World wars in Retailville

The foundation of Clash is an ☐ world's largest retail company, account of how the journey of the Walmart, was disrupted by e-commerce behemoth Amazon.

- NIVEDITA MOOKERJI

Through the pages of this book, Nirmalya Kumar captures the deep rivalry between the two most successful American retailers and also how they have impacted the entire retail landscape. Making the best of his personal experiences through consulting assignments for retailers and brand manufacturers as well as his research and teaching stints, the author has been able to put together a work that is both informative and entertaining.

The book is neatly planned with each chapter giving the reader a unique perspective about two businesses that are distinctly different and yet so alike. The book starts with "once upon a time, in the bustling town of Retailville", promising to tell a story, and to a large extent it does. Of course, some of the details about the two companies are well-known and documented over the years. Even so, students of the retail sector and industry trackers are likely to find the work useful.

The writer touches on Walmart's $18billion acquisition of Flipkart, in 2018, as he discusses the American chain's heightened focus on online business. Interestingly, just when Walmart was moving away from its established trend of expanding physical stores, Amazon started spending significantly on creating an offline presence in the US. While the two protagonists were caught in a clear battle, Covid-19 was waiting to happen. The pandemic dealt a body blow to physical retail with some 12,200 stores, many of them storied, closing down.