According to a Reuters report last week, Walmart (including its Sam's Club division) is continuing to put the squeeze on suppliers, as the company tries to offset rising costs due to increases in wages, e-commerce investments, and store improvements. Walmart recently warned that its earnings would decline by as much as 12 percent in its next fiscal year - sending its stock price down by 10 percent, which wiped out more than $21 billion in shareholder wealth.\r
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'There might be unpleasant conversations but ultimately we want to do right by our suppliers because we want to create strategic relationships,' Sam's Club spokesman Bill Durling said, as quoted in the article. 'We want them to be along with us for the ride as we continue to grow.'\r
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But if Walmart's true desire is to create strategic relationships with suppliers, its actions don't reflect it, as this interaction highlighted in the article illustrates:
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