Why would anyone shop at Walmart?

American-Made Products Rapidly Disappearing from Marketplace; Chief Reason Attributed to America’s Leading Retailer

The escalating decrease of American-made products available to consumers in US retail stores is at epidemic proportions. In fact, American-made products are disappearing from the US marketplace at such an alarming rate that prime time television recently explored the topic.

While research about the growing decrease in homegrown American goods may offer several factors as the cause, author Charles Hood attributes the real root of the problem to one source—retail goliath Wal-Mart.

In Wal-Mart’s EGOnomics—Always—The Greed Behind the Smiley Face, Hood’s Five-Star-awarded book explores a behind-the-scenes look at how America’s largest retailer conducts business. “It is not a pretty picture,” says Hood, whose retail-service company ADDvantage Media Group, Inc. (AMG) was destroyed at the hands of Wal-Mart executives after AMG was a partner/vendor with Wal-Mart for seven years.

“There seems to be a reluctance to point fingers in any direction about the major reason products made in America AND American jobs are disappearing,” says Hood. “But fingers need to be pointed, and they need to be pointed at Wal-Mart for its total disregard for America and the sale of American-made products.”

“Reportedly, today over 90 percent of the products Wal-Mart sells are manufactured in foreign facilities,” Hood explains. “If the products Wal-Mart buys are not purchased directly from foreign sources, they are purchased from the many American companies that were forced to begin manufacturing their products in foreign countries, in order to compete in today’s market.

“This is a problem that was initiated not recently, but the day Sam Walton opened the doors of his very first store,” says Hood. “Unfortunately for America, Wal-Mart’s dishonorable tactics have allowed its growth to out-strip that of all other retailers, and in so doing they are perhaps the single greatest contributor to the ugly state of the American economy today.”

“This is not an idle statement based solely upon my personal experiences,” Hood continues. “Prior to writing any part of my book, I conducted an enormous amount of research. I sought to learn whether my treatment was unique or a part of Wal-Mart’s normal business practices. I thoroughly delved into their past treatments of competitive retailers, their vendors (past and present), the towns in which their stores were located, and their treatment of individuals – both customers and employees. The results were amazing. ‘Own or destroy’ has been Wal-Mart’s business philosophy since ‘day one.’”

“Wal-Mart successfully eliminated our country’s previously successful tier of “mom and pop” retailers. It was this group that almost solely sold products made in America, and in turn supported America’s manufacturing industry. But “mom and pop” operations are things of the past,” Hood adds, “and, Wal-Mart, having destroyed this economy-boosting segment of America, has since moved on, setting its sights on America’s manufacturers, demanding that they price their goods competitively with the sweat shops of foreign lands.”

“This left America’s industry with three choices: (1) Continue to sell American-made products, but do so at a loss, (2) Establish foreign manufacturing sources, or (3) No longer call upon Wal-Mart. It was these options that soon contributed to the closing of American-made facilities and the accompanying release of their respective workforces,” Hood states.

“The bottom line result is that this out-of-work segment continues to feed at Wal-Mart’s trough of ‘everyday low prices’ — and in doing so, is supporting Wal-Mart’s circle of life. In reality, all of America should ‘watch out for Wal-Mart’s falling prices,’ because as each one falls, it is because a toll has been taken on an American or an American-made product,” Hood concludes.

Hood urges not only the news media but also everyone concerned about the loss of America’s jobs and the disappearance of products made in the US to delve further into the real basis of today’s American economy.

“The facts are there, and it will not be at all difficult to point your fingers in the proper direction,” says Hood.

Wal-Mart’s EGOnomics—Always—The Greed Behind the Smiley Face is a powerful reminder for readers that “rolled-back prices” do not come without an enormous cost. Hood’s story raises awareness of Wal-Mart’s practices while his words and story turn the economic ramifications from conceptual theories to real people with whom we can relate.

By not shopping at Walmart, the job you save may be your own.