Fascinating article about Wal-Mart\’s retail domination. It is now the world\’s biggest corporation, knocking down ExxonMobil. They are the biggest customers to vendors such as Tandy, Revlon, and Proctor & Gamble, and as a result Wal-Mart can bully them around.

\”As Wal-Mart grows,\” writes consultant Ira Kalish of Retail Forward, \”it will transform its competitors, its suppliers, and the industries it dominates.\” In apparel, for instance, Wal-Mart is moving from staples into cheap-chic fashion, exemplified by its new George line, which offers career basics like skirts and blazers priced between $8.87 and $28.96. That in turn is pressuring everyone from Bloomingdale\’s to Banana Republic to compete on price as well as image. \”Wal-Mart has caused the fashion industry to go topsy-turvy,\” says Marshal Cohen, co-president of NPDfashionworld.

[ From Rebecca\’s Pocket ]