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Book Reviews
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The United States of Wal-Mart
Reclaiming American Patriotism
by John Dicker
(Tarcher/Penguin, 2005, $12.95)
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I’ve never been a purist when it comes to avoiding chain stores. While I appreciate the diversity and personal contact offered by independents there are certain items for which I seek out the lowest price. And so I am familiar with bustling shopping frenzy of a Wal-Mart Supercenter on a Friday evening. United States of Wal-Mart is the latest entry into the canon of books about the world’s largest retailer, and in it John Dicker makes the case that both customers and non-customers are impacted by the store’s size and ability to dictate changes in the global marketplace.
Most people will have some familiarity with how the Bentonville, Arkansas based company operates but Dicker does a good job of researching his topic and providing some insights about what has made Wal-Mart unique. For example he describes how Wal-Mart has always strived for innovation by expanding into new markets such as groceries, banking and gas. He also looks at how Wal-Mart has used information technology to maintain its massive, highly complex system of stores, suppliers, and distribution centers, which allows it to get the right products to the shelves. He finds it interesting that such a large corporation is nimble enough to cater to regional and ethnic tastes through its use of technology.
Dicker briefly looks at how Wal-Mart’s unique identity was influenced by its founder Sam Walton who had the idea of catering to underserved rural populations and offering low prices. Walton helped shape Wal-Mart culture through policies like the “ten foot rule” which required employees to say “How may I help you” when coming within a certain distance of a customer. He also introduced a type of “corporate collectivism” where trade unions were considered unnecessary because all workers were “associates” and could air grievances through an “open door policy”.
In the second half of the book Dicker offers a fairly concise and thorough look at the case against Wal-Mart from Chinese sweatshops using modern day indentured servants, to the class action lawsuit over gender discrimination. Its a picture that is unflattering and probably somewhat familiar but the details are worth understanding. Its interesting to see for example how Wal-Mart cost cutting on health care led to the grocery strike in southern California as other chains sought to adjust to a changing marketplace. What’s frustrating is the way that Wal-Mart sees criticism as simply a public relations problem that requires people to “better understand” the Wal-Mart story.
A particularly interesting section describes the mostly unsuccessful efforts of the UFCW (United Food and Commercial Workers) to organize Wal-Mart stores. Dicker paints a picture of a David vs. Goliath struggle as pro-union associates are fired, union organizers are barred from store property, and a crack team of union busting executives is dispatched from Bentonville at the first whiff of an organizing campaign in one of Wal-Mart’s stores. On top of that you can add the weak U.S labor laws which provide only a slap on the wrist if the company engages in illegal activity, which Dicker concludes that they frequently do. Despite those odds he argues that Wal-Mart has so much influence in our increasingly service oriented economy that unions have no choice but to keep trying.
In his section on “site fights” Dicker recounts some of the more notable attempts by communities to block new stores including a site located near Aztec ruins in Mexico as well as the unsuccessful Inglewood, California ballot initiative which would have given the store unprecedented power to ignore local regulations and oversight if it had passed. He notes that about 15-20% of Wal-Mart’s new stores were cancelled due to local opposition in 2003.
It wouldn’t be quite fair to categorize United States of Wal-Mart as an anti-Wal-Mart book although it does explore in detail the chain’s shortcomings. But Dicker is perfectly willing to give Wal-Mart credit at times for example for providing some needed revitalization in blighted urban areas where access to food and supermarkets is often lacking. And in any case Wal-Mart has never claimed to have any values other than offering low prices. Even some of its most faithful shoppers would acknowledge that the nation may be cannibalizing itself in an orgy of cheap consumer goods and low paying jobs, but so far that doesn’t seem to have deterred them.
In the end Dicker views Wal-Mart as a phenomenon that needs to be understood because of its huge impact on the retail industry and the global economy. And while he has a healthy dose of skepticism for the public relations message and worldview emerging from Bentonville, Arkansas he recognizes that the store will continue to be popular for its selection and low prices. Dicker notes that Wal-Mart is even becoming a leading seller of books. But I wouldn’t count on finding this book on its shelves anytime soon.
Brad Johnson is a prolific reader and book reviewer. He attended the Bioneers Conference this year as a HopeDance reporter. Check the next issue for his interviews and reports.
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