Small Scale Military Headquarters

In most of the Wal-Marts in my AO, there are no armor nor planes. there are just two pegs of BOB Tank Drivers.

I would normally say that our local walmart has their toy section snuggled securely right between the hardware section and the gardening section... except that gardening and hardware keep growing each year and toys is shrinking. I'm finding clearanced 1/32 scale planes sitting next to light bulbs, and hot wheels in amongst the bags of fertilizer.

Got a Corsair sitting in my neighboorhood WM. Where the heck did that come from. Meanwhile the figure peg sare bare and 32x and 1:48 encroach on XD space.

Oh, and none of the five local stores EVER put any XD on clearence. It will just sit there and collect dust while taking up space that should be filled by new stuff until the kiddies trash the box and break/steal everything inside. Usually it will still be sitting there even in that state. There was an Avenger with no wings, busted gun turret and missing figures that sat there for two months. And they still will not give you a discount on it.

I would be happy if my walmart got that kind of stuff...personally wouldn't care where it was as long as they got it.

"I would be happy if my walmart got that kind of stuff...personally would care where it was as long as they got it."

ditto.

they could put it in with the toilet bowl cleaners for all i care.....i just wish WM's here carried it!

Oh, and none of the five local stores EVER put any XD on clearence.

I hear that. 1/32 stuff on sale, but not XD??? I saw a 1:18 Seeman and a German Starfighter huddled together in beat up boxes, all dusty and forlorn. The contents "looked" relatively okay, but they were sitting there forever, and despite the raves I've read here I couldn't part with $40 for the Seeman.

If they ever dropped the price to $30 or under, I could reconsider. But I'm only a casual collector of WW2 Allied planes. Maybe someone here in the forums could tell me if it was worth that regular price, but my initial impression was surprise that it hadn't sold, but also that it had been sitting there for a very long time.

Nothing in my area ever goes clearance unless it's broken, it seems. Oh well.

aferguson wrote:"I would be happy if my walmart got that kind of stuff...personally would care where it was as long as they got it."

ditto.

they could put it in with the toilet bowl cleaners for all i care.....i just wish WM's here carried it!

Wrote to both WM and 21C to find out why it's so hard to find 21C in WM. That must've been the toughest question for either of them this century as neither one has bothered to answer. Guess that tells you how much your input as a customer is worth, ZEEEROOOO. . It must be nice to act like a top dog with all us peons waiting with tounge in cheek for some input.

As discussed many times on here, 21c has zero say in how WM distributes its product. They would love to see even distribution but cannot control it at all.

and WM doesn't give a rat's ass...

aferguson wrote:As discussed many times on here, 21c has zero say in how WM distributes its product. They would love to see even distribution but cannot control it at all.

and WM doesn't give a rat's ass...

Got that right, it's not 21st. I'm sure they get pretty upset that their product never gets on the shelves in some stores. The blame falls on WM and their 19th century distribution system. Not to mention their army of employees who don't get paid enough to give a care.

Rowsdower wrote:

aferguson wrote:As discussed many times on here, 21c has zero say in how WM distributes its product. They would love to see even distribution but cannot control it at all.

and WM doesn't give a rat's ass...

Got that right, it's not 21st. I'm sure they get pretty upset that their product never gets on the shelves in some stores. The blame falls on WM and their 19th century distribution system. Not to mention their army of employees who don't get paid enough to give a care.

If that's the case then 21C should TRY and find another distributor for their goods if they were really that upset. It would be nice to have some feedback from 21C on this to see what's being done. Some one has their head in the sand. Just leave WM out of the pic and go strictly on line. Problem solved.

Or sell at TRU, their distrubution seems even.

Sarge: if were not for the WM deal 21c probably would have gone out of business years ago. WM has saved 21c and XD for all of us.

So, while it may not be a perfect system, it is better than what easily could have been. The long time board members know what i'm talking about.

The best way to see XD at your local WM is to make noise to the manager there. It is up to individual store managers whether they carry XD or not. If a manager feels the demand is there, he or she just might decide to carry it in their store.

I do know one thing. In my local Wal-Mart they have restocked the Japanese figures and that is about it. But they do have a WHOLE shelf area about 20' long filled with THOMAS THE TRAIN. Oh my God

WM has both tarnished and resurrected XD. Guilty on both counts.

caesarbc wrote:I went to WM today to pick up a replacement Ridge Runner because I gave one to my nephew to hang in his bedroom. So I go into the local WM, which is rearranging the entire store by the looks of it, and I go walking to the toy aisles. Well, due to the rearranging of all the aisles, the XD is no longer in the same place. So I go looking a few aisles down and low and behold they have relocated the XD right next to the women's personal hygiene products...no lie....in the same aisle. I never thought I would see the day when P-51 and ME-109's would be touching boxes with Tampax and summer's eve. Disgraceful!

