The Wal-Mart Effect

The hows and whys of beating the Bentonville behemoth

By David Moberg

Walter “The General” Brooks stood amid the vacant buildings of a former Reyerson Steel plant on Chicago’s South Side, the projected site of a shopping center anchored by a Wal-Mart discount store. “We need jobs,” exclaimed Brooks, owner of a nearby fried chicken restaurant. “ [RETURN TO ARTICLE]