The Huffington Post was gracious enough to print my comments today:
Standing up to protests from a prominent Christian organization, Wal-Mart is not only carrying the DVD of Brokeback Mountain in its over 3,600 American stores, it is featuring ads for the film in the front of its stores. 138 million Americans pass through the front of these stores every week.
According to the L.A. Times, the American Family Association accuses Wal-Mart of pushing a gay agenda and is encouraging its purported 3 million members to boycott the store. So why is Wal-Mart risking alienating part of its red-state base?
Remember, Wal-Mart is a business committed to delivering products its customers want at prices they can afford. BoxOfficeMojo reports Brokeback has grossed $82 million domestically. King Kong has grossed $218 million domestically. King Kong moved 6 million DVD units in its first week of release. We can infer that Brokeback will sell around 2.4 million DVD units initially. Wal-Mart is 40-45% of the domestic retail DVD market, so Wal-Mart will probably sell at a minimum 1 million copies of the Brokeback DVD.
Brokeback Mountain is a movie the public clearly wants to see. Wal-Mart will offer it to them at the lowest price possible. In fact Wal-Mart will offer it at such a low price, many video rental stores will buy their copies from there. Imagine the howls of protest from liberal activists had Wal-Mart decided not to carry the film, even though these activists claim not to shop there. Will the progressive community applaud Wal-Mart's smart business decision to carry and promote the film?
Probably not. Brokeback's director was outsourced from Taiwan.
Tuesday, April 04, 2006
Thursday, March 16, 2006
Name This Stock
From Market Watch
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- Want to buy a stock that trades at close to its five-year lows despite posting 13% annual earnings-per-share growth over that period? What if the stock also traded at a discount to the market on a price-to-earnings basis? Furthermore, what if Berkshire Hathaway (led by the legendary Warren Buffett) had initiated a sizable position during 2005? And lastly, what if the company stood to benefit greatly from a potential stabilization in energy prices?
Interested now? Look no further than the largest retailer in the world -- Wal-Mart.
We continue to be confounded by the lack of investor interest in one of the largest and most respected (and feared) companies in the world.
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- Want to buy a stock that trades at close to its five-year lows despite posting 13% annual earnings-per-share growth over that period? What if the stock also traded at a discount to the market on a price-to-earnings basis? Furthermore, what if Berkshire Hathaway (led by the legendary Warren Buffett) had initiated a sizable position during 2005? And lastly, what if the company stood to benefit greatly from a potential stabilization in energy prices?
Interested now? Look no further than the largest retailer in the world -- Wal-Mart.
We continue to be confounded by the lack of investor interest in one of the largest and most respected (and feared) companies in the world.
Friday, March 10, 2006
Profiles in Courage
Wal-Mart wants to save their customers' money by processing credit card transactions themselves. Predictably, Congress protests:
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A group of congressmen on Friday said an industrial bank owned by Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer, could threaten the stability of the U.S. financial system and drive community banks out of business. (Comment: Blah, blah, Blah.......)
In a highly critical letter to the acting chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., obtained by Reuters, a group of more than 30 congressmen asked the bank regulator to reject Wal-Mart's application to open a bank in Utah.
"Wal-Mart's plan, to have its bank process hundreds of billions in transactions for its own stores, could threaten the stability of the nation's payments system," the lawmakers wrote. "Given Wal-Mart's massive scope and international dealings, it is not possible to rule out a financial crisis within the company that could damage the bank and severely disrupt the flow of payments throughout the financial system."
Wednesday, January 25, 2006
A Good Way To Start The Morning
The whole "defending Wal-Mart" experience I've been through has been stressful and tiring. But it seems worthwhile when letters like this come in. I've redacted his name and hometown, but his feelings towards Wal-Mart reflect what I 've heard from other associates.
Hello Ron, my name is ****. I am a manager for Walmart in the great state of Maryland. I had to send you a message thanking you for speaking on our behalf. it is so great to see that someone is taking our side as opposed to those others that hate us. They are just trying to make us look bad through lies and deception. I am so glad that the people of the
Friday, January 20, 2006
If You Haven't Yet...
...then start watching the new Battlestar Galactica. I think you can get this dress at Wal-Mart....
