Okay, but WalMart?

[Bartholomew Jones]

I don't have any objection to lawsuits against Facebook for antitrust violations, but shouldn't Wal-Mart be first?

[Curious layman]

A Brit here, why Wal-Mart, what have they done?

[iNow]

3 hours ago, Bartholomew Jones said:

I don't have any objection to lawsuits against Facebook for antitrust violations, but shouldn't Wal-Mart be first?

It’s possible, though Amazon is more likely as a next target given the way they control the marketplace and also at the same time compete by selling the same goods as vendors using that marketplace 

Facebook is just easier bc they’re able to control the stories we see. The cynical part of me suggests that Facebook is being targeted in a lame attempt to change which stories (more positive than negative) get shared about politicians. It’s also a subtle way to direct more traffic to right wing sites like Parler which allow repugnant views to go unchallenged 

[Bartholomew Jones]

22 hours ago, iNow said:

It’s possible, though Amazon is more likely as a next target given the way they control the marketplace and also at the same time compete by selling the same goods as vendors using that marketplace 

Facebook is just easier bc they’re able to control the stories we see. The cynical part of me suggests that Facebook is being targeted in a lame attempt to change which stories (more positive than negative) get shared about politicians. It’s also a subtle way to direct more traffic to right wing sites like Parler which allow repugnant views to go unchallenged 

Wal-Mart should have been brought down since Kmart failed, and so many smaller retailers.  The Antitrust Act is supposed to oppose monopolies like Wal-Mart and protect competitive markets.  Wal-Mart now usurps the consumer price index, which is treacherous.

On 12/12/2020 at 5:09 PM, Curious layman said:

A Brit here, why Wal-Mart, what have they done?

I'm sorry.  I understand people are often fond of Wal-Mart.  But they've literally monopolized the retail market in violation of antitrust law.

Edited December 13, 2020 by Bartholomew Jones
s possesive, usurp

[Bartholomew Jones]

1 hour ago, Bartholomew Jones said:

I'm sorry.  I understand people are often fond of Wal-Mart.  But they've literally monopolized the retail market in violation of antitrust law.

It's not Sam Walton.  It's Enron.

And since the Sarbanes-Oxley "reforms" were the only reaction of regulators following Enron, the books of Wal-Mart and the next generation (those like Aldi), are likely treacherous too.

Edited December 13, 2020 by Bartholomew Jones
delete redundant duplication

[Curious layman]

1 hour ago, Bartholomew Jones said:

I'm sorry.  I understand people are often fond of Wal-Mart.  But they've literally monopolized the retail market in violation of antitrust law.

Not fond of them, just not familiar with them. We don't have Wal-Mart, They own ASDA over here.

I know a lot of people don't like them, but I've never heard of anyone suggest lawsuits for antitrust violations.

[Bartholomew Jones]

43 minutes ago, Curious layman said:

Not fond of them, just not familiar with them. We don't have Wal-Mart, They own ASDA over here.

I know a lot of people don't like them, but I've never heard of anyone suggest lawsuits for antitrust violations.

They utterly control the consumer retail market.  What's ASDA if you don't mind?

This is radical but, the corporate company structure should be abolished.

Edited December 14, 2020 by Bartholomew Jones

[iNow]

The problem is with lobbying and vast unlimited and anonymous campaign contributions to those writing the laws much more than it is with the idea of a corporation or how they’re structured. 

[studiot]

47 minutes ago, Curious layman said:

Not fond of them, just not familiar with them. We don't have Wal-Mart, They own ASDA over here.

They used to but Wal-MArt sold them off in October this year.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/topics/cn54ndxy92yt/sainsburys-asda-merger

 

34 minutes ago, Bartholomew Jones said:

What's ASDA if you don't mind?

They started as Associated Dairies of Leeds (in the North of England) a long time ago.

By the 1980s they had grown to be the largest supermarket chain in the UK but they then lost their way and were bought by Wal-Mart I think in the early 1990s

This acquisition was never a big success for W-M and they have been trying to sell it of for several years.

The UK Mergers and Monopolies Commission prevented a previous sale to a rival supermarket chain, I think the new owners are venture capitalists.

[Curious layman]

42 minutes ago, Bartholomew Jones said:

What's ASDA if you don't mind?

Supermarket chain. Basically the same as Wal-Mart but British.

edit: cross posted with a much better answer.

Edited December 14, 2020 by Curious layman

[Bartholomew Jones]

11 minutes ago, studiot said:

They used to but Wal-MArt sold them off in October this year.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/topics/cn54ndxy92yt/sainsburys-asda-merger

 

They started as Associated Dairies of Leeds (in the North of England) a long time ago.

By the 1980s they had grown to be the largest supermarket chain in the UK but they then lost their way and were bought by Wal-Mart I think in the early 1990s

This acquisition was never a big success for W-M and they have been trying to sell it of for several years.

The UK Mergers and Monopolies Commission prevented a previous sale to a rival supermarket chain, I think the new owners are venture capitalists.

Do you know where they source their product?

13 minutes ago, iNow said:

The problem is with lobbying and vast unlimited and anonymous campaign contributions to those writing the laws much more than it is with the idea of a corporation or how they’re structured. 

The thing is, corporations commit financial statement fraud because they're big enough to inflate their figures just enough to get buku bonuses to executives' private coffers.

Edited December 14, 2020 by Bartholomew Jones

[studiot]

4 minutes ago, Bartholomew Jones said:

Do you know where they source their product?

 

I was suprised that we didn't see any great increase in American brands I was used to seeing when I worked abroad.

