built in Houston, if not the first. It drove the Randall's across the street out of business (although Randall's didn't need much help with that). I'm surprised Neighborhood Market stuck around for as long as it did. I've been told that Walmo doesn't make much money off groceries and uses them to draw in shoppers to buy other things. So making things cheap enough to entice shoppers in that area must of been a horrible idea for them.

 

 

By the way, other than The Hispanic Project (Mas Club, and Supermercado) has Walmart fully abandoned and any other stores in the area? All the other ones I can think of were moved.

[IronTiger]

Quite old nothing. My local Walmart dates back to 1988, was expanded in 1995, and then again in 2010. The first Bryan Walmart was built 1993 as a Supercenter.

The Gessner store was across from an Albertsons, not Randalls.

[kylejack]

Eh, to each his own. #1 and #4 are personal politics, #2 isn't really an effect unless you work there, and before you say anything, I did, and it did indeed suck, but I always felt that lower-ranked employees got the shaft because of unions more than anything else (and I can back that up, but not here). #3 is a non-issue, because I prefer H-E-B because it's just a better grocery store not because of state loyalty. If it came down to it, I would prefer to go to a nice and large Kroger rather than a locally-owned rinky-dink supermarket (or even a Whole Foods, because despite the fact that it is very nice AND a Texas company, I'm not made of money).

I have a number of other problems regarding Kroger (including my #1 and my #3, not so much my #2, I was just guessing on that one) but your four aren't that big of an issue to me.

I dislike Walmart because it also sucks moreso than Kroger, at least for supermarkets...anything perishable (milk, produce) has a noticeably shorter short life, the selection isn't very great (small size in and of itself, but that's undermined by them pushing their Great Value brand to ridiculous extremes, like six rows of their own ranch dressing), they're often out of stock of items, and it's the only food store I feel like I need to take a shower after.

(As for Randalls, that's a bit of a mixed bag...I don't have a Randalls near me so it's harder to gauge if I would like it or not, they do have a card and tend to be more expensive, though their baked goods are substantially better and a dime cheaper at that)

 

The four stated reasons are my personal reasons why I don't shop there. And yes, I have worked for Kroger, and the only raise I ever got was when the federal minimum wage was increased. #2 is still an issue for me because I have compassion for others and don't like to go to places that have bad conditions for workers.

[mollusk]

1. Lobbied Governor Perry to veto a bill that would provide a state level option to address discriminatory pay practices.

2. Low pay, crappy benefits.

3. They're carpetbaggers from Ohio while HEB is a Texas company.

4. They allow open carry of handguns and long guns in their stores. 

 

You do bring up some other good points, though.

 

 

Eh, to each his own. #1 and #4 are personal politics, #2 isn't really an effect unless you work there, and before you say anything, I did, and it did indeed suck, but I always felt that lower-ranked employees got the shaft because of unions more than anything else (and I can back that up, but not here). 

 

 

Regarding #1, the alternative to being able to bring a state level option to address discriminatory pay practices is going to the EEOC followed by filing a Federal lawsuit.  How on earth is making it easier to have different pay levels depending on age, gender, and/or ethnicity, regardless of the ability and quality of the work "personal politics?" 

 

Regarding #2, when the pay is low enough and the benefits are crappy enough that the workers have to resort to food stamps to feed their families and the emergency room as their primary care facility, it directly affects all of us in the form of higher taxes and higher health insurance premiums.  It indirectly affects all of us in the sense that when people have enough income to actually buy things above and beyond the barest of necessities, it helps the economy as a whole.  Henry Ford demonstrated that over 100 years ago.

[SpaceGhost]

Quite old nothing. My local Walmart dates back to 1988, was expanded in 1995, and then again in 2010. The first Bryan Walmart was built 1993 as a Supercenter.

The Gessner store was across from an Albertsons, not Randalls.

 

Yeah but when comparing it to the closest store it's easy to see which one would get the axe.

 

Also you are correct, I was looking at the wrong Neighborhood Market, which was next to a Randalls. I guess in this case HEB ran Neighborhood Market out of business.