As I walked the giant mall-like Wal-Mart with my family this evening we found our way to the food section where the giant retailer does it down and dirty competition against well established name brands. Though I know many realize this trickery that Wally world uses, some still don’t see it. Let’s face it, Sam Walden’s dream takes a PR beaten from the media and groups fighting against the system that employs 10’s of thousands across the United States. One thing that they don’t get recognized for is the way they out price same-like products that helped them to get into the huge position they have come to enjoy.

When Wal-Mart first opened it’s doors it carried thousands of products from Kelloggs cereal to Eggo waffles. These days a trip down the many food aisles you will notice the same products but wrapped up in the less attractive, not so name brand which is Wal-Marts brand to compete against the big names. The process they take to run the more expensive brands out of their aisles are simple. They run the brand name for months or years at the normal price and once the price sticks in the consumer’s mind they introduce the “Great Value” brand which is the same as the brand name but at a discount price. In some cases when they introduce the cheaper version they will also increase the name brand product even higher. Eventually people start wanting to save a buck so the buy the less expensive.

Once people have over come the name brand’s price, the “Great Value” food completely takes over the name brand and then “poof” the higher end product is gone. Wal-Mart has such a grip on America’s companies that they are starting to hurt the bottom line with their inferior Great Value line. People these days see only the discount price and say that’s good enough. We as a consumer nation have allowed them to control the way we buy, and have allowed them to be in a position to demand whatever they want from companies that have been around hundreds of years before them.

Do I have a dislike with this tactic, no not particularly, but the practice I believe is underhanded. They have done the same in the music section telling music labels what to produce and how it should look if it is to go on the shelf. In a way it’s food censorship and it’s sad. My question is why do the big boys running the name brands stand for it? Why don’t they empty their products off of every shelf in Wal-Mart? They allow the same store that demands their product to directly compete against it. I wouldn’t be surprised to see litigation against this practice. This is an ongoing practice I have personally seen over the last 5 or so years from town to town.

Unfortunately I couldn’t find satire in this story because it’s a sad reality and us Americans just suck it up. In many ways we are so sheepish. We allow these monster stores to come into our counties asking and receiving huge tax breaks in many cases and they destroy the smaller community friendly stores. In many ways Wal-Mart is the black hole of the commercial universe.