The Retail Revolution: How Wal-Mart Created a Brave New World of Business

by Nelson Lichtenstein

Wal-Mart is the world's largest company and it sets the standard--both social and commercial--for a huge swath of the global economy. In this probing investigation, historian Nelson Lichtenstein shows how the company's success has spread evangelical Protestantism into the workplace, made South China an American workshop, and pushed American politics to the right. At the same time, he anticipates a day of reckoning, when challenges to the Wal-Mart way, at home and abroad, are likely to change the far-flung empire. Insightful and original, The Retail Revolution gives a fresh and necessary understanding of the phenomenon that has reshaped international commerce.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Business, Economics, Sociology, Politics, Labor

432 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

Nelson Lichtenstein is a professor of history at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and director of the Center for the Study of Work, Labor and Democracy.

Reviews

[Bryce · Rating 1 out of 5]

I believe that criticisms need to be not only substantiated, but also based on premises that are either established or understood. Based on that belief, I did not think this was a good book. The author cited criticisms of Wal-Mart about how they were anti-union or other supposed problems. But the author never took it to the next step of showing why being anti-union fulfilled his premise that Wal-Mart was bad. I, for one, was glad that Wal-Mart had so much success against the unions. The author talked about how Wal-mart has strange cheers and other quirks in their culture. But again, no harm was cited. So even though I picked up this book to get another perspective on Wal-Mart, I generally found this to be a poor one because it assumes too much about the reader's worldview- one I obviously don't share.

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first section is the background on Sam Walton and all his innovations in retail. It was a little dry. Then, there are chapters on the anti-union stance, the factories in China, and the international spread of Wal-Mart, among others. It was interesting and informative, but not the most engaging. I kept thinking about the New Yorker and how they must have done a (much more interesting) profile on Walton and/or Wal-Mart.

[Peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

While this 2010 book on Wal-Mart doesn't getting a chance to consider Amazon and ecommerce's impact, it remains highly relevant and very insightful on the unprecedented rise of Wal-Mart via innovation, focus, supply chain, international expansion and targeting. The author, a UCSB professor, is highly critical of Wal-Mart's tough approach to unionization and worker benefits and suggests it hasn't necessarily led to a better run or more profitable chain. Yet, the book is not at all a hatchet job. The detail provided on Wal-Mart's approach to all aspects of retail is impressive. The insight into the Chinese supply chain is especially valuable, as is the insight into Wal-Mart's Ozark roots. Sometimes, the years are juggled, and it is hard to differentiate what happened in 1978 from 1998. But overall, I think it is one of the best business books I've read.

[Christina Quigley · Rating 4 out of 5]

An extremely well-researched and eye-opening expose on the practices that led to Walmart's domination of the mass market retail industry as well as other giants such as Target, Kmart, etc. A must-read for business professionals and students who are forced to drink the Walmart Kool-Aid in business programs across the country.

[Dylan Baade · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great case study on Walmart's business practices, there low wage anti-union ethos and how Walmart has mashed together Evangelical protestantism with Milton Friedman laissez-faire capitalism also how they contributed to the overall right wing neoliberal revolution from the late 1970s till 2010.

[R.J. Gilmour · Rating 4 out of 5]

On the reading front I have been reading Nelson Lichtenstein's The Retail Revolution: How Wal-Mart created a brave new world of Business (New York: Metropolitan Books, 2009). Lichtenstein a professor of history does a really good job of contextualing the rise of Wal-Mart and how their business practices fit into a larger history of retailing, economics and North America. I have read most of the books written about Wal-Mart, with most being either indictments or celebrations of the company. Lichtenstein's book however is a balanced analysis of Wal-Mart's position in North America and the world.

[Laurel Cornell]

Fascinating presentation by this author on Fresh Air today. He seems very even-handed. Great sources of data. Says that, yes, Walmart does offer lower prices, but only on 20% of the things we buy. The other 80% --- health care, housing, transportation, eduction --- we can't buy there, so their lower prices have no overall effect on much of the economy. And their workers are hurt, because the low wages they offer make it very difficult for the workers to buy these necessities. Walmart has also eliminated Saturday as a day off, returning us to the workweek conditions of the 1920s.

[Erin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book. Very interesting and I learned a lot. Would never/do never shop at Walmart but it was interesting to learn how they got their start, grew, and many of their evil tactics. The way they treat their labor has been terrible since the very beginning! An entertaining as well as educational read.

[Richard · Rating 4 out of 5]

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This is a balanced history and a fair appraisal regarding Wal-Mart itself, the influence it has regarding all direct and indirect sectors of the retail industry, and the company's direct and indirect impact on the world in general. Want a better understanding of most things Wal-Mart?…This is the book to read…
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[Bob · Rating 4 out of 5]

Useful history/analysis of the Wal*Mart phenonemon, if you're interested in that sort of thing.

[Margaret Dillon · Rating 4 out of 5]

This finely researched book gave me even more reasons not to shop at Walmart.

[Hillary]

wow. worth the read.

[Evan Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

A decent history of Wal-Mart's innovation and impact on the global economy.

[Zachary · Rating 5 out of 5]

an even-handed indictment of the retail monster that dominates our economy. the new definitive book on wal*mart

[seemsbleak · Rating 4 out of 5]

the good ole days