Re: Kansas firm sells candid Wal-Mart videos

YouTube video and article:

http://asupremenewyorkthing.com/2008/04/09/flagler-productions-has-wal-mart...

Made the Wall Street Journal:

http://blogs.wsj.com/independentstreet/2008/04/09/did-wal-mart-forget-the-l...

Lots of comments after the article...

"Did Wal-Mart Forget the Little Guys?

Posted by Wendy Bounds

Never forget the little guys who help along you the way. That old adage is likely ringing in the ears of Wal-Mart execs this morning following Gary McWilliams’ story about how a tiny video-production company is giving the world’s biggest retailer a massive headache.

It’s the story of Flagler Productions Inc., a small firm who for 30 years was employed as to capture footage of its top execs, sometimes in unguarded moments. Its relationship was sealed with a handshake, not a long-winded contract. Two years ago, Wal-Mart dumped Flagler and nearly caused the shop to fold because it accounted for such a large portion of its business.

Now Flagler is resurrecting itself – by opening its trove of some 15,000 Wal-Mart tapes to the outside world, with an eye toward selling clips. And the material is proving irresistible to everyone from plaintiffs lawyers (and there is no shortage of those where Wal-Mart is concerned), to documentary filmmakers and union organizers. Wal-Mart is upset and says it never intended for Flagler to “tape internal meetings with this aftermarket in mind.” The company says it’s reviewing its legal options.

This isn’t the first time Wal-Mart has heard loud squeaks from a small cog in its wheel. Last year, it became embroiled in a messy fight with a security engineer it fired. And this story tells the tale of how a 20-year apparel supplier to Wal-Mart was singed over 4,000 pairs of cargo pants, fought back, and won.

The biggest players in the world can’t function without smaller ones to keep them supplied, technologically-sound, and otherwise ticking. To stay afloat, Flagler offered to sell Wal-Mart the whole video archive for several million dollars. Wal-Mart, whose revenue is now over $375 billion, countered with an offer of $500,000.

And the little guy hasn’t forgotten.

Readers, do you think Flagler is unfairly exploiting Wal-Mart’s material? Or do you think that Wal-Mart made a mistake in how it handled its relationship with Flagler?"


Randy