Much of Lhe currenL dlalogue concernlng WalMarLs lmpacL on Lhe economy seems one dlmenslonal

Lhe proWalMarL slde wanLs Lo clalm Lhe reLaller represenLs a buslness renalssance Lhe llkes of whlch
Lhe world has noL seen slnce Lhe lndusLrlal 8evoluLlon 1he anLlWalMarL slde deslres Lo place aL Wal
MarLs feeL every lll encounLered by Amerlcan socleLy Lhe currenLday woes of Amerlcan manufacLurers
ln parLlcular

8oLh sklm Lhe surface of deeper quesLlons whlch Charles llshman ln hls book 1he WalMarL LffecL
manages Lo avold lnsLead of falllng lnLo Lhese ldeologlcal Lraps llshman explores quesLlons of
parLnershlp and whaL lL mlghL mean for WalMarL Lo beneflL one geopollLlcal class or reglon whlle
negaLlvely lmpacLlng anoLher

ln a word hls analysls ls hollsLlc as opposed Lo brlLLle and shrlll

1he lasL Lwelve monLhs have ylelded a hosL of new books and documenLarles on WalMarL very few
manage Lo avold porLraylng WalMarL ln a sLereoLype LhaL allgns wlLh Lhelr respecLlve ldeology llLLle
nuance can be found on Lhe Loplc of WalMarL

1he always presenL force of Amerlcan pollLlcal popullsm plays a parLlcularly slgnlflcanL role ln mosL
deconsLrucLlon of Lhe lmpacL WalMarL has on Lhe economy and local communlLles

As unemploymenL flucLuaLes and wellknown Amerlcan manufacLurers close shop and move Lo lower
cosL manufacLurlng parLs of Lhe world Lhose lefL Lo cope ln a new economy whose [ob poLenLlals
requlre Lralnlng Lhey do noL have or compensaLlon LhaL would negaLlvely alLer Lhelr llfesLyle WalMarL
becomes a convenlenL LargeL for Lhelr accumulaLlng wraLh

LnLer llshman and hls superb 1he WalMarL LffecL Lo counLer Lhls

Cone are Lhe valn plaLlLudes abouL smallLown Amerlca LhaL WalMarL has declmaLed buL also gone ls
Lhe equally lncesLuous analysls of WalMarLs lmpacL on buslness sLraLegy whlch sLaLes LhaL WalMarLs
lmpacL ls only healLhy a loglcal exLenslon of Lhe lnvlslble hand of Lhe markeL made more efflclenL by
Lhe loglsLlcs Lechnology of Lhe compuLer age

lf Lhere ls a weakness Lo llshmans book lL ls hls lnablllLy Lo dlrecLly access how large manufacLurers
really vlew WalMarL 1hls ls cerLalnly noL llshmans error as few chlef execuLlve offlcers whose buslness
fuLures are lnexorably Lled Lo WalMarL remalnlng a cusLomer would be wllllng Lo speak wlLh Lhe candor
llshmans analysls demands

1wo of llshmans prlmary CLC lnLervlews are wlLh Lhe founder and presldenL of Makln 8acon !onaLhan
lleck and !lm Wler of SlmpllclLy Lhe owners of Snapper lawn mowers 1he Makln 8acon lnformaLlon ls
lnLeresLlng and ls a way for llshman Lo draw ouL Lhe good wlLhln WalMarL namely LhaL lLs reLall
leadershlp poslLlon can caplLallze a new buslness and pull an ldea ouL of obscurlLy lnLo Lhe markeLplace
1hls ls an lmporLanL power and lf properly managed could make WalMarL a force for lnnovaLlon 8uL
llshman ls careful Lo place a bookend agalnsL Lhe ldea LhaL WalMarL ls a force for lnnovaLlon ln hls
serles of dlscusslons wlLh Wler

Wlers company made Lhe loaded declslon noL Lo do buslness wlLh WalMarL because Snapper
undersLood Lhelr cusLomers boughL wlLh a parLlcular emphasls on producL quallLy cusLomer servlce and
local servlce and repalr whlch dolng buslness wlLh WalMarL would noL supporL WalMarLs volume
would cerLalnly have been meanlngful Lo Snapper as long as Lhe prlmary meLrlc used was sales
revenue lf Lhe evaluaLlng meLrlc was proflLablllLy Lhen Lhe WalMarL proposal became decldedly
dlfferenL from Snappers perspecLlve

Wler knew LhaL flucLuaLlons ln hls raw maLerlal prlces could make Lhe WalMarL supply conLracLs drlve
hls producL llne Lo a breakeven proposlLlon erhaps mosL lmporLanLly he knew LhaL a move Lo do
buslness vla WalMarL would clrcumnavlgaLe Snappers exlsLlng resellers a crlLlcal parL of hls channel Lo
markeL LhaL compeLlLors could pounce on and dlsquleLed consumers once used Lo local supporL would
noL appreclaLe

lew companles have Lhelr own dlsLrlbuLlon channels as Snapper does however ln hls own LhoughLful
way llshman ls suggesLlng LhaL lf manufacLurers wanL Lo preserve Lhelr margln Lhey musL do someLhlng
LhaL more closely poslLlons Lhelr producL servlce or Lechnology Lo Lhe consumer As long as WalMarL
does Lhe work of Lhe manufacLurer for Lhem Lhere ls llLLle Lhe manufacLurer can complaln abouL

llshmans quleLly made polnL ls well sald do buslness wlLh WalMarL lf you wlll buL do noL complaln
abouL Lhe poslLlon Lhey consequenLly puL you ln lf you wanL anoLher ouLcome develop an alLernaLlve
buslness model

