Charles Fishman Looks Back at 50 Years of Wal-Mart

In a recent article on the 50-year anniversary of Walmart, Time magazine turned to retail speaker Charles Fishman for examples of just how much the mega-retailer has changed the landscape of American business, and America itself. Fishman compares Walmart's earnings to its nearest retail competitor, Target, to illustrate the extent of its domination:

Walmart does more business by March 3 than Target does all year. Target doesn’t have a single store outside the United States; Walmart’s international stores alone generate almost twice Target’s total revenue.

Behind Walmart's staggering numbers, Fishman reminds us, is a much more interesting story—Walmart's indisputable impact on the course of capitalism. In his bestseller The Wal-Mart Effect, Fishman gave us the definitive look at how Sam Walton's empire came to become the most powerful and influential company in the history of the world. Both in his book, and on stage, Fishman shares the secrets to Walmart's global rise to power, and tells us how it has changed the practices of its suppliers, the economic life of cities, the economies of the countries from which it buys its goods, and the buying habits of consumers. Starting as a lone store in small-town Arkansas, Walmart has changed the nature of competition forever—and Charles Fishman can help any audience understand what The Wal-Mart Effect means for their organization, and for the world we live in.