Never thought I'd see the day...


 

Chris Allingham

Administrator
Staff member
So I'm in Walmart here in San Jose a few weeks ago. I wander over to the grill department to see what's going on. I'm not expecting much...I've seen the Walmart grill department a million times, I think I've seen it all.

I see a row of white Weber grill boxes high up on a shelf, neatly lined up, with black and red logos and product photos pointing out towards customers. What is that grill...I can't quite make it out.

It's the 14.5" Weber Smokey Mountain Cooker.

If you had asked me 10 years ago, "Do you think the WSM will ever be sold off-the-shelf at Walmart?", I would have said no, you're crazy, that will never happen. But it has happened. I now see WSMs at Walmart and The Home Depot and Lowe's and Orchard Supply Hardware, places you would never find them in the past. They're not always properly assembled or displayed, and sometimes they're just in a box high up on a shelf. But they are there, ready for purchase.

Now turn the clock back to 1998. I started The Virtual Weber Bullet website that year, and at that time you could only find the WSM at specialty barbecue stores like Barbeques Galore and maybe local hardware stores like Ace. You could order it online from Value America, one of the pioneers of online retailing. And no, Amazon did not carry Weber grills back in 1998.

Look how far we've come since 1998. We've helped make the WSM so popular that it's now available at Walmart. Whodathunk?
 
Its a good start, but just think how many more they would sell if they had them assembled properly where the shoppers could see and touch them.
 
I have only seen the 14.5 WSM's in Walmart, I wonder if it's a price issue for them to sell the other sizes.
 
Nice story Chris - when I wanted to buy my WSM here in Canada in 2009 I had to order online because the specialty bbq stores here in BC were way over priced, and like you said today the local HD and Lowes now have them on the shelf.
 
Chris is right. Almost everything Weber makes is made in the US. Actually, we visited the factory that presses the sheets of metal into the dome lids, etc we find in wsms. It was pretty cool. I just finished writing about our visit with weber last week. It will show up on the Slap Yo daddy site probably by the end of the week. For what it is worth, I think entering the Walmart market isn't a bad thing either.
 
Here in Houston, TX I came across a 22.5 WSM at Academy Sports and Outdoors. Until then id only seen 18.5 WSM's at lowes or home depo.
 
"Weber-Stephen was family owned since it was founded in 1952 by George Stephen. At the end of 2010 the Stephen family sold a majority stake to Chicago investment group BDT Capital Partners. In 2012, Weber settled a class action suit out of court regarding their use of the phrase, "Made in USA". Weber previously qualified the "Made in USA" statement by specifying their products are assembled in the USA with some components that are sourced globally. Here is an excerpt from Weber's statement "Weber believes that because all Weber grills and the disputed accessories are designed and engineered in the USA, and all grills save for one line [Spirit] are manufactured and assembled in the USA using component parts primarily made in the USA, it did nothing wrong and therefore has valid defenses to plaintiff's claims. The court has not held a trial or ruled in favor of either party on any disputed issues. Weber and the plaintiff have agreed to settle the matter to avoid the costs of continued litigation." As a result of this suit, Weber can no longer claim to be made in America." Just sayin'...
 
Barb and I were shocked when we went to our local Home Dumpo and saw a 18 WSM displayed on an end cap. Had to go back and take a second look. The other side of the coin is they had a few of the Weber charcoal grills even a performer but not one Weber gasser.
 
Out of curiosity I checked walmart.com to see if any local stores stocked the 14.5 WSM and found that one did. Then I noticed the website says even the 18.5 is "in limited stores".
 
what does, "Just Sayin'..." mean?!
I hear that a lot and I just don't get it...
when someone says it, they actually put up their hands as to mean, "I don't believe it, but i'm tellin' ya what I heard!"
Is THAT what it means??!!:confused:

all the new adages and quirky sayings these days.... weird.
 

 

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