[wordup] Wal-Mart Opens First 'All You Can Live' Township

[Adam Shand]

From: http://futurefeedforward.com/front.php?fid=99

Wal-Mart Opens First 'All You Can Live' Township
March 11, 2020

WALTON, OH--Officials of the Wal-Mart Corporation announced Thursday the 
opening of Walton Township, a company designed and managed subdivision 
on the outskirts of Cleveland, Ohio. Walton, the first of three Wal-Mart 
communities scheduled to open this year, introduces residents to the 
company's new 'all you can live' consumer goods subscription service. 
"Beyond its quality environment and top-notch municipal services, Walton 
represents our first serious foray into flat-fee provision of consumer 
products," explains Michael Elmoere, Wal-Mart VP of Intra-Regional 
Logistics and First Regent of Walton Township. "It's a 21st century 
horn-of-plenty, all for one no-fuss monthly fee."

Taking advantage of the company's superior purchasing power and its 
much-vaunted just-in-time inventory management systems, Walton 
guarantees its residents a literally bottomless supply of the staple 
consumer goods with which Wal-Mart is commonly associated. "As much 
Windex as you want," boasts Elmoere. "As many Cheetos and Glad garbage 
bags. Imagine, every need satisfied." And the company is willing to 
stand behind its promises, integrating a '100% availability guarantee' 
covering more than 1,200 common household goods into Walton's town 
charter. "If it's in the charter, and it's not available, we'll pay you 
the cost of a replacement good, plus 10%. Guaranteed."

Walton Township's initial phase, designed by the Arkansas firm Furst + 
Femble-Grieg, includes 118 ranch-style single-family dwellings arranged 
on meandering, pedestrian-friendly avenues radiating from a central town 
hall and distribution center. "The key to Walton is a literal 
superimposition of municipal and retail channels," notes Valerie 
Femble-Grieg, a principal of the firm. "Our goal was to achieve a 
resonant harmony between the traditional idiom of the town center and 
the particular expertise of Wal-Mart in designing distribution networks. 
The Walton town center is a great central hearth, a hearth of great bounty."

In an effort to control 'leakage,' the export of flat-fee goods outside 
the Township by community subscribers, Wal-Mart plans to institute a 
pervasive inventory control system consisting of miniature 
radio-frequency tags broadcasting unique product and batch ID numbers. 
"We accept that we cannot control leakage absolutely, but, frankly, our 
focus research indicates that it may be less of a problem than most 
expect," explains Elmoere. "Most of the problem is solved by allocating 
'guest-minutes' to each of the residents for friends and family. The 
real goal is less total inventory awareness than designing a 
subscription service that satisfies people's real needs."

Reaction to the Township in the retail community has been mixed. "It is 
a daring concept," admits Loki Jonones, Merchandising Director at 
Federated Lifestyle Enterprises. "But it doesn't make sense at all price 
points, at all levels in the value chain."

Elmoere reports that the results of initial marketing efforts have 
surpassed the company's modest expectations. "This is a radical new 
pricing structure for us," admits Elmoere. "And, frankly, we expected 
initial response to be slow as consumers digested the possibilities. But 
Walton is currently over-subscribed, and we've got 14 families scheduled 
for move-in this week."