The WalMart Effect by Charles Fishman Review
February 28th, 2007 by admin
Full Title of the Book:
The Wal-Mart Effect – How the World’s Most Powerful Company Really Works – and How It’s Transforming the American Economy
Are you a Wal-Mart shopper? Have you been amazed at the number of Wal-Marts (especially Wal-Mart supercenters) popping up in towns all over the U.S. (and the world)? When you drive by a Wal-Mart building that’s empty and closed do you automatically look around for the new, bigger Wal-Mart that’s nearby? Do you have a love/hate relationship with Wal-Mart as in you hate the shopping experience but love the low prices? Do you complain about jobs leaving the country and being outsourced? Do you wonder why it’s happening? Do you think Wal-Mart is getting too big?
Okay, I know I’ve just asked a lot of questions. I just described how my feelings towards Wal-Mart before reading this book. I hated shopping at Wal-Mart but went there because it was cheap and it was convenient. I can’t say I saved money because I didn’t. I just bought more cheap stuff than I would have if I had shopped somewhere else.
I consider this book a “must read” for anyone in the United States (and any other country where Wal-Mart is becoming a dominant presence) who is a consumer. It doesn’t matter if you shop at Wal-Mart or not (although the majority of people in the United States do shop at Wal-Mart at least occasionally). Wal-Mart has become a big deal. They went from one store to being the largest retailer in the world. Heck, even the spell checker on the word processing program I’m using to write this review recognizes “Wal-Mart” as a valid and correctly spelled word.
This book raises a lot of questions, contains a lot of facts, and will get you thinking. Most of the questions I raised in the first paragraph are discussed in the book. It’s not a book written by a competing retailer. Many of the facts (although facts about Wal-Mart can be pretty hard to obtain) come from many different sources, such as university studies which are typically considered unbiased.
It’s not a book filled with so much technical writing that you will be bored to sleep. I typically don’t like non-fiction books but I could hardly put the book down.
The bottom line for me after reading this book is that my shopping at Wal-Mart will be sharply decreased, at least for now. Although I firmly believe Wal-Mart is driven to provide the lowest prices possible for consumers, I also firmly believe those low prices come at the high cost of other things such as jobs that pay a decent wage. You may read the book and agree with what I’ve decided or you may disagree, which is okay. My only hope is that you read the book so you can make the decision for yourself.
My rating (0-10 smilies): 10 ☻☻☻☻☻☻☻☻☻☻ - This is a “must read” book.