Wal-Mart Canada - bye bye Fram, hello Purolator

[51Plymouth]

Sorry no pics. I visited my local Wal-Mart today in Strathroy (near London, Ontario, Canada) and to my surprise the wall of orange Fram was GONE! In its place was Purolator Classic (most for $4.88), Bosch black can (most $7.00) and the new Purolator Synthetic (around $12 I believe).

The Fram air filters are also gone and in their place are all Purolator Classic air filters and cabin filters.

In this store, the Fram oil filters all got moved to a nearby dark corner. I was talking to the auto manager and all of the Fram air filters are return to vendor and the store gets their money back. He said the vendor didn't want the oil filters back, but they are going to use them up in their TLE. So far the Fram oil filters are still for sale at the former outrageously high prices. Hopefully they will go on a major clearance soon.

Formerly, Wal-Mart Canada only had orange Frams. Example PH4967, $7.00 !! New Purolator equivalent, L14476 $4.88. Great news on being priced less.

 

[SLCraig]

Love it.
Do they have any PureONE's?
I did not notice you mention them.
They are the ones I have been buying in Michigan for $5 from Meijer.

 

[cp3]

WOW....very cool!

Excellent prices too!

 

[randomhero439]

Originally Posted By: SLCraig
Love it.
Do they have any PureONE's?
I did not notice you mention them.
They are the ones I have been buying in Michigan for $5 from Meijer.


Surprised they dont have PureOnes... well Bosch Premium is pretty much the same thing i guess.

 

[51Plymouth]

No PureONE's.

I opened a few boxes and touched a Purolator Synthetic. Personally I found the blue grit paint to be really annoying. Also looking in one Purolator synthetic filter there was what looked like about a 2 inch piece of blue thread almost at the bottom of the inside of the filter. I couldn't tell if it was sewing thread or a thin dribble of the blue paint. It was almost the same colour of blue paint. I didn't think my finger would have reached it but it might have. I was already opening boxes and I didn't want to get caught with my finger in an oil filter as well.

Which leads me to a big point, the three kinds of filters (Classic, black Bosch, Purolator Synthetic) Wal-Mart Canada now have are all boxed but not shrink wrapped. They are mostly priced the same within each group which so bad people shouldn't change them within groups, but I can see unscrupulous people putting a Purolator Synthetic in a Classic box. I hope that doesn't happen. All as I can say is, open the box in the store and verify the correct type and actual part number is in the box.

 

[volk06]

Poor Kevyguy! He may might have to come to the purolator "dark side"!

 

[51Plymouth]

Originally Posted By: volk06
Poor Kevyguy! He may might have to come to the purolator "dark side"!


At least with the money he is going to save on the lower priced Classics, he will be able to afford some orange and black paint to make himself feel better.

 

[RF Overlord]

Wow...I never thought I'd ever hear of a store getting rid of FRAM entirely, especially not Wally.

Glad our esteemed neighbours to the north are finally getting another choice.

 

[Sayjac]

If Canada wide sounds like good news for Bitogers and all Wally oil filter shoppers north of the border. If Bosch Black can means Bosch Prem., basically a P1 w/out texture on can.

As for Puro AF, at least in the lower 48, not an improvement over Fram Extra Guard AF's imo. But, the oil filters more than make up for that.

And KevGuy will be beside himself without the massive wall of his favored orange cans in his Wally stores.

 

[Falken]

This is fantastic news! Hope Montreal Walmart gets rid of FRAM as well.

I wonder why this happened? FRAM getting too big for their shorts?

Maybe someone high up at Walmart is a BITOGER, and he is fed up with FRAM himself.

Kevguy???

 

[Sayjac]

Originally Posted By: Falken
....Kevguy???

Search his display under the member list and read his posts, you'll understand the reference(s).

Or was that meaning he was the one fed up? Very doubtful.

 

[cp3]

No fear for Kevguy guys, Candadian Tire will still have their wall of orange, gold and red(Motomaster, EG clone).

I'm sad to see the TG go but will be more than happy to use a BP in it's place.

I can only see two reasons this would have happend, 1 (most likely) Purolator gave WalMart a better deal. 2 WalMart wanted to put something on the shelf that isn't available elsewhere, namely Canadian Tire or maybe the coming Target stores but I don't know what they'll stock. Or maybe some combination of the two reasons.

 

[FoxS]

I see more shelf space for Purolators in the WMs around me also

 

[Sayjac]

Until relatively recently (Rank buyout), didn't Fram have a large manufacturing plant for Extra Guard/orange can oil filter production in Canada? Has that plant shut down or reduced production? Seems I remember reading that on this board. Could that also be a factor?

 

[SLCraig]

Originally Posted By: cp3
No fear for Kevguy guys, Candadian Tire will still have their wall of orange, gold and red(Motomaster, EG clone).

I'm sad to see the TG go but will be more than happy to use a BP in it's place.

I can only see two reasons this would have happend, 1 (most likely) Purolator gave WalMart a better deal. 2 WalMart wanted to put something on the shelf that isn't available elsewhere, namely Canadian Tire or maybe the coming Target stores but I don't know what they'll stock. Or maybe some combination of the two reasons.


I wondered if also the FRAM manufacturing pulling out of Canada, the FRAM product is just going to hang out elsewhere.
Seems somewhat coincidental.

 

[daman]

Our store started to carry the Purolator Classic also right next to the orange wall of death.

 

[dernp]

I'm heading to Strathroy tomorrow.

 

[DirtRacer53]

Originally Posted By: FoxS
I see more shelf space for Purolators in the WMs around me also


I wonder if all the Walmarts in the US are doing this too? I know about a month or two ago I was at walmart and saw them promoting the purolator classics with a DIY oil change special. Very interesting... I always see the puro's sell out quicker than the FRAM oil filters.

 

[cp3]

Originally Posted By: sayjac
Until relatively recently (Rank buyout), didn't Fram have a large manufacturing plant for Extra Guard/orange can oil filter production in Canada? Has that plant shut down or reduced production? Seems I remember reading that on this board. Could that also be a factor?


Yes they did close the plant in Stratford in the fall. I would be surprised if that would effect Rank's ability to supply Canada though. They have a pretty much got a strangle hold of the market here, to just give it up doesn't seem like a great move. I could see them wanting to charge more due to increased logistics costs of no longer producing in Canada and WalMart saying no.

 

[Garak]

Originally Posted By: 51Plymouth
Sorry no pics. I visited my local Wal-Mart today in Strathroy (near London, Ontario, Canada) and to my surprise the wall of orange Fram was GONE! In its place was Purolator Classic (most for $4.88), Bosch black can (most $7.00) and the new Purolator Synthetic (around $12 I believe).


Good. I saw a brand new Bosch filtration catalog at one Walmart a number of weeks back. I was hoping there was something to it. I can get Bosch Premiums online for $5 for the G, but $7 locally is definitely tolerable. That beats my Wix and the Fram orange can.