Tuesday, January 17, 2006
Always Low Health Care Prices
Last week the Maryland legislature passed a law requiring employers with 10,000 or more employees to spend at least 8% of their payroll on employee health care benefits, or contribute the difference into the state’s Medicaid fund. The bill applies to only one company, Wal-Mart.
This was a clear victory for the promoters of the bill, primarily unions and Wal-Mart Watch. I debated Tracy Sefl of Wal-Mart Watch a couple of times last winter, and she and her organization are nothing if not organized.
The bill does raise an interesting question.
If Wal-Mart, who by its size was the clear and only target of this bill, is forced to pay into a state Medicaid fund, shouldn’t they have some say in how those funds are spent? Might that be a good thing?
No one has ever accused Wal-Mart of being inefficient or having high costs. Most state Medicaid plans are famously guilty on both these points. Wouldn’t it be a good idea to apply Wal-Mart’s vendor negotiation skills and buying power to health care?
I recently had a routine stress test from a cardiologist. 1,200 bucks. If Wal-Mart were negotiating that fee, I bet I would pay half that. Imagine Wal-Mart calling Maryland radiologists to Bentonville, and telling them that if they don’t lower their fees they’ll have all that imaging business routed over the internet to North Carolina, where doctors will read them cheaper. Do you think the Maryland radiologists would cut their fees? You bet they would.
This would not be practical in all areas of medicine, i.e. emergency patients can’t be sent somewhere else. But diagnostic procedures can, and are, a great place to start.
I wonder how pharmaceutical companies would feel about having Wal-Mart negotiate their contracts? Ouch.
What’s done is done. The Maryland bill is law. But Maryland might be advised to take a look at Wal-Mart in a different light as regards health care. Don’t look at them as a money trough. Look at Wal-Mart strengths, and use them as a resource.
This was a clear victory for the promoters of the bill, primarily unions and Wal-Mart Watch. I debated Tracy Sefl of Wal-Mart Watch a couple of times last winter, and she and her organization are nothing if not organized.
The bill does raise an interesting question.
If Wal-Mart, who by its size was the clear and only target of this bill, is forced to pay into a state Medicaid fund, shouldn’t they have some say in how those funds are spent? Might that be a good thing?
No one has ever accused Wal-Mart of being inefficient or having high costs. Most state Medicaid plans are famously guilty on both these points. Wouldn’t it be a good idea to apply Wal-Mart’s vendor negotiation skills and buying power to health care?
I recently had a routine stress test from a cardiologist. 1,200 bucks. If Wal-Mart were negotiating that fee, I bet I would pay half that. Imagine Wal-Mart calling Maryland radiologists to Bentonville, and telling them that if they don’t lower their fees they’ll have all that imaging business routed over the internet to North Carolina, where doctors will read them cheaper. Do you think the Maryland radiologists would cut their fees? You bet they would.
This would not be practical in all areas of medicine, i.e. emergency patients can’t be sent somewhere else. But diagnostic procedures can, and are, a great place to start.
I wonder how pharmaceutical companies would feel about having Wal-Mart negotiate their contracts? Ouch.
What’s done is done. The Maryland bill is law. But Maryland might be advised to take a look at Wal-Mart in a different light as regards health care. Don’t look at them as a money trough. Look at Wal-Mart strengths, and use them as a resource.
Monday, January 16, 2006
Is Lee Scott The Most Powerful Man In Hollywood?
Musings from yours truly in last week's HuffPo:
It was widely reported last year that Robert Greenwald’s decision to self-finance part of his Wal-Mart movie was prompted in part by the defection of two film industry investors fearful of retribution from Wal-Mart.
Does Wal-Mart carry that much power in the entertainment industry? Yes. Do they use this influence to squelch dissent? Let’s see.
The sale of DVD’s is currently the engine driving the filmed entertainment industry. According to Variety, Pixar’s The Incredibles generated $355 million in home video sales, a figure 35% higher than its theatrical gross. In many instances, theatrical releases serve as little more than trailers for the DVD, which is where the real money is.
It is well-known that Wal-Mart is responsible for between 40-45% of all DVD sales in the U.S. 138 million people pass through their 3,300 stores every week, generating wide exposure and sales for DVDs. Jeffrey Katzenberg makes frequent trips to Bentonville to put on the blue vest and ply his wares. That’s how important they are.
So who makes the decision on what films Wal-Mart carries? In large part, Time Warner Home Video.
