Lecture: Does Wal-mart have a soul?

On Oct. 14 we'll be at Eckerd College, to hear a lecture by Charles Fishman, investigative journalist and author of The Wal-Mart Effect. Admission is free. Lecture starts at 7:30, at Fox Hall, 4200 54th Avenue South, St. Petersburg.

If you're interested in joining Local Shopper, please visit us at our Web site, and check for contact info.


As for the title of the blog ...

Well, you can probably guess our opinion in the matter. We understand Wal-mart offers low prices, and we understand that in some cases that might be the only option, or the best option.

What we DON'T understand is people who clearly have the means to shop elsewhere still go there. Is saving a few pennies, or even a few dollars, worth it?

We're all for saving money, too. But we think we need to weigh in other factors, and perhaps the answer sometimes might be buying fewer things?

Now, we're not saying to skip on essentials, we're not saying don't go shopping. (we're definitely not saying that ... we LOVE shopping!) ... What we ARE saying is to consider the effects of what you buy, and where your money goes.



Some excerpts, from the book, from http://www.walmarteffectbook.com/
‘The Wal-Mart You Don’t Know’
The giant retailer's low prices often come with a high cost. Wal-Mart's relentless pressure can crush the companies it does business with and force them to send jobs overseas. Are we shopping our way straight to the unemployment line?
[the original story that inspired the book, from chapter 4]


‘The Man Who Said No To Wal-Mart’
Every year, thousands of executives venture to Bentonville, Arkansas, hoping to get their products onto the shelves of the world's biggest retailer. But Jim Wier wanted Wal-Mart to stop selling his Snapper mowers. [from chapter 5]


And about the author, also from the book's web site:

Charles Fishman is an award-winning investigative and magazine journalist, who has spent the last 20 years trying to get inside, understand and explain important organizations, from NASA to Wal-Mart. Fishman was the first reporter ever permitted inside a Tupperware factory, and he was the first reporter in 30 years allowed inside the nation’s only bomb factory.

Fishman grew up and graduated from high school in Miami, Florida and received a BA from Harvard University. He is married to a journalist.

Fishman has visited dozens of Wal-Marts in 25 states, and has spent several months of his life in Bentonville.

“The Wal-Mart Effect,” his first book, made the bestseller lists of the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and BusinessWeek.