WalMart are remodeling a big chunk of their stores...I think I heard over half in the first year. They are trying to go with three different "layouts" in the Supercenters based on socio-economic conditions of the area. So, depending on what stores in your area, you could see largely different planograms in your favorite store. (Well, if you have a favorite, that is another matter all together! )

In my area, one store had the remodel performed just before Christmas. It took about a month, and the toy section moved to a different part of the store, back next to electronics. While the changeover was happening, there was a lot of mixing and matching of the aisles, but eventually everything made it back to the right shelf, and I would contend that the new planogram is bigger and much more useable for "Toyland" in general. You need to give it patience and not worry about what you might find on the shelf next to an airplane.

As for the other stuff, I may get branded a pariah, but you all need to lay off WalMart not being able to handle our favorite toys. WalMart as a company does business on the number of products scale. They refer to their stores by the number of items they carry in a typical day. Supercenters are well into the 100s of thousands of items. Even their "Neighborhood Markets" are over 40,000. In this world of scale military toys, you are looking at fifteen to twenty unique SKUs at most any given day. This is not even a blip...I would be surprised if the CEO of WalMart even knows that they carry stuff from a company called "21st Century Toys." As such, we are in a way lucky the stuff is in there at all, but I would call it a fluke. There are bigger fish to fry in the toy world that do command attention, but you all are naive to think that this segment is it. One last point, most of the toys in your WalMart are loss leaders. The only reason that they sell toys is because it increases their chance that they will sell some tampons to a kids mother while they are there. (So maybe having the Maxi-pads next to the airplanes isn't such a bad idea.)

Well at least you guys have stores stocking them over there No matter which isle they are in.

As for placing the fighters next to tampax`s,maybe some staff member thought the fighters would make better torpedo planes & thus supply the torpedo`s next to the planes?? Just a thought....LOL

ja

I don't about the prevelance of Target's in y'alls areas, but I can speak for the four in our Charleston, SC area.

I think 21st should approach them. I'm sure they have. Who knows what may have come of their conversation. I'll just tell what I think about Target.
They are great. They stock FOV. Target carries every WWII airplane FOV makes, including all the armor to go with it. I've bought a little bit of the airplanes and armor from time to time. What impresses me is that within one month of my purchase, it never fails; they re-stock the exact same items that I purchased and some others that someone else has bought. I've noticed that no matter the type of boy toys they carry, whether it be GIJOE, Transformers, Power Rangers, Hot Wheels, etc, they always appear to have things well stocked and new selections available every month. I don't know why. Maybe their managers are fellas who like what we on this board like.

The typical shopper at Target has a little bit more income than the old sterotypical WalMart shopper, at least that's what it's always been like for us Deep Southern folks. I figure the Target shopping Moms might be more inclined to spend their dollars on 32x and XD for their boys on their birthdays and Christmas. But I could be wrong about that. The only purchasers of this stuff may very well be just - us.

Sorry to take up so much space

Wait a second Black Lion. You aren't Deep South ,I am Deep South But I have never been to a Target toy hunting but I will go this weekend. Thanks for the tip.

The Target here in what they call upstate S.C. seems to be hit and miss.
I have gotten a few things there.The Wallys are about the same. A couple of years ago at Christmas,we went to one across town and they had at least fifty 32x German tanks, Go figure On a positive note my brothers son in law just got stationed at FT. Campbell as an OH-58D pilot.
my brother told me that there are Five supercenter Wallys in a ten mile radius. Let the hunt begin

WM is hit or miss - and the stores that carry XD - well I find when the figures are gone they restock - the only items that sit are the planes - and well japanese marines.

I also have 9 WM's within a 20 miles from my house and way over 20 within 50 miles from my house. I just found another brand new WM super center off Old national HWY near flatshoals in Fulton CO. southwest metro atlanta area - this one is 7 minutes from the union city WM and 7 minutes from the Riverdale WM - and 10 min from the fayetteville WM.
The new one opened up with the new D day figures and Germans - and yes more MIGS - I believe I have officially seen more MIGs that I ever saw 190's when they were all over the place - there was also one Mitch's squitch.

Some of the stores like to move the planes back and forth from stockroom to floor - I noticed after buying one 104 that is was replaced with another the next day. I will see Migs on a cart going back to stock - they are gone for a week and then back suddenly.

I also remember one WM having 40-50 1:32 tanks on an endcap for about a month on sale - about two years ago - next thing I know they are all gone - unless some online retailer or ebayer picked them all up - they may still be in the stockroom world of dust and Walton Magic.

Basically here in metro Atlanta -XD sells well - it didnt sell well at TRU - why because prices were higher and WM had them cheaper. If any company tarnished XD - well TRU would get my vote - TRU is like that Uncle no one in the family really likes to talk about - he never learns from his mistakes and may or may not have the best skills to pay the bills

i'd be thankful for even one retail outlet here in australia to stock any 21C products, the best we can do is online retailers which at this time are not stocking any of the new figures you all have been enjoying for months.

I have to agree with what most of said WM distribution drives me insane, but it did save 21C and maybe 1:18 all together so they have been a saving grace and a necessary evil but it still doesnt mean that I have to like them.