Book Review: Big-Box Swindle – A Must Read!
Jun 16
Big-Box Swindle – The True Cost of Mega-Retailers and the Fight for America’s Independent Businesses
By Stacy Mitchell (Beacon Press, Paperback, 9780807035016, 344pp.)
If I had to recommend one book on marketing, sailing, or theology it would be nearly impossible for me to choose. However, if someone were to ask me to recommend one book that explains why I do what I do, and what RelyLocal is all about, I couldn’t recommend Stacy Mitchell’s work “Big Box Swindle” any more highly. (Incidentally, Stacy gave us permission to reprint a tidbit of her material in this earlier post.)
People who know me well know that I am not a flippant-preachy person who blindly aligns himself with activist causes without doing his homework. I mention this so you are better able to understand the context within which I praise this book. Mitchell didn’t assemble yet another tired and emotional manifesto against WalMart – she assembles a great deal of well-thought research on the impact (damage) that mega-retailers can really have on the economic and social health of a community. Furthermore, she assembles some wonderful data on the importance of the symbiotic relationship between local businesses and their neighbors (aka customers).
I have never been so convicted in my life as I had in reading Big-Box Swindle. It literally changed my life and changed my focus toward fighting for the small business owner across the country. We couldn’t be prouder to be partnering with so many like-minded individuals and businesses across the country!
Big-Box Swindle can be found in most public libraries or through your local independent bookstores.
(Funny/Sad Note: In a time-pinch while traveling, I was trying to find a copy of the book to give to a friend the next morning before heading to the airport. The only store I could find was a Schmarnes and Schmoble. When I asked a sales rep for some assistance finding the book, she asked what it was about. When I gave her the synopsis, she replied, “That’s a stupid thing to write about. Why would we carry something like that?” Exactly, my dear. Exactly.)
