http://www2.econ.iastate.edu/faculty/stone/10yrstudy.pdf

IMPACT OF THE WAL-MART PHENOMENON 

ON RURAL COMMUNITIES 

Published in Proceedings 

Increasing Understanding of Public Problems and Policies - 1997 

By 

Farm Foundation 

Chicago, Illinois 

Kenneth E. Stone 

Professor of Economics 

Iowa State University 

For additional information, contact: 

Dr. Kenneth E. Stone 

460 Heady Hall 

Iowa State University 

Ames, IA 50011 

Phone:(515) 294-6269 

Fax: (515) 294-1700 

E-mail:kstone@iastate.edu

2 

IMPACT OF THE WAL-MART PHENOMENON ON RURAL COMMUNITIES 

Kenneth E. Stone 

Iowa State University 

There is strong evidence that rural communities in the United States have been 

more adversely impacted by the discount mass merchandisers (sometimes referred to as 

the Wal-Mart phenomenon) than by any other factors in recent times.  Studies in Iowa 

have shown that some small towns lose up to 47 percent of their retail trade after 10 years 

of Wal-Mart stores nearby (Stone 1997). 

Overview 

The discount mass merchandisers are not the only threats that small town retailers 

have faced.  In the more distant past, mail order catalogs distributed by Montgomery 

Ward and Sears Roebuck in the late 1800s caused quite a stir at the time (Mahoney).  The 

mail order catalogs offered large selections at competitive prices.  Coincidentally, a well- 

established railroad system provided nation-wide delivery of mail order goods within a few 

to several weeks.  At its peak, Sears Roebuck offered over 100,000 items through its 

catalog and captured some sales from local merchants. 

The next major threat to rural retailers was the automobile.  In the 1920s and 

1930s automobiles and roads developed to the point where rural residents gained 

considerable mobility and could more easily leave their small home towns and travel to 

shop at larger towns and cities.  However, this trend was slowed in the 1930s because of 

the Great Depression and in the early 1940s because of World War II and its resultant 

shortage of goods.  The late 1940s were boom times for retailers in both rural areas and

3 

larger cities because of the relative prosperity and the great pent-up demand resulting from 

the Great Depression and World War II. 

Shopping malls began to appear in larger trade centers in the 1950s and 1960s. 

Rural residents were strongly attracted to the new malls because of their ease of access, 

large selections, controlled climate, easy and free parking and their extended shopping 

hours.  Shopping malls fundamentally changed the way Americans shopped.  They drew 

shoppers from the downtown to the shopping center location, typically at the edge of 

town or in a suburb.  Shopping centers caused the demise of downtown, most of which 

have never fully recovered. 

A new format, called discount department stores, began appearing in the 1960s.  In 

fact, K Mart, Wal-Mart and Target stores all began operations in 1962.  These were not 

the first discount department stores, but they turned out to be the largest chains.  The 

three companies expanded in completely different ways, however.  K Mart initially located 

stores in relatively large communities and spread rapidly across the United States and 

Canada and within six or eight years had become a truly national chain (Discount Store 

News). 

Wal-Mart, on the other hand, initially located its stores in small Southern towns. 

By opening a relatively large store in a small town, Wal-Mart could quickly become a 

dominant store (Walton).  Furthermore, Wal-Mart’s founder, Sam Walton, did not want 

to outrun his logistical support, namely his distribution centers.  Consequently, Wal-Mart 

progressed methodically across the United States, always building stores within a days 

drive of its distribution centers, and taking over 30 years to become a fully national chain.

4 

Target stores, owned by Dayton Hudson Company has selectively looked for 

markets of opportunity and after 35 years is still not located in all the U.S. states.  They 

will undoubtedly establish stores in every state within a short time. 

The 1980s saw a rapid expansion of the discount department stores.  In addition, a 

new store format, called “category killer,” began appearing on the scene (Stone 1995). 

These were large specialty stores that featured nearly complete selections within their 

narrow category.  Quickly these stores became dominant and consequently killed off 

smaller stores within the category.  One of the early category killer stores was Toys R Us 

and it remains a dominant toy store today.  The building materials category was quickly 

dominated by The Home Depot, but Lowes, Builders Square and Menards have also taken 

substantial market share.  The battle within the office supply category is being fought 

among such stores as Office Max, Office Depot and Staples.  Many other categories are 

being fought over by other category killer stores. 

