With its out of scale concrete sides and obese roof, this spectacle in front of me certainly doesn't fade into the landscape. I'm overwhelmed yet curious as to what's behind those mammoth doors.
As we step inside Walmart I pause for a moment. Only now can I really take in the threshold of 2-3 acres of brand new goods piled to the ceiling.
Walking through the chaotic isles I'm struck by a plethora of people, all buying more than they need at lower prices. Everyone is a slave to their impulse for a good bargain. And it's all thanks to one brilliant obsessive focus on one core value, delivering low prices.
As I battle my way through the shelves randomly stocked and the captive Walmart community, I start to realise that this isn't just a store, company or phenomenon. It's an institution that shapes where people shop, the products they buy and prices they're prepared to pay. It changes their sense of quality and ideas about what a good deal is.
The most complex question I call to mind appears at first very simple, should we shop at Walmart? While searching for the answer it becomes obvious I don't even know whether the question is a political, moral, economic or value based question. That's how infuriating Walmart is.
But the real problem is how irresistible Walmart is.
And as the bored associate scans my goods I throw all my inhibitions away and consciously think to myself; 'checkmate, the corporate monolith has won'.
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