Following Arthurs post and Eds elsewhere, here are some updates from my files on the Godzilla of Retail.
Although Wal Mart made great PR efforts in 2006 to improve its overall image, wage and labor issues remain a persistent problem. Wall Street worries that Wal Mart will have trouble sustaining its constant drive for global domination aka the constant growth paradigm. Without cheap fuel, mega retail is at particular risk of imploding in an oil crisis. That would be a very ugly test ending the debate over sprawl and suburbization, local sustainable economics and food production, and the risk of Just in Time supply chains. In light of pending legal-insurance battles that will decide whether thousands of business owners rebuild in Katrina-devastated territory, a hard look at the relative value of mega retailers is necessary, regardless of the political consequences. kwc >From NYT May 12 Wal Mart Eyes Organics As the nation's largest grocery retailer, Wal-Mart has decided that offering more organic food will help modernize its image and broaden its appeal to urban and other upscale consumers. It has asked its large suppliers to help. Wal-Mart's interest is expected to change organic food production in substantial ways. Some organic food advocates applaud the development, saying Wal-Mart's efforts will help expand the amount of land that is farmed organically and the quantities of organic food available to the public. But others say the initiative will ultimately hurt organic farmers, will lower standards for the production of organic food and will undercut the environmental benefits of organic farming. http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/12/business/12organic.html <http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/12/business/12organic.html> from the BBC Sept. 22 Wal Mart Goes Green on packaging. Plans to reduce packaging 5% over 5 years. The retail giant says the scheme will start in 2008 and save the firm $3.4bn (£1.78bn) as well as "millions of pounds of trash reaching landfills". The amount saved overall in the supply chain could be $10.98bn, Wal-Mart said. http://www.netscape.com/viewstory/2006/09/25/wal-mart-goes-green-on-packagin g/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnews.bbc.co.uk%2F2%2Fhi%2Fbusiness%2F5372660.stm&frame=t rue <http://www.netscape.com/viewstory/2006/09/25/wal-mart-goes-green-on-packagi ng/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnews.bbc.co.uk%2F2%2Fhi%2Fbusiness%2F5372660.stm&frame= true> >From MSNBC Oct 31 Economic worries weigh on Wall Street: stocks finish mixed after Wal Mart downbeat report http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15494569/ <http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15494569/> Comment: there is a boycott of Wal Mart by some Christian groups opposing WM pharmacies selling the Plan B contraceptive. Nov. 10 Wal-Mart de Mexico SA will get approval to offer banking services in its stores in the next few days, helping bolster competition in the Mexican banking industry, said Finance Minister Francisco Gil Diaz. Approval for Walmex's petition to operate a bank out of its 837 stores in Mexico comes as its parent company, Wal-Mart Stores Inc., faces opposition in the U.S. to open an industrial bank. Mexicans, whose per capita gross domestic product in 2005 was about $7,575, compared with $41,800 in the U.S., will benefit from the lower fees and interest rates as retailers set up banks, Gil said. Walmex, which applied for its banking license in August, will join other retailers such as Grupo Elektra SA and Grupo Famsa SA in competing against foreign banks including Citigroup Inc. and HSBC Holding Plc. Foreign banks in Mexico own 80% of the nation's banking assets. http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601086&sid=anVF7F2Vnqf4&refer=news <http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601086&sid=anVF7F2Vnqf4&refer=news > >From the LA Times Nov. 13 Wal Mart Goes Green: The world's largest retailer reports on its big experiment in environmental awareness, an endeavor that could burnish its image and sales. Wind turbines, rows of tall windows, a 200-foot-long dimpled-metal wall and shiny rooftop solar panels are just hints of what's to come. "It's transformational," said Charles Lockwood, an environmental real estate consultant in Los Angeles, whose article "Building the Green Way" appeared in June's Harvard Business Review. "By their size, they're forcing manufacturers to come up with more earth-friendly, energy-efficient products, which then become the industry norm." http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-walmart13nov13,0,5275136.story <http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-walmart13nov13,0,5275136.story> Nov. 27 Wal Mart to open hundreds of stores in India, in a joint venture with Bharti Enterprises, a leading Indian cellphone operator. http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/27/business/worldbusiness/27cnd-walmart.html <http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/27/business/worldbusiness/27cnd-walmart.html > >From Greenbiz Nov 30 Wal Mart pledges to sell 100 M compact fluorescents in 2007 http://www.greenbiz.com/news/news_third.cfm?NewsID=34311 <http://www.greenbiz.com/news/news_third.cfm?NewsID=34311> NYT Nov 30 Has Wal Mart hit a wall or just changing too fast? In the last year, Wal-Mart has introduced a dizzying number of new strategies: it started a line of urban fashion, began renovating 1,800 stores, overhauled its advertising to focus less on price and more on style, rolled out $4 generic drugs, ended its layaway program and imposed wage caps on its workers, to name just a few. Given its size, even the slightest misstep is magnified. And this season, Wal-Mart has made several, alienating shoppers with designer-inspired clothing and disruptive store remodeling. http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/30/business/30walmart.html <http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/30/business/30walmart.html> Nov. 30 Wal Marts discount drug program gets mixed results: WM boasts that its new $4 generic drug program is disrupting the market, attracting new customers to its stores and starting the nation on a road that will ultimately squeeze billions of dollars from prescription drug spending. Certainly the program has produced waves of favorable publicity and buffeted the share prices of drugstore chains and wholesalers. It has also prompted a big rival, Target, to announce a similar pricing plan recently for some generics. two months into the program, it is unclear whether in all cases Wal-Mart is meeting its stated goal of making a profit on the $4 drugs. Earlier this week the company disclosed that it had begun charging $9 for some prescriptions in states that have unfair-competition laws against selling products below cost. And as Wal-Mart finds itself off to a disappointing start of the holiday sales season, it is still not clear whether $4 drugs are indeed disrupting drug retailing and helping generate significant new consumer traffic or instead mainly giving a break to people who are already Wal-Mart customers and can spend their pharmacy savings in the stores many other aisles. http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/30/business/30pharmacy.html <http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/30/business/30pharmacy.html> NYT Dec. 04 Wal Mart says thank you to its workers http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/04/business/04walmart.html <http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/04/business/04walmart.html> PBS/Frontline did a program on Wal Mart a while back, which will repeat soon and can be viewed online. Is Wal Mart good for America? http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/walmart/ <http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/walmart/> Bloomberg Dec. 04 Wal Mart girds for showdown with new Congress over unions, trade: The world's largest retailer will contend next year with a Democratic-led Congress with close ties to organized labor. Democratic leaders say one of their priorities is a bill opposed by Wal-Mart making it easier for workers at the non-union company to organize. Lawmakers may also block Wal-Mart's plans to operate a bank and thwart trade deals that allow the company to import goods at low prices. http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601070&sid=a6JOvd6gbk0g&refer=home <http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601070&sid=a6JOvd6gbk0g&refer=home > Dec 14 Group enlists pastor in Wal Mart TV ad: 130 clergy write WM CEO Scott asking Would Jesus Shop at WM? http://money.aol.com/news/articles/_a/group-enlists-pastor-in-new-anti-wal/2 0061214071609990001 <http://money.aol.com/news/articles/_a/group-enlists-pastor-in-new-anti-wal/ 20061214071609990001> Related Wal Mart Class lawsuit: sex discrimination lawsuit for female employees http://www.walmartclass.com/public_home.html <http://www.walmartclass.com/public_home.html> New York and Washington state overtime lawsuits http://www.lieffcabraser.com/wal-mart.htm <http://www.lieffcabraser.com/wal-mart.htm> Wal Mart Litigation Project http://www.wal-martlitigation.com/front.htm <http://www.wal-martlitigation.com/front.htm>
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