As counterintuitive as it sounds, Time Warner Home Video has served as “captain” of the video department for Wal-Mart for several years, providing sales data and DVD buying recommendations to the company, basically rack-jobbing the DVD department. This is not an unusual arrangement. According to Videobusiness magazine, 20th Century Fox Home Video provides the same “captain” services to Target, the #2 retail outlet for DVDs, and may take over that role for Wal-Mart.
Videobusiness states “execs say the role of captain is coveted because it allows the studio to have influence on the strategic direction and growth of the entire industry.”
This is not to say Wal-Mart does not make decisions regarding specific titles. Wal-Mart, or its captain, chose not to carry Mr. Greenwald’s anti-Wal-Mart film, although they offer over 20 of Mr. Greenwald’s other films on their website.
But surely my pro-Wal-Mart film “Why Wal-Mart Works” would be a shoo-in for the Wal-Mart shelves, right? Wrong. They’re not carrying that either.
So should filmmakers fear that by creating or backing certain content, they risk their chances of being carried at Wal-Mart?
Ask Time Warner.
It was widely reported last year that Robert Greenwald’s decision to self-finance part of his Wal-Mart movie was prompted in part by the defection of two film industry investors fearful of retribution from Wal-Mart.
Does Wal-Mart carry that much power in the entertainment industry? Yes. Do they use this influence to squelch dissent? Let’s see.
The sale of DVD’s is currently the engine driving the filmed entertainment industry. According to Variety, Pixar’s The Incredibles generated $355 million in home video sales, a figure 35% higher than its theatrical gross. In many instances, theatrical releases serve as little more than trailers for the DVD, which is where the real money is.
It is well-known that Wal-Mart is responsible for between 40-45% of all DVD sales in the U.S. 138 million people pass through their 3,300 stores every week, generating wide exposure and sales for DVDs. Jeffrey Katzenberg makes frequent trips to Bentonville to put on the blue vest and ply his wares. That’s how important they are.
So who makes the decision on what films Wal-Mart carries? In large part, Time Warner Home Video.
As counterintuitive as it sounds, Time Warner Home Video has served as “captain” of the video department for Wal-Mart for several years, providing sales data and DVD buying recommendations to the company, basically rack-jobbing the DVD department. This is not an unusual arrangement. According to Videobusiness magazine, 20th Century Fox Home Video provides the same “captain” services to Target, the #2 retail outlet for DVDs, and may take over that role for Wal-Mart.
Videobusiness states “execs say the role of captain is coveted because it allows the studio to have influence on the strategic direction and growth of the entire industry.”
This is not to say Wal-Mart does not make decisions regarding specific titles. Wal-Mart, or its captain, chose not to carry Mr. Greenwald’s anti-Wal-Mart film, although they offer over 20 of Mr. Greenwald’s other films on their website.
But surely my pro-Wal-Mart film “Why Wal-Mart Works” would be a shoo-in for the Wal-Mart shelves, right? Wrong. They’re not carrying that either.
So should filmmakers fear that by creating or backing certain content, they risk their chances of being carried at Wal-Mart?
Ask Time Warner.
Friday, January 06, 2006
CJR Doesn't Like My Film. Sigh.
My letter to the editor of the Columbia Journalism Review:
In her January CJR review of my film, "Why Wal-Mart Works," crusading anti-WalMart scribe Liza Featherstone accuses my film of being "ideologically extreme." Coming from a contributor to Robert Greenwald's famously neutral Wal-Mart film, I suppose that's to be expected. She then accuses me of "verging on dishonesty," which coming from a contributor to a film (Greenwald's) whose first 20 minutes she admits are factually inaccurate, is hypocritical. My film is "amateurish," as though a film (Greenwald's) whose first 20 minutes were not fact-checked, is not. Ms. Featherstone misses the point that my film is an op-ed piece, as is Mr. Greenwald's. That is evident in both the films' titles.
Mr. Featherstone gives her elitist little heart away when criticizing my choice of a poor African-American mother of seven as an interview subject, by lumping her into an imaginary category of Wal-Mart employees who have "few needs and low expectations." A single mother of seven has few needs? How can Ms. Featherstone speak to this African-American woman's expectations? This proves my point that the people criticizing Wal-Mart are not the ones who need to shop there.