Supermarkets in the UK all have their own brand and also sell products from a huge variety of manufacturers.
They have also extended their range over that last few decades, from mainly groceries to pretty well everything.

[Bartholomew Jones]

Do they share personnel with US Wal-Mart?  Sorry.  Too esoteric of a question.

Edited December 14, 2020 by Bartholomew Jones

[zapatos]

2 hours ago, Bartholomew Jones said:

They utterly control the consumer retail market. 

Citation please?

As far as I can tell, Walmart controls about 10% of the American retail market (roughly $500B of a $5T market).

Edited December 14, 2020 by zapatos

[Bartholomew Jones]

35 minutes ago, zapatos said:

Citation please?

Uh...no.  Ask your average American where most their people buy most their goods.

Edited December 14, 2020 by Bartholomew Jones

[iNow]

2 hours ago, Bartholomew Jones said:

The thing is, corporations commit financial statement fraud because they're big enough to inflate their figures just enough to get buku bonuses to executives' private coffers.

Some do, probably too many, but not all. 

There’s a difference, for example, between Deloitte’s Humanitarian Innovation Network and Monsanto 

Edited December 14, 2020 by iNow

[zapatos]

18 minutes ago, Bartholomew Jones said:

Uh...no.  Ask your average American where most their people buy most their goods.

You shouldn't make claims that are a lie and then try to bash that company based upon your false assertion.

[iNow]

Amazon share is up this year due to covid and online shopping from home, but I don’t have numbers yet to share regarding how much. 

https://www.pymnts.com/news/retail/2020/amazon-and-walmarts-battle-for-consumer-retail-spend/

Quote

When it comes to consumer spending [in the US], Walmart accounts for 3.4 percent overall and 10.2 percent for retail. That’s up from 9.6 percent in Q1 2020, but roughly even with 2016. Bottom line: In 2019, Amazon accounted for 6.8 percent of total retail spend, while Walmart grabbed 8.9 percent.

 

[Sensei]

1 hour ago, iNow said:

Amazon share is up this year due to covid and online shopping from home, but I don’t have numbers yet to share regarding how much.

Amazon started making the real money after they jumped in cloud computing industry.

https://www.statista.com/statistics/266288/annual-et-income-of-amazoncom/

https://www.geekwire.com/2019/amazon-web-services-growth-slows-missing-analyst-expectations/

 

[Bartholomew Jones]

9 hours ago, iNow said:

Some do, probably too many, but not all. 

There’s a difference, for example, between Deloitte’s Humanitarian Innovation Network and Monsanto 

I'm just judging by their size and by their operations, having worked there.

[swansont]

14 hours ago, Bartholomew Jones said:

I'm sorry.  I understand people are often fond of Wal-Mart.  But they've literally monopolized the retail market in violation of antitrust law.

A literal monopoly has 100% of the market share. They are the sole supplier. In practice it's less

https://www.justice.gov/atr/competition-and-monopoly-single-firm-conduct-under-section-2-sherman-act-chapter-2

Quote

Following Alcoa and American Tobacco, courts typically have required a dominant market share before inferring the existence of monopoly power. The Fifth Circuit observed that "monopolization is rarely found when the defendant's share of the relevant market is below 70%."⁽²²⁾

With Walmart and Amazon each having less than 10%, I'm not seeing where the monopoly talk comes from.

(that's not to say they haven't engaged in anti-competetive acts, or don't dominate certain niches at a much higher market share)

[Bartholomew Jones]

38 minutes ago, swansont said:

A literal monopoly has 100% of the market share. They are the sole supplier. In practice it's less

https://www.justice.gov/atr/competition-and-monopoly-single-firm-conduct-under-section-2-sherman-act-chapter-2

With Walmart and Amazon each having less than 10%, I'm not seeing where the monopoly talk comes from.

(that's not to say they haven't engaged in anti-competetive acts, or don't dominate certain niches at a much higher market share)

I'm talking about department store retail sales.  I should have specified.

When consumers have to go get something for dinner or immediate use, it's Wal-Mart.  That's where they shop from day to day.  No sensible American will contest that.

10 hours ago, iNow said:

Some do, probably too many, but not all. 

There’s a difference, for example, between Deloitte’s Humanitarian Innovation Network and Monsanto 

They thought Arthur Anderson was legit.

Edited December 14, 2020 by Bartholomew Jones
underscore

[swansont]

57 minutes ago, Bartholomew Jones said:

I'm talking about department store retail sales.  I should have specified.

When consumers have to go get something for dinner or immediate use, it's Wal-Mart.  That's where they shop from day to day.  No sensible American will contest that.

I've been to a Walmart perhaps twice in my life, and that was years ago, and when I was away from home. The convenient department store for me is a Target. There is also a Marshall's and a TJ Maxx.

Does not having a Walmart nearby, and/or not wanting to shop at one make me "not sensible"?

 

[iNow]

10 hours ago, Sensei said:

Amazon started making the real money after they jumped in cloud computing industry.

Totally agree. AWS is main source of their revenue. Not really relevant to the exchange here, though (as Azure and a handful of less sizable others compete with that)

[Bartholomew Jones]

4 hours ago, swansont said:

I've been to a Walmart perhaps twice in my life, and that was years ago, and when I was away from home. The convenient department store for me is a Target. There is also a Marshall's and a TJ Maxx.

Does not having a Walmart nearby, and/or not wanting to shop at one make me "not sensible"?

 

That's opposite what I'm saying.  The thing that I said was not sensible is the statement that it is false that the status quo American does most their shopping at Wal-Mart.