In offering the lowest possible prices to their customers Wal-Mart has dominated the retail industry at an unseen cost to everyone. The cost is spread to their suppliers, workers communities and even to American Culture.
The first hidden cost and the one most often noted is their anti union stance. Because of their resolve in keeping their employees non-union they are partially responsible for the low pay scale in the retail industry. Because their work force is so large they can dictate the wage in the industry, which is currently below the poverty line for a family of three. Wal-Mart's growth is coming at the expense of existing supermarkets. For every new Wal-Mart super Center that opens, two supermarkets will close. These unionized supermarkets pay their employees an average of 30% higher then their Wal-Mart counterpart. The company has recently come under attack by lawsuits alledging employee abuses and sex discrimination and is the plaintiff in a huge class action suit. In their attempts to find the lowest price point, Wal Mart has increasingly relied on foreign labor. Wal Mart accounts for 10% of all US imports from China. .
Wal Mart controls over 30% of the US market in a number of household staples. Suppliers often must choose between designing goods that the customer wants or designing what Wal- Mart will stock. Wal- Mart is also the largest outlet for DVDs, videos" and CDs. Wal-Mart determines which version they will accept for sale and cite customer preference as the reason it does not stock those with parental advisory labels. In fact, Wal-Mart doesn't know for certain how the majority of its customers feel. The company makes no scientific attempt to survey shoppers about entertainment content. They have simply responded to a handful of complaints from outside conservative groups. The company however does not submit to community groups that oppose them building new mega stores in their neighborhoods.