Impacts of Discount Mass Merchandisers 

My first study of the impact of Wal-Mart stores was conducted in 1988 to help my 

clients (Iowa retailers) understand the impacts so that they could better develop strategies 

to remain competitive (Stone 1991).  These studies were updated every two years or so in 

the 1990s and the results seemed fairly consistent until recent years.  In recent years, it 

became apparent that the retail situation in Wal-Mart towns was changing.  This year a 

new study was conducted to determine the situation in Iowa small towns after 10 years of 

Wal-Mart stores and those results are reported below (Stone 1997). 

The study looked at 34 towns in Iowa that had Wal-Mart stores for at least 10 

years.  The retail performance of these towns was compared to 15 towns of the same

5 

population group that did not have Wal-Mart stores.  The towns ranged from 5,000 

population to 40,000 population.  Results for two digit Standard Industrial Classification 

Codes (SIC) are discussed below. 

General Merchandise.  General merchandise stores are department stores and 

variety stores and include stores such as Wal-Mart, K Mart and Target.  Figure 1 shows 

the average change in pull factors (trade area size) for the 10 years following the opening 

of a Wal-Mart store. 

AL-MART WAL-MART 

***********http://www2.econ.iastate.edu/faculty/stone/10yrstudy.pdfAs - charts did not transfer

The average growth in general merchandise sales for the Wal-Mart 

towns was spectacular for the first few years, averaging approximately 50 percent growth 

(most of which was obviously Wal-Mart’s).  However, after about five years, sales began 

declining and after 10 years were 25 percent higher than before the Wal-Mart store

6 

opened.  It is believed that this decline in sales happened because Wal-Mart placed its own 

stores too close together, causing a predatory effect.  At the same time, the build-up of 

large stores in bigger towns and cities captured some sales from even the Wal-Mart towns. 

The general merchandise stores in the non Wal-Mart towns began declining 

immediately after the Wal-Mart stores opened.  Their sales declined by two percent after 

the first year and continued declining to a cumulative 34 percent after 10 years.  A few of 

these towns had a K Mart store (typically an older, smaller store), and all of them had one 

or more regional discount store, such as Pamida, Alco or Place’s.  It is believed that 

people in the towns without Wal-Mart stores migrated to the towns with Wal-Mart stores 

to shop for general merchandise. 

Eating and Drinking Places.  This category includes restaurants of all types and 

******************http://www2.econ.iastate.edu/faculty/stone/10yrstudy.pdfAs - charts did not transfer

various types of drinking establishments such as taverns and cocktail lounges.  Most of the 

sales occur in the eating places and they continue to grow.  The changes in sales of eating 

and drinking places are shown in figure 2. 

As can be seen the sales of eating and drinking establishments increased from three 

to seven percent over the state-wide average for the Wal-Mart towns.  Conversely, the 

sales of eating and drinking places in the non Wal-Mart towns immediately declined and 

after 10 years were still nine percent below the statewide average. These results indicate 

that people leave the non Wal-Mart towns to shop in the Wal-Mart towns and while there, 

patronize the eating and drinking places. 

Home Furnishings.  Home furnishings stores consist of furniture stores, major 

appliance stores, drapery stores, etc.  Early studies in Iowa showed that these types of 

*****************http://www2.econ.iastate.edu/faculty/stone/10yrstudy.pdfAs - charts did not transferstores

benefited from having a Wal-Mart store in town with its large drawing power. 

Figure 3 shows the 10-year results. 

The initial spill-over benefit enjoyed by home furnishings stores in the Wal-Mart 

towns eventually eroded somewhat as several later towns had stores so weak that they 

could not capture this trade.  As can be seen in figure 3, however, home furnishings sales 

in the Wal-Mart towns declined only slightly, compared to the sales in the non Wal-Mart 

towns which ended up declining by 31 percent after 10 years.  It is believed that when 

consumers leave the non Wal-Mart towns to out-shop for one or more items, they 

probably also use these occasions to shop for home furnishings. 

Building Materials.  The building materials category consists of lumberyards, 

home improvement centers, hardware stores, and paint and glass stores. 

***************http://www2.econ.iastate.edu/faculty/stone/10yrstudy.pdfAs - charts did not transfer 

consequently suffer losses of sales.  Figure 5 shows the change in sales for specialty stores 

in the 10 years following the opening of a Wal-Mart store. 

Specialty store sales in the Wal-Mart towns declined by 10 percent after three 

years of a Wal-Mart store, but then the situation improved to only a five percent decline 

until year eight when the decline became 12 percent, then further declined to 17 percent by 

the end of year 10.  This illustrates that stores selling the same merchandise as a Wal-Mart 

store will most probably lose sales after a Wal-Mart store opens in their town. 

