The future of free food at Sam’s Club
Comments
by Jason Hagerty on February 4, 2010 at 12:01 am under Opinion
Are you one of those people who loves to go to large warehouse stores for the sole purpose of getting free food as you run around buying way more stuff than you actually need? I mean, sure we all need spoons; but do we need 300 spoons? Maybe. But the real question is: Who cares? You’ve got some free food to munch on as you decide for yourself.
If the preceding paragraph resonated with you, then I have good and bad news. Just recently, Flagstaff’s local Sam’s Club had to lay off its entire demonstration team. And while my heart goes out to the families of those who were discharged, I can’t help but think about what these events will mean in the long run.
Sam’s Club removed the need to staff its demos and freed up resources previously used by the demo team. This is an amazing way to easily remove the costs of daily operation and maintenance of demo stations.
“But hold on!” you may cry. “Unnecessary? I need my free food!” Well, worry not, because Sam’s Club is now even more open for outside companies to come in and display their merchandise. That means Sam’s Club will not only be making a profit off the work of other businesses, but the quality of the demos provided at Sam’s Club will be higher than they were before.
I’m not sure if you’ve noticed, but the outsourced demo teams can offer more free stuff and samples of higher quality brands. When you look at the big picture of this change, this new policy may very well be one of the best moves Sam’s Club has made in a long time.
Of course, the real reason Sam’s Club had to do this is because of the almighty dollar. Despite what many people may believe, even big businesses like Sam’s Club have to think smarter with their dollars in today’s economy.
While some people are under the impression that larger businesses are immune to the stupor our economy has found itself in, I’d say Sam’s Club’s recent change in business practices is a perfect example of how that is certainly not the case.
I won’t sit here and say smaller businesses don’t have it worse; they do. But I think it’s foolish to demonize larger corporations when they, just like everyone else, are trying to run a business. Even they must think of the future of their companies and invest wisely. While I think it is unfortunate so many people have had to lose their jobs over this change, I can’t help but feel the long-term benefits are exactly what our local Sam’s Club needs. Let’s face it: No one can argue with free food — especially if it’s bigger and better than before.
3 Comments
You are an idiot.
CEO Brian Cornells email on the layoffs at Sams Clubs.
Dear Associates,
As you know, our strategy for success at Sam’s Club is built on using Member insights to make the best choices for our Members. We spend a lot of time talking to and listening to today’s consumer and our own Club Members. We have found that in-club demos, or product sampling, is one of the things they love most about the Club experience.
Our demos can be a competitive advantage and we want to take this Member experience to the next level. Today we are announcing the appointment of Shopper Events, a third-party marketing company, to run our demo program. Our goal is to enhance the demo experience, giving our Members a chance to discover new items, and find fresh ways to serve their customers and families.
The most difficult part of this transition is the impact to approximately 10,000 demo Associates, most of whom are part-time. We do not make these decisions lightly, and know that this is a difficult development for the members of our Sam’s Club family who will be leaving the company. I also know that this will be a hard time for others in the Club who have worked with these Associates and, in many cases, formed close relationships.
We understand Shopper Events will rapidly staff up to accommodate this new business and that it expects to hire roughly the same number of people. All of the current Club demo Associates will have the opportunity to apply for these new positions.
Shopper Events has an established record within the Walmart family, where they manage the “Bright Ideas” in-store demos for Walmart U.S. We are now working with them to develop a demo program unique to Sam’s Club, called “Tastes and Tips,” that will enhance our existing demo program. The new “Tastes and Tips” demo program will include integrated demo stations, signage, uniforms and product selling. It will give us the opportunity to highlight our value and selection to our Members in food and beverage products, personal wellness and electronics.
An additional change we’re announcing today is the elimination of the New Business Membership Representative position, impacting about two Associates per Club. We have found that we can more effectively drive membership through targeted Member acquisition events and by increasing our Partner Membership Programs. Current representatives will be able to apply for other open positions within their Clubs.
Taking care of all of our Associates impacted by both of these changes is one of our most important considerations. We are doing all we can to make the transition as smooth as possible for them, consistent with Sam’s Club values. In addition to providing severance pay and benefits for eligible Associates, we are working to find opportunities at other Clubs and in Walmart stores, in addition to Shopper Events.
As always, I appreciate all of you who work so hard to deliver the full value of Sam’s Club every day — by seeking to understand what our Members want and doing an outstanding job of serving their needs. Through your efforts we will continue to grow a loyal membership base, deliver products that are unique and relevant to their lives, and position our business to be even stronger now and in the future
As you can see they still will have the demo”s only they will be staged by a subcontractor Shoppers Event. Now you know the rest of the story.