My film title is "Why Wal-Mart Works & Why That Makes Some People Crazy." 1.3 million Americans choose to work at Wal-Mart. 138 million people choose to shop there every week. Given the tone of her earlier writings, I'd bet a nickel Ms. Featherstone is pro-choice. So why is she critical of the free choice Americans make to work and shop there? Because she and Greenwald feel millions of Americans just don't understand how vile Wal-Mart truly is, and they must be illuminated.
The anti-Wal-Mart group Wake Up Wal-Mart boasts on it's website that they have 160,000 members. 160,000 Americans shop at Wal-Mart every 12 minutes. That's really what makes some people crazy.
In her January CJR review of my film, "Why Wal-Mart Works," crusading anti-WalMart scribe Liza Featherstone accuses my film of being "ideologically extreme." Coming from a contributor to Robert Greenwald's famously neutral Wal-Mart film, I suppose that's to be expected. She then accuses me of "verging on dishonesty," which coming from a contributor to a film (Greenwald's) whose first 20 minutes she admits are factually inaccurate, is hypocritical. My film is "amateurish," as though a film (Greenwald's) whose first 20 minutes were not fact-checked, is not. Ms. Featherstone misses the point that my film is an op-ed piece, as is Mr. Greenwald's. That is evident in both the films' titles.
Mr. Featherstone gives her elitist little heart away when criticizing my choice of a poor African-American mother of seven as an interview subject, by lumping her into an imaginary category of Wal-Mart employees who have "few needs and low expectations." A single mother of seven has few needs? How can Ms. Featherstone speak to this African-American woman's expectations? This proves my point that the people criticizing Wal-Mart are not the ones who need to shop there.
My film title is "Why Wal-Mart Works & Why That Makes Some People Crazy." 1.3 million Americans choose to work at Wal-Mart. 138 million people choose to shop there every week. Given the tone of her earlier writings, I'd bet a nickel Ms. Featherstone is pro-choice. So why is she critical of the free choice Americans make to work and shop there? Because she and Greenwald feel millions of Americans just don't understand how vile Wal-Mart truly is, and they must be illuminated.
The anti-Wal-Mart group Wake Up Wal-Mart boasts on it's website that they have 160,000 members. 160,000 Americans shop at Wal-Mart every 12 minutes. That's really what makes some people crazy.
Wednesday, December 28, 2005
Wal-Mart Doesn't Charge Enough For Food
According to this blog. To whit, the following slapstick comment:
"I do feel strongly that we’re not paying enough for food. That it is an issue, in part, of priorities. We only pay 11% of our disposable income on food in this country. That is less than anywhere else on Earth and that is less than any other civilization that has ever been on this Earth. For some reason we do not want to spend more"
One again I repeat, the people criticizing Wal-Mart are not the ones who need to shop there.
"I do feel strongly that we’re not paying enough for food. That it is an issue, in part, of priorities. We only pay 11% of our disposable income on food in this country. That is less than anywhere else on Earth and that is less than any other civilization that has ever been on this Earth. For some reason we do not want to spend more"
One again I repeat, the people criticizing Wal-Mart are not the ones who need to shop there.
Tuesday, December 27, 2005
Thanks Greenwald Part 3
From The AP:
CHICAGO (Reuters) - Wal-Mart Stores Inc. recorded its biggest shopping day of the year on Friday, not Saturday as it had expected, the vice chairman of the world's largest retailer said on Tuesday.
John Menzer, who heads Wal-Mart's U.S. division, said more people than expected took Friday off from work and headed to stores to pick up last-minute gifts.
Demand for gift cards was particularly strong, and stores raced to display new merchandise by Monday morning to take advantage of customers redeeming those cards.
"We were expecting to have huge gift card sales," he said in a telephone interview. "It has even exceeded our expectations."
Of course, when you buy gift cards, you are loaning Wal-Mart, or any retailer, money interest free.
CHICAGO (Reuters) - Wal-Mart Stores Inc. recorded its biggest shopping day of the year on Friday, not Saturday as it had expected, the vice chairman of the world's largest retailer said on Tuesday.
John Menzer, who heads Wal-Mart's U.S. division, said more people than expected took Friday off from work and headed to stores to pick up last-minute gifts.
Demand for gift cards was particularly strong, and stores raced to display new merchandise by Monday morning to take advantage of customers redeeming those cards.