In the non Wal-Mart towns specialty store sales steadily declined after the 

introduction of Wal-Mart stores in nearby towns, to a low of 29 percent by the end of year 

7.  This level of sales held fairly steady and year 10 showed a cumulative 28 percent 

decline. Compared to the year before the Wal-Mart store opened.  It seems obvious that 

residents of the Wal-Mart towns were leaving their towns to shop either in the Wal-Mart 

towns or other larger trade centers. 

Apparel Stores.  Apparel stores include clothing stores for men, women and 

children plus shoe stores.  Figure 6 shows the changes in apparel stores in Iowa towns 

after the introduction of Wal-Mart stores. 

Apparel store sales dropped fairly steadily in the Wal-Mart towns in the years 

following the opening of a Wal-Mart store, ending at 28 percent below the pre-Wal-Mart 

level after 10 years.  This probably means that primarily the stores selling low-end apparel 

that competed directly with the apparel sold at a Wal-Mart store suffered these losses. 

The apparel stores in non Wal-Mart towns also suffered a steady decline in sales in 

the years after a nearby Wal-Mart opening, ending year 10 at the same level as apparel

11 

8888888888888http://www2.econ.iastate.edu/faculty/stone/10yrstudy.pdfAs - charts did not transfer

The non Wal-Mart towns, however, suffered a worse fate than the Wal-Mart 

towns as their total sales continually decreased over the 10-year period, ultimately ending 

15 percent lower than the pre-Wal-Mart level. 

Small Town Losses.  It is clear that among the mid-size towns discussed above, 

the Wal-Mart towns fared somewhat better than the non Wal-Mart towns.  But what was 

the impact of the mass merchandiser stores on the hundreds of towns with populations of 

less than 5,000?  Figure 8 shows the percent change in sales of these towns from 1983 

(the first year that Wal-Mart stores opened in Iowa) through 1996. 

It becomes clear that towns under 5,000 population bear the brunt of the discount mass 

merchandisers.  In most cases these towns do not have a critical mass of retail stores 

Figure 9 

Changes in Shopping Habits 

After discount mass merchandisers operate in an area for an extended period of 

time, people gravitate to these stores and consequently cause losses of sales to smaller 

competing stores.  Figure 10 shows changes in the buying habits of Iowa Consumers for 

*************http://www2.econ.iastate.edu/faculty/stone/10yrstudy.pdfAs - charts did not transfer

The average Iowa consumer spent 42 percent more money in department stores 

(primarily discount stores) in 1996 than he or she did in 1983.  At the other extreme, on 

average, consumers spent 59 percent less in men’s & boy’s clothing stores and this 

resulted in the loss of over 60 percent of these stores during this period. 

Public Policy Implications 

Public officials often get involved in regulations and statutes concerning the 

establishment of new mass merchandiser stores.  At the state level, Vermont officials 

attempted to keep the Wal-Mart Company from establishing stores in that state.  The 

policy was well intended and was meant to protect the predominantly small merchants in a 

small state.  However, as time went on, it soon became obvious that the ban was having 

the opposite effect.  As Wal-Mart built stores on the New Hampshire (a no sales tax state) 

border and on the New York border, it soon began to suck the trade out of Vermont.  It is 

not possible to put fences around a state to keep residents from out-shopping. 

Organizations within many municipalities have attempted to prevent mass 

merchandisers from locating in their areas.  Most often, this resistance is organized and 

supported by local merchants who fear the competition.  However, in more and more 

cases, people who are genuinely concerned about preservation of historic sites and natural 

resources, organize the resistance.  A complicating factor in these local debates are growth 

oriented local officials such as mayors, city administrators, city council members, county 

council members, etc.  Quite often they look at the short-term benefits of more 

employment, and increased tax base.  But in the long term, the situation often results in 

the loss of local businesses, which reduces employment and tax base.  In more and more 

cases local officials are actively recruiting the mass merchandisers to their communities

16 

and offering attractive incentives.  Representatives from the outlying smaller towns have 

the least representation in this decision-making process and consequently they suffer the 

greatest losses. 

Conclusions and Recommendations 

Rural communities have been losing retail sales to larger towns ever since 

Montgomery Ward and Sears Roebuck started their mail order businesses.  However, the 

leakage of retail trade from small towns has accelerated in the last two decades with the 

rapid proliferation of discount mass merchandiser stores in the larger towns and cities. 

