Wal-Mart World: The World’s Biggest Corporation in the Global Economy

Now that Wal-Mart has conquered the US, can it conquer the world? As Wal-Mart World shows, the corporation is certainly trying. For a number of years, Wal-Mart has been the largest company in the United States. Now, though, it is the largest company in the world. Its global labor practices and outsourcing strategies represent for many what contemporary economic globalization is all about. But Wal-Mart is not standing still, and is opening up stores everywhere. From Germany to Beijing to Mexico City to Tokyo, more than a billion shoppers can now hunt for bargains at a Wal-Mart superstore. Wal-Mart World is the first book to look at this incredibly important phenomenon in global perspective, with chapters that range from its growth in the US and impact on labor relations here to its fortunes overseas. How Wal-Mart manages this transition in the near future will play a significant role in the determining the character of the global economy. Wal-MartWorld’s impressively broad scope makes it necessary reading for anyone interested in the global impact of this economic colossus.

Stanley D. Brunn is Professor of Geography at the University of Kentucky.He is the former editor of both The Professional Geographer and of the Annals, AAG.
His research record includes a number of authored and edited books and numerous articles that have appeared in geography and interdisciplinary journals. He has taught for short periods at more than a dozen European and Central Asian universities; these include Finland, Sweden, Ireland, Switzerland, Austria, Slovenia, the Netherlands, Bosnia, Kosovo, Kazakstan, and Kyrgyzstan. During the past four decades he has made presentations at dozens of national and international conferences. He was elected University of Kentucky Distinguished Professor in the College of Arts and Sciences in 1989-90. Stan has also been active in the Association of American Geographers, including editor of both The Professional Geographer and of the Annals, AAG. He received AAG Honors in 1994; also he has served on a number of IGU, NCGE, and AAG committees, including co-chair of the AAG Centennial Coordinating Committee. During the past two decades he has worked with educators in Kentucky to train teachers and to improve the quality of instruction in the state’s schools. Among the many highlights of his professional career was his appearance on NBC’s Today Show in 1971 to discuss his proposed political reorganization of the United States.