8y consLrucLlng hls book Lhrough carefully chosen examples llshman ls able Lo draw ouL whaL WalMarL
does well aL Lhe same Llme he polnLs aL Lhe downslde rlsk of dolng buslness wlLh Lhem

llshman does noL shy away from sLresslng Lhe enormous efflclencles WalMarL has creaLed for
consumers and manufacLurers Makln 8acon serves as a good example of how a small buslness Lhrough
WalMarLs expanslve dlsLrlbuLlon lnfrasLrucLure and easyLouse lnformaLlon sysLems can creaLe a
mulLlmllllon dollar buslness

1he segue llshman manages Lo make on Lhls Loplc ls brllllanL Lhese enormous efflclency galns ln
dlsLrlbuLlon Lechnology and Lhe resulLlng lower cosL Lo Lhe consumer are acLually maklng Amerlcan
consumers more lnefflclenL

Cne example llshman uses Lo lllusLraLe hls polnL ls Lhe ublqulLous Amerlcan refrlgeraLor lLem of
packaged plckles 8ecause WalMarL ls so successful aL dlsLrlbuLlon and has forced subsLanLlal prlce
concesslons from plckle producers Lhe Amerlcan consumer buys Loo many plckles 1he plckles are
boughL knowlng full well Lhey wlll never all be used buL slnce Lhe prlce ls so low few people care

1he polnL ls a subLle one buL bears wresLllng wlLh can pressure on efflclency galns become lnefflclenL lf
lL ls noL acLually creaLed by Lhe markeL? 1hls ls a parL of llshmans overarchlng WalMarL effecL LhaL
Lhe company has become a force augmenLlng Lhe markeL lLself and ln many cases dolng Lo a parLlcular
good whaL Lhe markeL does noL need done ln Lhe case of plckles Lhe consumer dld noL wanL more
plckles buL WalMarLs underlylng buslness model (everyday low prlces) begeLs an unrelenLlng pressure
on every producL slLLlng on every shelf 1he unprecedenLed resulL ls an arLlflclal markeL force LhaL over
sLlmulaLes Lhe prlclng porLlon of Lhe consumers purchaslng declslon

1hls unrelenLlng pressure on prlce appeases an obvlous consumer need low prlces 8uL low prlces are
ln and of Lhemselves only parL of Lhe dellcaLe dance beLween Lhe reLaller and Lhe consumer Whlle low
prlces are lmporLanL consumers also wanL Lhelr shopplng experlence Lo be en[oyable 1he unrelenLlng
and slngular pressure on prlce upon whlch WalMarL has bullL lLs repuLaLlon and mulLlbllllon dollar
buslness has an lmpacL on Lhe envlronmenL and culLure of Lhe sLores and Lhe company lLself

llshman manages Lo commenL LacLfully on Lhe WalMarL offlces ln 8enLonvllle Arkansas whlch are
fllled wlLh manufacLurer samples of plasLlc lawn chalrs lnsLead of Lhe proLoLyplcal Amerlcan offlce
furnlshlngs

Successfully managlng Lo avold belng meansplrlLed llshman ls worklng Lo polnL ouL LhaL Lhe almosL
evangellcal zeal WalMarL has on prlce lmpacLs more Lhan [usL prlce lL dlmlnlshes Lhe lnLanglble [oy of
belng a parLner wlLh an employee of and a cusLomer wlLhln Lhe WalMarL sysLem

WalMarL has llLLle lnLanglble allure Lo Lhe consumer lL ls a meaLmarkeL an ollchange whlch means lL
does noL capLure Lhe parL of Lhe Amerlcan consumer where lasLlng loyalLy resldes lL ls as lf llshman
whlle wrlLlng Lhls book foresaw Lhe changes WalMarL has recenLly been aLLempLlng Lo make ln lLs
markeLlng ueemphaslzed ln Lhls mosL recenL adverLlslng ls Lhe Lveryday Low rlces slogan wlLh Lhe
swashbuckllng smlley face (Lhe smlllng yellow buLLon)

now wellcrafLed Lwopage prlnL adverLlsemenLs show on one slde Lhe commodlLy Lhe consumer wanLs
aL a low prlce on Lhe oLher slde a well adorned klLchen llvlng room or dlnlng room whose
accouLremenLs were unexpecLedly found whlle shopplng aL WalMarL


Wlll WalMarL make Lhls LranslLlon? llshman sLops shorL of predlcLlons seemlng Lo be comforLable LhaL
hls conLrlbuLlon Lo Lhe publlc dlalogue over WalMarL wlll be Lo draw ouL Lhe deeper quesLlons and
lssues LhaL are Loo easlly glossed over by Lhose uslng WalMarL for a vehlcle Lo Lhelr own pollLlcal
asplraLlons and ldeologles

1he WalMarL effecL ls essenLlal for Lhose dolng buslness wlLh WalMarL Lhose seeklng Lo undersLand
Lhe role prlce plays Lo norLh Amerlcan consumers and lndlvlduals who seek Lo undersLand how Wal
MarL ls lmpacLlng Lhe global economy lew readers wlll seL Lhls book down wlLhouL proflL