Hardware Retailing The Industry's Source for Insights and Information
Charles Fishman, an award-winning author and investigative journalist, took questions from Hardware Retailing on Walmart and home improvement.
His book, “The Wal-Mart Effect,” got inside the world’s largest company for the first time and explains how Walmart does what it does. Fishman will be speaking May 4 at the North American Retail Hardware Association (NRHA) All-Industry Conference, held in conjunction with the National Hardware Show® in Las Vegas. He will talk about Walmart past and present, and how independent home improvement retailers have survived in spite of the retail giant.
Is Walmart still as formidable as it seemed when you wrote “The Wal-Mart Effect”?
Walmart seems much less like a behemoth than it did even five years ago. But two things are true: Walmart is, in fact, bigger than ever. And Amazon is coming up fast. My kids (14 and 17) think you should buy everything from Amazon, and for the 17-year-old, that literally includes tools. He recently bought a set of screwdrivers from Amazon.
How often do you shop at Walmart and why?
When I was writing “The Wal-Mart Effect,” I was in a Walmart of some kind every five days—certainly five to six times a month. I wanted to make sure I understood what was happening in the stores. I still talk and write about Walmart, and to be both informed and fair, I try to get into a Walmart at least twice a month. I’ve been in 150 different Walmarts now, in 30 states and six countries.
What’s your impression of how Walmart sells home improvement supplies?
Walmart has shelves of hardware and home improvement merchandise. If you know what you want, and it’s there, great. But if you need advice, you’re in the wrong place.
Where do you buy home improvement products?
Here in D.C., we use two local hardware stores—both Ace members and both special places: Well-staffed, well-stocked, offering patient and gracious advice. And our kids know them, too, and appreciate them compared to the big boxes, which makes us feel good.
What are you looking forward to about speaking to retailers at the NRHA All-Industry Conference?
I’m a reporter, and I love business, so I love hearing what it’s like to run a business right now—what’s the mood, what’s changing, what’s making you nervous. I especially like meeting people who run their own companies. You get a different perspective than from employees of a big company.
What will you be reading on your flight to Las Vegas for the show?
I’m writing a book about the race to the moon, so I’ll probably be reading a book about space suits or the lunar module.
