A Wal-mart Day

Yesterday afternoon after Spanish class with MOm and Aunt L, Mom and Emily kindly watched the kids so I could grocery shop on my own. For the past month or two, on the recommendation of a friend I have been grocery shopping at the Wal-mart Supercenter in Germantown, which is 10 miles away, but a quick drive off the freeway. It's true, the prices are MUCH better there, and they still have the few specialty (health) items I just won't do without, like Natural Ovens bread, or laughing cow cheese - and they're cheaper. Just to compare, last week I had to stop and get a few things and out of convenience went to the grocery store right by Barbara' school. For a "small" trip, it cost me $80! Compare that to yesterday where I got a full weeks worth of dinner menu items, snacks (which are mostly fruit and nuts and cheese- VERY expensive now!) and the total was $117. So am I a sell out?

Later that evening I read an article in Business Week, called "The Wal-Mart Sisterhood" The article begins, "It's a sunny morning in early April, and as she does every week, Lisa Lobb has driven 15 miles to load up on groceries at the Wal-Mart Supercenter outside of Bethlehem, Pa. Sure, there are plenty of stores closer to home, but with rising gas and food costs gobbling up ever more of her budget, the 36-year-old mother of four makes the drive for Wal-Mart (WMT) Stores' low prices."

Eek! Am I part of a Wal-mart sisterhood? I wonder. The article goes on to say how this particular demographic might be the key to the Democratic nomination because they are swing voters and although they are traditionally republican voters, they are at the point where economic concerns are leaving them vulnerable enough to change sides. As the article further fleshes out this particular demographic I realize it does not accurately describe me at all. The only similarity is that I need to feed my family for the least amount possible.

Then even later in the evening as I'm trying to wait up for Robbie to come home, I ended up watching a whole special on TV about Wal-mart and how they've become so huge, about the opposition to Wal-mart, etc. The section on Wal-marts opening in China was actually pretty fascinating. They don't just replicate the U.S. Wal-marts and plop them over there, they study the marketplaces over there and then copy the displays/presentations and things being sold. It was CRAZY how packed their stores were and the manager was saying they weren't even busy yet. The food was their huge seller in China and they sold ridiculous amounts of apples, potatoes, rice daily and with it that crowded I can't imagine how they could keep up with re-stocking. They also sold things like live turtles and all sorts of fresh fish. It was insane.