"We were expecting to have huge gift card sales," he said in a telephone interview. "It has even exceeded our expectations."
Of course, when you buy gift cards, you are loaning Wal-Mart, or any retailer, money interest free.
Where Would Jesus Shop?
Unions cleverly thought this one up, and it signals the fact that they have officially jumped the shark. I get asked this on the radio quite a bit, and the best answer I can think of to this most insipid of questions is:
"We'll have to ask him when he comes back."
"We'll have to ask him when he comes back."
Sunday, November 27, 2005
Errors In The Frontline Wal-Mart Special
I got an email from Bob Peterson, who carefully examines many of the errors in the Frontline report on Wal-Mart. His thorough analysis can be found here. Good stuff.
More proof, as if we needed it, that the people who criticize Wal-Mart are not the ones who need to shop there.
More proof, as if we needed it, that the people who criticize Wal-Mart are not the ones who need to shop there.
Saturday, November 26, 2005
Can We Get Greenwald To Do Another Film?
This one sure seems to have helped! From AP
The world's largest retailer said Saturday that it expects to post a solid 4.3 percent gain in same-store sales for November, helped by better-than expected sales during the post-Thanksgiving day shopping rush.
The world's largest retailer said Saturday that it expects to post a solid 4.3 percent gain in same-store sales for November, helped by better-than expected sales during the post-Thanksgiving day shopping rush.
Thursday, November 24, 2005
Genuine Frontier BS
Or Bad Statistics. These numbers, based on research I did for the "Why Wal-Mart Works" book earlier this year, are not statistically possible. But look at 1)Who funded the studies and 2)Who did them.
From AP:
Researchers said random purchases at 60 Wal-Mart stores in California found that the wrong price came up 8.3 percent of the time. At 78 stores in Illinois, Indiana and Michigan, check-out scanners rang up the wrong price 6.4 percent of the time. In both states, some prices rang up higher and some were lower.
The recent studies were commissioned by the Union of Food and Commercial Workers, which has been unsuccessful in its attempts to organize Wal-Mart workers for years, and released by a UFCW-backed campaign group, Wake Up Wal-Mart. The research was conducted by the University of Illinois-Chicago Center for Urban Economic Development and the University of California-Berkeley.
Wal-Mart cannot be faulted on logistics and IT. WalmartWatch is just getting boring now.
From AP:
Researchers said random purchases at 60 Wal-Mart stores in California found that the wrong price came up 8.3 percent of the time. At 78 stores in Illinois, Indiana and Michigan, check-out scanners rang up the wrong price 6.4 percent of the time. In both states, some prices rang up higher and some were lower.
The recent studies were commissioned by the Union of Food and Commercial Workers, which has been unsuccessful in its attempts to organize Wal-Mart workers for years, and released by a UFCW-backed campaign group, Wake Up Wal-Mart. The research was conducted by the University of Illinois-Chicago Center for Urban Economic Development and the University of California-Berkeley.
Wal-Mart cannot be faulted on logistics and IT. WalmartWatch is just getting boring now.
WMT Stock Price Since Greenwald's Film Premiered
Wal-Mart stock has gained about $12 billion in market cap since Robert Greenwald's mockumentary premiered in New York.
Thanks Bob!
Or maybe it was OUR film that did it. Yeah, that's it! Call Lee Scott!
Thanks Bob!
Or maybe it was OUR film that did it. Yeah, that's it! Call Lee Scott!
Huffington Post
The folks at HuffPo were good enough to run the following op-ed yesterday.
DEFENDING WAL-MART by Ron Galloway
In Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged the productive, inventive minds of the world are constantly belittled and attacked by the envious and agenda-driven in a society whose squeaky wheel gets the most grease. Sound familiar?
Wal-Mart, hate it or love it, will always be the subject of controversy. I set out on my own to find out what makes the retail giant and employer of over 1 million Americans tick, and I made a film about Wal-Mart, called Why Wal-Mart Works, and Why that Drives Some People C-R-A-Z-Y.
Why does Wal-Mart make some people crazy? Because they started selling groceries in California, that's why. A certain union got unhinged and funded a staff of 35 at WalmartWatch to do nothing but use member dues to pester Wal-Mart. Is it a prudent use of union dues to pick on a store most of their dues-paying members enjoy shopping at? Unions and assorted special interests (the National Petroleum Marketers Association, hmm...) are comically obsessing on a store 138 million people voluntarily shop at every week. It's just a store. The anti-Wal-Mart campaign is the biggest waste of time and resources since the last 3 Star Wars movies.
