Weber not in Walmart anymore?


 
Jon Tofte

Jon Tofte

TVWBB 1-Star Olympian
My wife and I have been living on the road as we try to nail down a house to replace the one we lost out on. (See "Why I am moving" post). Shortly before leaving, we made a stop at our Walmart store and then a couple here in Indiana. Up here, grills are being rolled out in force now, but I noticed that these Walmart stores have stopped carrying ANY Weber grills or Weber supplies. I am not sure that it all bad as it added to the declining image Weber has had in recent years. Still, that is a major retail outlet lost for them.

Anyone else notice similarly?

I went to a pretty nice Ace Hardware in Brazil, IN near which it looks like we may be landing. They had a good supply of Weber grills and supplies but no SmokeFIres. So far, the only place I have seen a SmokeFire has been in Lowes. One store had both models and a very nice display. The store closest to me has a couple EX-4's stuck between other grills with little or no fanfare. Most of the rest of the Weber stuff was curtailed other than a good number of Spirit II and a few revived regular Spirit grills.

What is everyone else seeing and Lowes and Home Depot?

I had an opportunity while we were in Indianapolis today to visit a Menards. (Nice store!) They had a number of grills but don't seem to carry any Weber stuff. I assume that is the way it is elsewhere?
 
Menards never has carried Weber grills. Not sure why. I agree, great stores, but their face mask policy is a joke.
Walmarts around here have cut out almost all weber and maybe entirely now. I know the last few years they had some basic kettles and the Q1000 grills too, but I haven't looked lately and they may have even quit carrying those.

Our Home Depot has Weber Genesis and Spirits but not a lot of them. Just the base line stuff really.
 
Same here. Walmart no longer carries Weber gear. Lowe’s and HD do. But limited compared to the amount of shiny disposable boxes made in Far East.
We have one tiny home improvement chain here which carries Weber, Napoleon, green egg, PK and although no grills: Stihl saws.
But as for Smokefire I think they are kind of exclusive to Lowe’s.
 
Weber's absence from WalMart began last year, when WalMart introduced their own line of grills and accessories. I can't recall what WalMart calls their brand, but you can bet your bippie that its cheap Chinese crap.
 
IMHO, Home Depot, Lowe's, Menard's, etc., are all different faces of the same coin. For the most part, they sell at the lowest possible price point (the how much a month club comes to mind,) occasionally, you'll find something reasonable. I'm rarely disappointed, or surprised, at what I find there.

My local Ace (who I try to spend as much with as I can,) got an EX4 a couple of months ago. I do need to get back & get more charcoal.
 
Yes, thankfully I don't see Weber in any Walmart stores anymore. I've also noticed that Lowe's and Home Depot has definitely scaled back their Weber offerings to make room for a lot of crappy pellet grills. They do seem to have the same Weber accessories as they've always had before. They have a few Spirits and a few Genesis grills on the floor, and usually a few Kettles and WSMs.

Ace Hardware has become the go-to retail place for Weber in my opinion. If I am looking for something I start at Ace and check HD/Lowe's only if Ace doesn't have it.
 
Lynn Dollar said:
Weber's absence from WalMart began last year, when WalMart introduced their own line of grills and accessories. I can't recall what WalMart calls their brand, but you can bet your bippie that its cheap Chinese crap.
Click to expand...
I don't know if Blackstone is the brand you are talking about, but I know they have a bunch of that stuff on display now.
 
As an indication of the shifting BBQ scene, last year my local Vons (Albertsons/Pavilion) in southern California started carrying a few pellet smokers - ?! We already have a Lowe's, Home Depot, and Ace Hardware.
That's carrying 'supermarket' to another level.
 
There is a Hy-Vee grocery store in my parents home town and they sell Weber grills....I think mostly the lower end Spirits however.
 
Bruce said:
I don't know if Blackstone is the brand you are talking about, but I know they have a bunch of that stuff on display now.
Click to expand...

The WalMart brand name is " Expert " , its WalMart's own brand and they make grills, charcoal, and accessories all under the Expert brand. It replaced Weber a year ago last spring.
 
I can't vouch for Walmart. I try to stay as far away as I can. Yeah Menard's and their stupid policy is truly alienating me as well. They got some dude with a fake cloth badge acting like a mask cop. Threatening to throw you out if he doesn't like how you wear it. Yet their own employees are running around the store either with not on or around the neck. If you have a child you're forced to not allow them into the store. Which precludes me being able to shop there much anymore. I can't leave a 10 yo home alone or in my car alone. Recently I saw many people simply leaving young children outside the store entrance by themselves. Way to go John! Someone comes by who is a trafficker will have a field day getting young ones. Otherwise Menard's has always been my "go to" but I hate the stupidity going on now. This whole mask thing is like trying to put a condom on AFTER you get your girl friend pregnant.
 
Larry, exact same experiences I have had at my local Menards as well. They kick a guy out as I come in for not wearing a mask. Then there are people and EMPLOYEES all over the store with the masks on their necks or below their noses. I get to the checkout and the customer in front of me and has a problem at the register so they call the manager over. The MANAGER has her mask below her nose.
I have only gone to Menards since the policy started two times and that is because I needed some thing I could only get there. Home Depot is closer to my home any way and they don't have mask Nazi's at the door.

I imagine a lot of you from some areas think this is a bunch of whining, but up here, we haven't had to deal with the complete lockdowns and quarantines like other parts of the country have. Menards is a real outlier up in this area. I know of no other business up here, other than medical facilities where you are required to wear a mask. At least Menards is nice enough to "sell" you a mask if you don't have one. And what constitutes a "Mask". A rubber band and a McDonalds drive through napkin?????

Wow, I got my whole day's worth of whining out before 8am. I am good to go now.
 
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