Studies in Iowa have shown that some towns below 5,000 population have lost nearly half 

their retail trade in the last 13 years.  Public officials are placed in difficult situations as 

they decide whether to recruit and/or approve the establishment of new mass merchandiser 

stores.  There is a need for an educational program aimed at public officials, to help them 

make better decisions regarding this problem.

17 

How Local Merchants Can Compete 

The following tips have proven effective in competing with the retail giants. 

Attitudes and Actions 

In general, it is best to take a positive attitude toward the opening of a new mass 

merchandise store in your area.  The following thoughts are offered in this regard. 

• In a free enterprise economy, all firms are free to compete.  However, local 

officials should be careful not to offer unduly generous incentives to large firms 

that could place smaller firms at a disadvantage. 

• Recognize that a discount mass merchandise store will probably enlarge 

your town’s retail trade area size.  Try to figure out ways to capitalize on the 

increased volume of traffic in your town. 

• It is possible to co-exist and even thrive in this type of environment. 

• You may need to change your methods of operations as described below. 

 

 Merchandise Tips 

 The following suggestions are offered with regard to merchandise mix. 

• Try to handle different merchandise.  If you sell the same brand, variety or 

style of merchandise as the mass merchandisers, you will be compared on 

price.  If you can hold your price within 10 to 15 percent of theirs’, you are 

probably okay.  However, if you allow your prices to rise, say 50 percent 

higher than they do’, then you are in trouble as consumers will perceive that 

everything else you sell is higher priced also.  The solution is to handle 

different brands, varieties, styles, etc.  Many merchants are finding that private 

label merchandise works well when available. 

• Try to handle complementary merchandise.  In many areas, the mass 

merchandisers handle only fast moving items.  For example some of the mass 

merchandise garden centers handle only two or three varieties of hostas.  Hosta 

fans soon learn they will not find selection at these stores.  However, if you fill 

out your lines with new and different hostas, you can gain the reputation of 

being the hosta center. 

• Look for voids in the mass merchandiser’s inventory.  Most mass 

merchandisers do not carry a very good selection of plumbing supplies.  It 

would behoove local hardware owners to carry a complete line of plumbing 

supplies to fill these voids, if it fits their operation and the market. 

• Consider upscale merchandise.  Not all customers desire or demand lower 

priced merchandise.  For example, most mass merchandisers handle low-end 

apparel.  Clothing dealers who serve middle-to-upper income households might 

want to handle more upscale apparel. 

• Get rid of the “dogs.”  Nearly all businesses end up with some merchandise 

that does not sell and ends up cluttering the sales space.  This is bad for at least 

two reasons, 1) merchandise must turn to generate a profit, and 2) old

18 

merchandise tarnishes the image of your store.  Merchants should identify the 

“dogs” and clear them out by whatever means possible. 

• Buy well.  From time to time, nearly all merchants have an opportunity to 

purchase merchandise at exceptional prices.  If the merchandise is something 

you know you can sell, you should take advantage of the good buys.  With 

good buys you can enhance your pricing image while making better profit 

margins.  Storeowners should also be on the lookout for opportunities to 

purchase cooperatively with other local merchants or through a larger buying 

cooperative. 

 

 Marketing Tips. 

 There are always ways of improving marketing practices.  The following tips are 

offered to merchants regardless of their competition. 

• Know your customers.  It is important to know the demographics of your 

trade area in order to have the optimal merchandise mix.  The breakdown of 

the population by income, age, occupation, etc. is available from census data, 

which can be found at most libraries.  In addition, several marketing firms can 

quickly generate a detailed report, tailored to your specific trade area for a 

nominal fee.  One such company is CACI Marketing Systems at (800) 292- 

CACI.  You may also want to conduct customer focus groups where diverse 

groups of customers under the direction of a third party moderator, discuss 

what they like and dislike about your business.  These can be done by 

community colleges, other colleges and universities and by private consultants. 

• Extended opening hours is a necessity!  Lifestyles have changed dramatically 

in the last generation.  Now it is quite common for a household to have 

multiple wage earners working outside the household.  Most of these people 

simply cannot get to local stores to shop if they stay open only from 8:00 a.m. 

to 5:00 p.m., and by necessity, they shop at mass merchandisers and shopping 

malls where the opening hours are in tune with today’s societal needs. 

Downtown merchants and other independent merchants can not seriously 

compete in this environment unless they cooperate and offer similar convenient 

opening hours. 