Speaking of Hollywood, why are they picking on Wal-Mart? Wal-Mart is Hollywood's biggest customer, responsible for nearly 40% of DVD sales. Except of course, my film's DVD, which they won't carry. Check out SAG's website, Wal-Mart is a guild signatory. Did Robert Greenwald's anti-Wal-Mart film use union crews and pay guild wages? Just asking...
Has Wal-Mart lost the life savings of investors, as WorldCom did? Did Wal-Mart just fire 30,000 workers, many of them union, as GM just did? Does Wal-Mart stiff its workers on their pensions, as the airlines are doing? No, no, and no. Wal-Mart saves families nearly $2,000 a year on average, Wal-Mart is hiring, and even part-timers at Wal-Mart get an employer match in their 401-k!
I firmly believe no special interest group in this nation benefits the poor and blue collar as much as Wal-Mart does. Ask a single Mom where she shops. I'll tell you where she shops. Money is freedom, and by saving families money, as is its mission (Always Low Prices), Wal-Mart literally provides their customers more freedom in their daily lives.
Wal-Mart's detractors are focused and well organized in their sub-optimal media assault on the company. I think that Wal-Mart believes that by doing their best to fulfill their responsibilities to their associates and customers, the need to defend their success and innovations should be an afterthought. In today's world, it's not.
In Atlas Shrugged John Galt is a fabulous businessman and inventor, yet is constantly criticized for benefiting society as a whole through his innovation and success. In the book, the question is famously asked, "Who is John Galt?"
Sam Walton is John Galt.
DEFENDING WAL-MART by Ron Galloway
In Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged the productive, inventive minds of the world are constantly belittled and attacked by the envious and agenda-driven in a society whose squeaky wheel gets the most grease. Sound familiar?
Wal-Mart, hate it or love it, will always be the subject of controversy. I set out on my own to find out what makes the retail giant and employer of over 1 million Americans tick, and I made a film about Wal-Mart, called Why Wal-Mart Works, and Why that Drives Some People C-R-A-Z-Y.
Why does Wal-Mart make some people crazy? Because they started selling groceries in California, that's why. A certain union got unhinged and funded a staff of 35 at WalmartWatch to do nothing but use member dues to pester Wal-Mart. Is it a prudent use of union dues to pick on a store most of their dues-paying members enjoy shopping at? Unions and assorted special interests (the National Petroleum Marketers Association, hmm...) are comically obsessing on a store 138 million people voluntarily shop at every week. It's just a store. The anti-Wal-Mart campaign is the biggest waste of time and resources since the last 3 Star Wars movies.
Speaking of Hollywood, why are they picking on Wal-Mart? Wal-Mart is Hollywood's biggest customer, responsible for nearly 40% of DVD sales. Except of course, my film's DVD, which they won't carry. Check out SAG's website, Wal-Mart is a guild signatory. Did Robert Greenwald's anti-Wal-Mart film use union crews and pay guild wages? Just asking...
Has Wal-Mart lost the life savings of investors, as WorldCom did? Did Wal-Mart just fire 30,000 workers, many of them union, as GM just did? Does Wal-Mart stiff its workers on their pensions, as the airlines are doing? No, no, and no. Wal-Mart saves families nearly $2,000 a year on average, Wal-Mart is hiring, and even part-timers at Wal-Mart get an employer match in their 401-k!
I firmly believe no special interest group in this nation benefits the poor and blue collar as much as Wal-Mart does. Ask a single Mom where she shops. I'll tell you where she shops. Money is freedom, and by saving families money, as is its mission (Always Low Prices), Wal-Mart literally provides their customers more freedom in their daily lives.
Wal-Mart's detractors are focused and well organized in their sub-optimal media assault on the company. I think that Wal-Mart believes that by doing their best to fulfill their responsibilities to their associates and customers, the need to defend their success and innovations should be an afterthought. In today's world, it's not.
In Atlas Shrugged John Galt is a fabulous businessman and inventor, yet is constantly criticized for benefiting society as a whole through his innovation and success. In the book, the question is famously asked, "Who is John Galt?"
