Fascinating and well-balanced article in Fast Company looks at The Wal-Mart You Don't Know. Poses lots of interesting questions about the impact of its operations on suppliers. Perhaps the nub of it is this:

In the end, of course, it is we as shoppers who have the power, and who have given that power to Wal-Mart. Part of Wal-Mart's dominance, part of its insight, and part of its arrogance, is that it presumes to speak for American shoppers.

If Wal-Mart doesn't like the pricing on something, says Andrew Whitman, who helped service Wal-Mart for years when he worked at General Foods and Kraft, they simply say, "At that price we no longer think it's a good value to our shopper. Therefore, we don't think we should carry it."

Wal-Mart has also lulled shoppers into ignoring the difference between the price of something and the cost. Its unending focus on price underscores something that Americans are only starting to realize about globalization: Ever-cheaper prices have consequences. Says Steve Dobbins, president of thread maker Carolina Mills: "We want clean air, clear water, good living conditions, the best health care in the world--yet we aren't willing to pay for anything manufactured under those restrictions."

Gary Lawrence Murphy - who blogged the piece - comments:

Sure, the price is right, but is the price really right? Or are we bargain-hunting our society into permanent poverty? A whole-systems look at WalMart from FastCompany suggests that the dime you save on socks may mean stealing a working wage from your neighbour ...

posted by Johnnie M, 8:26 AM  permalink