Before long, the only companies in the US that will matter will be those that can dominate the channels of distribution.
Increasingly, it seems like we’re not making any tangible goods here in this country — so it’s the merchants that really matter. They don’t make anything — but they have what even the cheap global suppliers need — distribution, otherwise know as access to the mass market.
Sunday’s Washington Post has a great article about Wal-Mart putting the squeeze on its Chinese suppliers.
As capital scours the globe for cheaper and more malleable workers, and as poor countries seek multinational companies to provide jobs, lift production and open export markets, Wal-Mart and China have forged themselves into the ultimate joint venture, their symbiosis influencing the terms of labor and consumption the world over.