Walmart was once demonized but has transformed its image

Its staff-oriented strategy faced investor scepticism but has paid off

- BETH KOWITT is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering corporate America.

A decade ago, Walmart was among the most reviled companies in America. It was criticized for wiping out mom-and-pop retailers; for not paying its workers enough while making its founding family, the Waltons, one of the richest in the US; and for creating a culture of cheap, disposable goods. It was so detested that communities rallied to keep Walmart stores out of their backyards.

Today, the company is no longer corporate America’s No. 1 bogeyman. And when CEO Doug McMillon steps down at the end of January, the rehabilitation of Walmart's reputation will go down as one of the most important parts of his legacy.

It will also be among the most enduring. As Walmart enters the AI age, what its executives learnt as they transformed the company’s image seems to have informed their approach to emerging technology and the people it can end up displacing.

Until the McMillon era began in 2014, the retailer's business model was predicated on shrinking every possible cost— including keeping frontline worker wages low. The strategy, in the company’s telling, was part of a noble mission of serving lowand middle-income customers; offering them cheaper goods let them stretch their dollar farther, Walmart argued. As its slogan goes: “Save money. Live better.”