Frontline: Is Wal-Mart Good for America?

Frontline: Is Wal-Mart Good for America?: "In Circleville, Ohio, population 13,000, the local RCA television-manufacturing plant was once a source of good jobs with good pay and benefits. But in late 2003, RCA's owner, Thomson Consumer Electronics, lost a sizeable portion of its production orders and six months later shut the plant down, throwing 1,000 people out of work.

Thomson's jobs have moved to China, where cheap labor manufactures what the American consumer desires -- from clothing to electronics -- and can buy at 'everyday low prices' at the local Wal-Mart."

This was a very interesting Frontline this week on PBS. The program looks at Wal-Mart from a different angle than I've seen before. Instead of focusing on the in-store jobs that Wal-Mart creates (and whether they are good or bad) it looks at the impact that Wal-Mart has on the manufacturing industry in America. It is astounding how powerful the largest retailer in the world has become. One of the most fascinating things to me was how Wal-Mart and other giant retailers have changed the manufacturing model from a push model to a pull model. In the push model, manufacturers decide what products they will produce and then market them to retailers. What the power of Wal-Mart and retailers of its ilk have done is switch that model to a pull model. The retailers tell the manufacturers what products they want and what they will pay for them. In Wal-Mart's case, they exercise extraordinary control over the manufacturing process as well as the profit margin of the manufacturer. This change represents an absolutely astonishing revolution in the retailing process. There are a couple of economists on the program with varying opinions, and while I don't count myself expert enough in economics and geo-political relations to have a definite opinion, I do find the discussion fascinating. Catch this Frontline show if you get a chance!