Wal-Mart Opening in Dublin?

VonLuck · 20-02-2009 10:22pm #1

I was walking along Bolton Street the other day and right across from Kings Inns pub, behind some boarding, was a shop that said Wal-Mart on it. Now, I don't know if it's a very old building and I never noticed it before, or are Wal-Mart opening there?

I had a quick search on the forums and saw a few people were saying that wal-mart might be taking over Dunnes Stores or something like that. Any to do with that?

rco2000 · 20-02-2009 10:47pm

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

ejmaztec · 21-02-2009 12:58am

rco2000 wrote: »

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

Is that your last word on the matter?:P

rco2000 · 21-02-2009 8:12am

ejmaztec wrote: »

Is that your last word on the matter?:P

It's not a word!:P

bluesguitar · 21-02-2009 8:15am

hope not!

luckat · 21-02-2009 8:18am

Oh, crikey, I hope WalMart stays away. The company has - so I'm told - destroyed whole towns in the US, opening giant stores that undercut the local traders in groceries, drapery, pharmacy, books, etc, then raising their prices once the others have closed. They seem quite ruthless.

Mr. Frost · 21-02-2009 8:24am

luckat wrote: »

Oh, crikey, I hope WalMart stays away. The company has - so I'm told - destroyed whole towns in the US, opening giant stores that undercut the local traders in groceries, drapery, pharmacy, books, etc, then raising their prices once the others have closed. They seem quite ruthless.

Here we go....:rolleyes:

...I'm guessing you don't/wouldn't shop in the North then? If you do you're as guilty as Wal-Mart so please people don't take the usual 'boards moral highground' (not directed at you Luckat) and think before you post!

rco2000 · 21-02-2009 8:28am

It's been all over the papers in the USA for the past 6 months - Walmart are going to attack the massive & lucrative ROI market which is currently experiencing the biggest spending boom in world economic history. They are not looking for large out of town green field sites though, but small delapated buildings attracting over-inflated rents in city centre locations. The first store they are opening is in Granard, co. Longford.:P

luckat · 21-02-2009 8:32am

Mr. Frost wrote: »

Here we go....:rolleyes:

...I'm guessing you don't/wouldn't shop in the North then? If you do you're as guilty as Wal-Mart so please people don't take the usual 'boards moral highground' (not directed at you Luckat) and think before you post!

I have shopped in the North - in Ikea and for a Freesat box in Argos; both for things that you can't get in the Republic.

And yes, I shop in Lidl and Aldi.

The problem in the Republic is the powerful UK/Ireland distributors, who sell to a sub-distributor who takes his own cut.

If the Irish stores were to band together in a distribution co-op big enough to cut out these middlemen, prices would come crashing down. But they'd have to open this distribution network to the small shops too - to put aside their avid competition for once.

rco2000 · 21-02-2009 8:49am

luckat wrote: »

I have shopped in the North - in Ikea and for a Freesat box in Argos; both for things that you can't get in the Republic.

And yes, I shop in Lidl and Aldi.

The problem in the Republic is the powerful UK/Ireland distributors, who sell to a sub-distributor who takes his own cut.

If the Irish stores were to band together in a distribution co-op big enough to cut out these middlemen, prices would come crashing down. But they'd have to open this distribution network to the small shops too - to put aside their avid competition for once.

Are'nt we going a little off topic here? I thought this was about Walmart's pending penetration of the Irish market?

rco2000 · 21-02-2009 8:52am

rco2000 wrote: »

It's been all over the papers in the USA for the past 6 months - Walmart are going to attack the massive & lucrative ROI market which is currently experiencing the biggest spending boom in world economic history. They are not looking for large out of town green field sites though, but small delapated buildings attracting over-inflated rents in city centre locations. The first store they are opening is in Granard, co. Longford.:P

I believe it was in on the cover of the the National Enquirer recently.

luckat · 21-02-2009 10:24am

Apparently Asda is Wal-Mart's UK subsidiary.

rco2000 · 21-02-2009 10:53am

And Dunnes Stores are about to become Asda

ejmaztec · 21-02-2009 12:39pm

rco2000 wrote: »

It's not a word!:P

It is if you're a bee.

rco2000 · 21-02-2009 2:23pm

ejmaztec wrote: »

It is if you're a bee.

I stand stung corrected!

VonLuck · 21-02-2009 3:55pm

So can anyone actually confirm that Wal_Mart is opening on Bolton Street? Has anyone else seen it?

I'm very surprised that no one really knows anything about it. I've searched the internet and not a mention of it. Just sprung up out of nowhere. It's weird how they have the Wal-Mart sign up before they are ready to open....

rco2000 · 21-02-2009 4:44pm

It is spring

jdivision · 21-02-2009 4:47pm

VonLuck wrote: »

So can anyone actually confirm that Wal_Mart is opening on Bolton Street? Has anyone else seen it?