• Adopt a “no hassle” returns policy.  Most mass merchandisers have very 

liberal return policies and they have shaped consumer’s expectations. 

Unfortunately, some independent merchants have more restrictive policies, 

which frustrate and anger customers.  Studies have shown that angry 

customers typically tell 10 to 20 other people about their bad experience and 

this can be disastrous for your store.  It is essential that independent merchants 

adopt returns policies similar to those of the mass merchandisers.  This policy 

should be stated on signs at the checkout station, as well as on receipts and 

shopping bags, so that there is no doubt in the customer’s mind about the 

policy.  Signs such as “All sales final!” have little place in today’s retail stores. 

• Sharpen your pricing skills.  Most customers judge the pricing structure of 

your store on the few things they know of price of.  Consequently, if you are 

selling a popular brand of soft-white incandescent light bulbs for 200 percent

19 

more than the mass merchandisers, they declare your store to be high priced, 

when in fact, most of your other products may be competitively priced.  The 

solution is variable markup, where you identify several “price sensitive” items 

and mark them down to be competitive with the mass merchandisers. 

Furthermore these price sensitive items should be prominently displayed on end 

caps and other conspicuous places.  Conversely, on unique items or items 

where you are the sole source, you can take higher markups. 

• Focus your advertising.  Stress your competitive advantage.  Every business 

must have one or more competitive advantages, in the eyes of the customer, in 

order to succeed.  For example Sears established a huge competitive advantage 

many years ago when it adopted “Satisfaction Guaranteed.”  With Wal-Mart, 

“Everyday Low Prices,” is a strong competitive advantage.  Smart firms 

incorporate these competitive advantage mottoes into nearly every 

advertisement.  Unfortunately, many smaller merchants do not get their full 

money’s worth from their ads because they often fail to promote their 

competitive advantages.  For example, a nursery that offers free landscape 

planning or free delivery ought to incorporate these facts into every ad.  After 

a period of repetition, customers will automatically know your competitive 

advantages and may patronize your store when the need arises. 

 

 Service Tips 

 Superior service can become an important competitive advantage for many smaller 

businesses.  Large chain stores usually don’t have the flexibility to offer many of these 

services. 

• Emphasize expert technical advice.  It is difficult to find workers in discount 

mass merchandise stores who know the merchandise.  Many smaller stores 

build a loyal clientele base because the owner and employees are able to help 

customers analyze their problems and help them to find the necessary tools, 

supplies and equipment. 

• Offer deliveries where appropriate.  Many customers, because of schedules 

or health problems, have a need for deliveries.  Others have a need for delivery 

of certain items that are heavy or bulky.  Typically mass merchandisers cannot 

respond to these needs.  Some smaller merchants can carve out a substantial 

market share by offering delivery service. 

• Offer on-site installation and service of certain items.  Many people have a 

need for services such as professional tree planting, sod installation, tree 

pruning, etc.  Larger discount stores cannot readily provide this service. 

Independent merchants can draw a substantial volume of trade by providing 

these and other services. 

• Develop special order capability.  It is not possible for merchants to carry 

every conceivable item in inventory.  However, they should make arrangements 

with suppliers or cooperating partner stores to quickly ship out-of-stock 

merchandise.  So rather than let a customer walk out the door when an item is 

not in stock, it is better to say, “I’m sorry I do not have it in stock, but I can 

get it for you in two days.”

20 

• Offer other services as appropriate.  Independent merchants can develop 

many loyal customers by offering “how to do it” classes, rentals of certain 

 Items that will boost sales of collateral merchandise, a branch post office, etc. 

 

 Customer Relations Tips 

 In past years, small businesses had the reputation of excellent customer relations. 

However, nowadays many consumers perceive that they are treated no better in small 

firms than in larger ones.  Research has shown that poor customer relations are the 

primary reason that customers quit doing business with a store.  The following suggestions 

are offered for all businesses. 

• Make sure customers are “greeted.”  According to surveys, the primary 

thing that offends customers is the failure to be greeted or acknowledged when 

entering a store.  This is particularly acute when the customer is in a buying 

mood.  All store personnel should be trained to “greet” customers when they 

enter a store, determine their needs and assist them in any way possible. 

• Offer customers a smile instead of a frown.  It’s a fact that all customers 

prefer doing business where they are treated in a friendly manner. 

• Make employees “associates.”  Firms like J.C. Penney, Wal-Mart and The 

Home Depot call their employees associates and treat them as part of the team. 

