When Buffet speaks, people listen:
Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway has sold off $900 million of Walmart stock, choosing to invest billions in airlines instead.
The sale, which leaves Buffett with nearly no shares in Walmart, comes as the US's largest traditional retailer has been rushing to catch up to Amazon and other online competitors.
Amazon's market value is now $356 billion, compared with Walmart's $298 billion. Last year, Buffett acknowledged that traditional brick-and-mortar retailers were struggling in the face of competition from the e-commerce giant.
Yes, but is he still long on Big Cola?
(Score: 2) by RedGreen on Thursday February 16 2017, @04:03PM
"I'm not sure I follow. Do you mean you don't trust staff to deliver quality goods compared to when the customer picks them out themselves?"
Going by what I have seen on the store shelves and the lack of quality when stocked by them not a chance in hell I would trust their judgment as to what is a quality good. And good luck getting anything delivered here in Canada anyways at anything other than an 8-5 Monday-Friday time window.
"I modded down, down, down, and the flames went higher." -- Sven Olsen
(Score: 3, Informative) by WillR on Thursday February 16 2017, @05:44PM
(Score: 2) by RedGreen on Thursday February 16 2017, @06:52PM
"Adding a delivery business gives them a chance to move the crap out the door at full price!"
Indeed my thoughts on it as well. I really cannot see people going for it, it is not like we are past the point of selecting your own at this time. Now durable goods you can wait for like toothpaste, detergent, canned goods ... yeah I can see that happening and would go for it myself in heartbeat if it saved me some cash. Not the fresher stuff where time elapsed matters and the quality of what you are getting is paramount no way.
"I modded down, down, down, and the flames went higher." -- Sven Olsen
(Score: 2) by Wootery on Friday February 17 2017, @09:18AM
Adding a delivery business gives them a chance to move the crap out the door at full price!
But you're ignoring repeat custom and the fact that there's a functioning competitive marketplace here.
In theory, there could even be a market for third-party deliverers. Can't see a reason I wouldn't be able to set up Wootery's WalMart Grocery Delivery - Look, No Mould! and compete directly with WalMart on the delivery service.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday February 16 2017, @10:14PM
Tons of delivery options where I live in Canada. ranging from 8 in the morning till 11 at night 7 days a week. 0 need to step inside a grocery store.
(Score: 2) by RedGreen on Thursday February 16 2017, @10:34PM
Good for you but for the rest of us in small town in the middle of fucking nowhere we get what I have already stated.
"I modded down, down, down, and the flames went higher." -- Sven Olsen
(Score: 2) by Wootery on Friday February 17 2017, @09:24AM
Can't really blame the retailer here though, can we? I imagine it would be just too expensive to offer a really solid delivery service in areas of very low population-density.
That said, how's Amazon treating you? I guess that's the gold standard these days.
(Score: 2) by RedGreen on Friday February 17 2017, @10:36AM
"That said, how's Amazon treating you? I guess that's the gold standard these days."
Gold being the key plenty of it being needed for them. They always have the highest price most times whenever I am buying something, so me being tight SOB will go with the lowest price that means they do not get much of my business. The times I have bought from them they were reasonable enough don't like the bait and switch on the shipping. Whereby it says free shipping then you need to go through extra step at checkout to actually get it by removing the paid shipping from the total, that cost them sale couple of months ago when I first noticed it and went with another option because of that scheming.
"I modded down, down, down, and the flames went higher." -- Sven Olsen
(Score: 2) by Wootery on Friday February 17 2017, @02:16PM
Trickery with defaults is always scummy. Looking at you, Microsoft.