I'm very surprised that no one really knows anything about it. I've searched the internet and not a mention of it. Just sprung up out of nowhere. It's weird how they have the Wal-Mart sign up before they are ready to open....

Wal-Mart operates large out of town supermarkets. They would be called Asda if they opened here. so it's probably not what you think

richiepoorman · 21-02-2009 8:44pm

The quicker Wall-Mart/Asda get here the better!!!!!!!!!!:)

Cabaal · 21-02-2009 9:34pm

richiepoorman wrote: »

The quicker Wall-Mart/Asda get here the better!!!!!!!!!!:)

sure ok
:rolleyes::rolleyes:

Corruptedmorals · 22-02-2009 2:49pm

Yes I can't wait until/if they open and I lose my job.

There's no Dunnes in Bolton Street anyway.

VonLuck · 24-02-2009 2:05pm

Corruptedmorals wrote: »

Yes I can't wait until/if they open and I lose my job.

There's no Dunnes in Bolton Street anyway.

Thats what I'm saying. There's an actual new building on Bolton Street (beside the college), not a Dunnes Stores, that says "Wal Mart". I had a peek in the other day and it seems like a fairly small shop. They have some sort of car wash thing as well.

Why is it that no one else has seen/heard this before?

shellyboo · 24-02-2009 3:01pm

VonLuck wrote: »

Thats what I'm saying. There's an actual new building on Bolton Street (beside the college), not a Dunnes Stores, that says "Wal Mart". I had a peek in the other day and it seems like a fairly small shop. They have some sort of car wash thing as well.

Why is it that no one else has seen/heard this before?

The reason you're getting the answers you're getting is that we're all sick hearing about it!

The papers have been rife with rumours of an Asda takeover of Dunnes for months on end. Every day I hear a new rumour about such and such who works in Dunnes told her cousin who knows my brother that they saw a Wal-Mart/Asda box around the corner from a Dunnes shop... it's all speculation.

Wal-Mart are the parent company of Asda. If they were to expand into Ireland, they would almost certainly do so under the Asda banner.

As for the shop you saw, it's highly unlikely to be a 'real' Wal-Mart, for want of a better term, simply beacuse like Ikea, their strategy is building large out-of-town hypermarkets. There are very few new Asda stores opening in the North or the UK that aren't new builds to Asda specs or redevelopments of old sites... so the small shop you saw really doesn't fit in an Asda/Wal-Mart shaped-hole.

However, it's entirely possible that this small, unopened store has decided to call itself Wal Mart.

MOH · 24-02-2009 4:53pm

Maybe it's Kevin Walm's art supplies shop?

VonLuck · 24-02-2009 8:26pm

Well I think it's "the" Wal-Mart. I'll let you check it out for yourselves:

http://img232.imageshack.us/my.php?image=walmart.jpg

steo87 · 24-02-2009 8:52pm

luckat wrote: »

Oh, crikey, I hope WalMart stays away. The company has - so I'm told - destroyed whole towns in the US, opening giant stores that undercut the local traders in groceries, drapery, pharmacy, books, etc, then raising their prices once the others have closed. They seem quite ruthless.

Tesco have been doing this ever since they opened in Ireland. They have ruined local stores.

penexpers · 24-02-2009 10:26pm

VonLuck wrote: »

Well I think it's "the" Wal-Mart. I'll let you check it out for yourselves:

http://img232.imageshack.us/my.php?image=walmart.jpg

Sorry looks nothing like the real Walmart logo or slogan.

rco2000 · 24-02-2009 10:34pm

Could be a new name for Trotter Independant Trading?:D

VonLuck · 24-02-2009 11:27pm

penexpers wrote: »

Sorry looks nothing like the real Walmart logo or slogan.

Well this is the real Wal Mart logo: http://www.americansongwriter.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/walmart.jpg

You're telling me they look nothing alike? Both of them have the Wal "star" Mart.

If they're not the same company, is it not illegal for them to call themselves that?

shellyboo · 25-02-2009 10:24am

VonLuck wrote: »

Well this is the real Wal Mart logo: http://www.americansongwriter.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/walmart.jpg

You're telling me they look nothing alike? Both of them have the Wal "star" Mart.

If they're not the same company, is it not illegal for them to call themselves that?

Yes, it would be illegal. A Wal-Mart exec would have to wander down Bolton street and see the shop though before they even found out - how likely is that? It's more likely that the shop owner was chancing their arm than that Wal-Mart is making its entry into the Irish market under is own banner (rather than Asda) and that they're doing it in a boarded-up corner shop on Bolton Street.

Also, Wal-Mart only operates as Wal-Mart in the US. In Mexico, the UK and Japan it has other brand names.

The smallest of the Wal-Mart offerings, even in the US (the neighbourhood market) is approx. 42,000 sq feet - so nothing like the size of that store.

Anyway, all this is irrelevant - If Wal-Mart are coming to Irealnd, they're doing it as Asda. So it's highly, highly unlikely that that's a "real" Wal-Mart store.

Wal-Mart Opening in Dublin?

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