Independent merchants can emulate this.  In particular, regular store meetings 

should be held where everyone is apprised of the latest happenings and plans 

and where all problems and suggestions can be aired. 

• Solicit complaints.  Many times customers have had a bad experience in a 

store, but they are reluctant to complain to store personnel for various reasons. 

Instead, they go around complaining to other people.  Good merchants would 

rather hear of the complaint first so they can find a remedy.  They should 

provide an environment where customers feel comfortable complaining.  This 

can be done by soliciting complaints through ads in the media, through signs at 

the checkout counter and on shopping bags.  You must be prepared; however, 

to solve these problems when complaints are made. 

• Learn how to handle irate customers.  Dealing with irate customers is 

something that few people enjoy, but it is crucial to the success of the business. 

The worst thing store representatives can do is to argue with or be rude to an 

irate customer.  The following process with the acronym of LEAR is 

recommended.  (L) Listen.  It is easy to become defensive and turn off the 

customer while you are thinking of your response, but it pays to set everything 

aside and listen intently.  (E) Empathize.  Put yourself in the shoes of the 

customer and think how you would like the situation resolved.  (A) Ask.  Ask 

questions to get all the facts on the table.  (R) Resolve.  Resolve the situation 

to the satisfaction of the customer.  Most merchants have found that by merely 

asking, “What do you see as a reasonable solution?” they can achieve a win- 

win solution. 

• Train employees (often).  In the eyes of the customer, the employee is the 

business.  Training employees can have one of the highest payoffs of any 

investment in the business.  New employees should be trained on store policies

21 

and in the use of any equipment or machines to be used.  As they progress in 

the company, they should receive recurring training on new products or 

techniques and industry trends.  There is an array of training available through 

educational institutions, parent companies, suppliers and others.  In addition 

employees should be given access to trade journals, videotapes and other 

educational items. 

 

 Continually Improve the Efficiency of Your Business 

 Businesses may be doing all the right things as mentioned above, but unless they 

are efficiently operated, they are probably doomed to failure.  Some of the top mass 

merchandisers such as Wal-Mart and The Home Depot continually strive to improve their 

operating efficiency.  The following are some of the things you can do to improve your 

efficiency. 

• Adopt modern technology.  Mass merchandisers have improved their 

efficiency dramatically by adopting new technology.  Much of that technology 

is now available and affordable to the smaller merchant.  For example, 

powerful computers are available at ever decreasing costs.  Software packages 

to handle nearly all store functions are also available.  Computers reduce the 

need for people, improve accuracy and provide quick analyses of the business’ 

performance.  In addition, point of sale (POS) scanner equipment is now 

available and affordable to all but the smallest businesses.  In addition to 

scanning prices and speeding customers through the checkout line, they can 

revolutionize inventory control when tied in with the store computer and 

ultimately with supplier’s computers. 

• Become familiar with your financial statements.  Many merchants do not 

like to deal with the finances of the business.  If they can “farm” this operation 

out to a bookkeeper or accountant, they feel “out-of-sight, out-of mind", Good 

merchants must become intimately familiar with the finances and operations of 

their businesses.  They should constantly monitor gross profit margins, 

operating expenses, net profits and the various ratios important to the business. 

•   Relentlessly find ways to reduce operating costs.  One of the reasons that 

the mass merchandisers can lower prices and still make a profit is that they 

their operating costs.  In addition to adopting technology, they find ways to 

save on utilities, insurance, transportation, etc.  They are also always finding 

ways to reduce continually reduce “shrinkage” by reducing shoplifting, 

pilferage and damage to merchandise.  Smaller merchants can do the same 

thing.

22 

References 

Discount Store News.  “Discounter of the Decade.”  December 1989. 

Mahoney, Tom.  The Great Merchants.  New York:  Harper & Brothers, 1955. 

State of Iowa.  Iowa Retail Sales & Use Tax Report.  Des Moines, IA, 1976-1996. 

Stone, Kenneth E. “Competing with the Mass Merchandisers,” Small Business Forum, 

1995. 

_______________. Competing with the Retail Giants.  New York:  John Wiley & Sons, 

Vol. 9, No. 1, Spring 1991. 

_______________. “The Status of Retail Trade in Iowa’s Small Towns After 10 Years of 

Wal-Mart Stores.”  Iowa State University Department of Economics, Mimeo, 1997. 

Walton, Sam and John Huey.  Sam Walton, Made in America.  New York:  Doubleday, 

1992.