"walmart" news and stories

As rumored ealier this month, Walmart has begun test marketing Walmart To Go, its online grocery delivery service, in San Jose, California. In an effort to compete with the likes of Peapod, Fresh Direct and Amazon Fresh, Walmart To Go is offering aggressive pricing with delivery charges that start at five dollars, reports the New York Times. Products include "fresh produce, meat and seafood, frozen, bakery, baby, over-the-counter pharmacy, household supplies and health and beauty items."

The prices are impressive. The New York Times found that a 64-ounce carton of Horizon milk was $3.50 on Walmart's site, versus $3.99 from Peapod and $4.29 on Fresh Direct. Similarly, 16 ounces of celery was only $1.98 at Walmart, with Peapod charging $3.29 and Fresh Direct $3.49. There are trade-offs, though. Customers can't always choose the number of items for purchase -- fruits like oranges and lemons are only available in large bags.

Douglas McIntyre of Daily Finance is wary of the move, warning that it may cost the retailer impulse purchases of other items. "Walmart may pick up a new category of customers with home-delivered groceries. But it risks losing one of its best ways of luring people into its stores to buy things other than groceries," he says. The New York Times also points out that online delivery is a tough business, citing the high-profile bust of dot-com giant Webvan in 2001, among others.

But don't count them out. Walmart has size on its side: they're the biggest grocer in the country, with about 33 percent of the United States market share.

Zemco Industries, a division of Tyson Foods, is recalling about 380,000 pounds -- 172 metric tons -- of deli meat it sold to Wal-Mart Stores because it may be contaminated with a deadly bacteria.

The meat, produced between June 18 to July 2, with "Use By" dates ranging from Aug. 20 to Sept. 10, is being recalled for possible Lysteria monocytogenes contamination, Bloomberg News reported.

The meats were distributed to delis that then used them to make some "Marketside Grab and Go" deli sandwiches.

An East Texas man claims he found a fragment of a rat's jawbone in a package of frozen vegetables he bought at Walmart.

Ben Leonard of White Oak, Texas, told KLTV-TV that his wife found the fragment in a package of Walmart's Great Value brand frozen mixed vegetables. The family ate the vegetables before they figured out the fragment was likely a rat's jaw.

"She thought it was a big chunk of corn cob or something and the further I got into it the more I thought, 'Oh no, this is rat's jaw!'" Leonard told KLTV.

Leonard said he reported his find to the local Walmart, where the vegetables were purchased, and he told KLTV they directed him to the manufacturer. Walmart did not respond to Slashfood's request for comment.

In an e-mail, Leonard told Slashfood the company held a conference call with him when he first reported his discovery, then immediately turned contact over to their insurance company.

"They did not ask to examine what I had. I told them I was willing for anyone to examine the small chunk of bone but I was not going to send it any where," he wrote.

Years ago, when I was preparing to propose to my wife, I worked with a goldsmith to design a beautiful engagement ring. However, given that I was popping the question in Poland, I thought it best to also pick up a cheaper ring that, while unique, was a bit less expensive. After all, losing a $100 ring while backpacking through Eastern Europe is tough, but losing one that cost a few thousand dollars would be hard to deal with.

Anyway, I decided on a simple silver ring with an engraved lyric on the outside. Since one of my wife's favorite songsmiths is 50 Cent, I chose one of his more famous lines (and one of her favorites) for the inscription. Unfortunately, Wal-Mart found the quote somewhat obscene, and refused to do the engraving. In fact, when I suggested the inclusion of ampersands, asterisks, and "at" signs in lieu of certain key letters, they (somewhat aggressively) asked me to leave the jewelry area.

With this in mind, I feel a certain kinship with poor Adolf Hitler Campbell, of Hunterdon County, New Jersey. A ShopRite in nearby Easton, Pennsylvania apparently refused to write the young boy's name on top of a cake, stating that the store reserves the right to refuse any inscription that they deem inappropriate. This is, apparently, the Campbells' third unsuccessful attempt to get the ShopRite to make a cake for their son; one time, they also asked to have a swastika included in the design.

Though the WalMart phenomenon seems to have slowed down, at least as far as I can tell, they are still building new stores. Up til now, if the store was big enough to warrant an eatery, the space was given to McDonald's or Subway.

That's going to change as of this year, at least in some areas of the country. Now some new stores will be getting a tex mex place called Taco Maker, while others will get a Guatemalan chain called Pollo Campero. I guess it's better late than never that WalMart starts catering to the tastes of one of its largest customer bases.

What do you think? What kind of eatery would you like to see in the new WalMart near you?

[Via ChicagoBusiness]