The Big Box retail plan is not self-sustaining and it is
time we accepted that we are just pawns in the Chief Financial Officers’ board
game of economics.
Wal-Mart: Retail Chain to Close
269 Stores, Eliminating 16,000 Jobs
The decision to close the stores is "necessary to keep the company strong and positioned for the future," Wal-Mart CEO Doug McMillon said in an announcement Friday.
There is really only one measure that the CFO’s use to
determine if a store stays in operation and that is simply profitability. It is
largely why most of the goods sold in these operations are manufactured off
shore and mostly in China now, I would think. So, in our efforts to get a “good
deal” we sacrifice local jobs (manufacturing and ultimately retail) to support
their board games.
I truly believe it is time for the sales and marketing focus
of business to return to North America (assuming you live in North America) which
is a more probable way to employ folks locally. So I look more carefully at
labels for where it is manufactured and try to buy things that are not made in
China and buy North American production, if I can find it. I also don’t shop at
big box stores much anymore. I do occasionally buy from their online locations
for items I can’t get in my local neighbourhood which is not very often now at
my stage of life—retired.
So if you see a Big Box store with a closed/for
sale/available sign on it. Just remember that it did not meet the minimum
performance scale of the CFO and all former employees are out of a job. Maybe
you should go back to your local retailer but it too has probably closed its
doors a long time ago when you switched your loyalty to the “good deal”.
Sadly, that is the way of retail sales in today’s world. Soon
it will be mostly online so maybe get a job with a courier service since they
will still have to deliver it to your door. But I am sure the CFO there is
pushing for more and more automation since it is cheaper in the long run, on
paper.
Who the #$%& ever
let those dumb-asses get in charge?! The CEO’s in this world only have
themselves to blame but I guess they don’t really get too concerned since they
get a rather large salary to make those dumb decisions.
I wonder what will become of all those big box buildings
that close down. Maybe this is just another electronic board game for the CFO to play with the
CEO.
