It's not unusual for businesses to quietly bankroll individuals or organizations that advance causes supporting their corporate goals. One such organization, Saint Consulting Group, has found willing clients in companies like Ahold, Safeway and Supervalu. Saint Consulting, according to a Wall Street Journal report, is in the business of trying to keep Wal-Mart from opening stores.
While groups such as labor unions usually top media depictions of opposition to the world's largest retailer, Saint Consulting takes pride in being a company of "Wal-Mart killers."
In many cases, the goal is not to prevent new stores from being built but delay them and drive up the cost for Wal-Mart. In one example cited in the Journal report, roadblocks thrown up by Saint on behalf of Supervalu resulted in it taking three years for Wal-Mart to open one of its Supercenters in a suburb of Chicago.
Saint typically sends in one of its managers under an assumed name to an area to flood local politicians with calls of protest. The firm hires lawyers and a variety of experts to challenge aspects of the project with the hopes that Wal-Mart or the developer will look for a new location to build.
In some instances, labor unions work with chains to fight Wal-Mart together. "The work we've funded Saint to do to preserve our market share and our jobs is within our First Amendment rights," Jill Cashen, a spokesperson for the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW), told the Journal. The UFCW has joined with Safeway to contest over 30 proposed Wal-Mart Supercenters on the West Coast and Hawaii.
Discussion Questions: Do you see any ethical issues with chains secretly bankrolling companies such as Saint Consulting to influence public policy such as zoning decisions? How do you think customers of these chains would react if they understood the tactics being used against Wal-Mart?