Sam Walton is John Galt.
We're back
Rob and I have finished the initial madness involved with promoting the film. We promise to be better about blogging from now on. This was the busiest 3 weeks of my life.
Thursday, November 03, 2005
Thoughts from Rob Galloway
FLW TOUR
I remember in 1996ish, I was producing fishing programs for ESPN
Outdoors. I was hired to work on the FLW Tour, a professional bass
fishing series. The tournament's title sponsor was Wal-Mart. Every
other weekend or so, I'd be flying into some part of the country,
renting a car and ending up in a Wal-Mart parking lot. The large
television tent where we broadcast the tournament results and
weigh-ins would be constructed in the parking lot of each location.
Because the set-up was the same in each location, there would be times
where I couldn't remember what city I was in. I don't know how many
times I'd go strolling through Wal-Mart before and after my work. The
craziest thing would be arriving somewhere that had turned very cold.
We'd haul into the Wal-Mart and look for gloves, long underwear, and
ski masks. It was all to prepare for the early 6am launches where
you'd be in a bass boat with a top bass fisherman and filming him (or
her) as they sped off to their fishing hole. Something about going 60
and 70mph in a boat at that time or morning made my teeth grind.
Holding on for dear life, one hand on the handle, one holding the
camera, I would think over and over, "how did I exactly get here?"
Bass fishing is extremely large. I remember a quote several years ago
that were over 50 million recreational fishermen in the United States.
Bass fans would pile into the Wal-Mart parking lots all over the
country when we'd come into town. The local Wal-Mart would always
played a big role in the event, and their community would show up in
hundreds to catch a glimpse of their favorite bass fisherman.
I'll never forget the first supercenter we travelled to with the FLW
Tour. I walked in and my jaw dropped. I remember thinking, if you
forget your bread, there's no going back once you get all the way
across the store to fishing supplies. For someone with ADD, the
supercenters were always a fun challenge.
It's been been over four years ago since I retired from I called my
"bass boat beatings."
It was fun to explore the parking lots and people of Wal-Mart again
this year, not from a bass fishing adventure, but from a documentary
looking into the "WHY WAL-MART WORKS."
I remember in 1996ish, I was producing fishing programs for ESPN
Outdoors. I was hired to work on the FLW Tour, a professional bass
fishing series. The tournament's title sponsor was Wal-Mart. Every
other weekend or so, I'd be flying into some part of the country,
renting a car and ending up in a Wal-Mart parking lot. The large
television tent where we broadcast the tournament results and
weigh-ins would be constructed in the parking lot of each location.
Because the set-up was the same in each location, there would be times
where I couldn't remember what city I was in. I don't know how many
times I'd go strolling through Wal-Mart before and after my work. The
craziest thing would be arriving somewhere that had turned very cold.
We'd haul into the Wal-Mart and look for gloves, long underwear, and
ski masks. It was all to prepare for the early 6am launches where
you'd be in a bass boat with a top bass fisherman and filming him (or
her) as they sped off to their fishing hole. Something about going 60
and 70mph in a boat at that time or morning made my teeth grind.
Holding on for dear life, one hand on the handle, one holding the
camera, I would think over and over, "how did I exactly get here?"
Bass fishing is extremely large. I remember a quote several years ago
that were over 50 million recreational fishermen in the United States.
Bass fans would pile into the Wal-Mart parking lots all over the
country when we'd come into town. The local Wal-Mart would always
played a big role in the event, and their community would show up in
hundreds to catch a glimpse of their favorite bass fisherman.
I'll never forget the first supercenter we travelled to with the FLW
Tour. I walked in and my jaw dropped. I remember thinking, if you
forget your bread, there's no going back once you get all the way
across the store to fishing supplies. For someone with ADD, the
supercenters were always a fun challenge.
It's been been over four years ago since I retired from I called my
"bass boat beatings."
It was fun to explore the parking lots and people of Wal-Mart again
this year, not from a bass fishing adventure, but from a documentary
looking into the "WHY WAL-MART WORKS."
We're done
"Why Wal-Mart Works" is color-corrected and is being duped, thanks to brother Rob, who finished everything while I was debating Greenwald all week (it seems).
Thoughts on the Lou Dobbs show last night soon....
Thoughts on the Lou Dobbs show last night soon....
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