Richard Gottlieb

Wal-Mart Bends Time

I sometimes receive emails from blog readers who do not wish to go public with their comments. One such email I received over the weekend was in relation to the blog I wrote about Wal-Mart going to Hong Kong in December instead of January.

The reader wrote: 

"Richard, with the closing of many toy manufacturers in China I wonder if Wal-Mart is going early to try to corner what is left of the manufacturers of Toys and leave the small few manufacturers who are not chosen, for the rest for all the other retailers and manufacturers to fight over."

Well, I, of course, don’t know the answer to that, but I think the very fact that the writer feels compelled to even consider the question is what is important. Why, because Wal-Mart is so powerful that any action they take forces others to consider their motives ask themselves similar questions and then take actions to respond. 

I am sure that there are any number of manufacturers and retailers pondering Wal-Mart’s decision and deciding whether they will need to go to Hong Kong in December as well. 

If Wal-Mart were a celestial body, it would be like one of those giant stars whose gravitational pull is so strong that it bends time and space. Like that giant star, Wal-Mart has the ability to bend time and space in the toy industry so that our calendar changes to fit their needs. 

All of us, whether it is the Hong Kong Trade Development Council, the global retail and  manufacturing communities, the OEM producers in China, the many independent sales representatives, the TIA and everyone else in Toy Nation will get caught up in Wal-Mart’s gravitational field as well. 

As a result, it will not be surprising if we all find ourselves in the coming years making the trip to Hong Kong in December. It’s not a matter of whether it’s fair or not. It’s just science.

Posted by Richard Gottlieb on October 28, 2008 | Comments (2)