Marc   Levinson

Jack Girardi

Guest: Marc Levinson
"The Great A&P and the Struggle for Small Business in America"
Website http://www.marclevinson.net

Prominent Trial Attorney, Jack Girardi interviews Bestselling Author Marc Levinson on his new book, “The Great A&P and the Struggle for Small Business in America”

Marc’s career has been eclectic, but with a common thread: his professional life has centered on making complex economic issues understandable to the general public. Much of his work has been international in focus, dealing with international trade and globalization, international finance and financial regulation, and energy and environmental issues that cross international borders.

He has written five books on economics and business strategy with a historical research. He’s also written many articles for leading publications, such as Harvard Business Review and Foreign Affairs.

He began as a journalist, reporting on business for Time magazine and the Bureau of National Affairs (BNA) and serving as editorial director of the daily Journal of Commerce in New York. After several years writing about business and economics for Newsweek, he became finance and economics editor of The Economist in London. In 1999 he joined the predecessor to JP Morgan Chase, where he created a unique industry economics function that married economic research with stock and bond analysis and developed a line of environmental research products for institutional investor clients. He has had stints advising Congress on transportation and industry issues and serving as senior fellow for international business at the Council on Foreign Relations, and has consulted for a number of businesses and public agencies.

The Great A&P and the Struggle for Small Business in America, explores the fascinating history of the chain store wars, when politicians of all stripes supported a government crack-down on chains because their efficiency and low prices threatened the survival of independent retailers. This book was published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux in August 2011.

From modest beginnings as a tea shop in New York, the Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company became the largest retailer in the world. It was a juggernaut, the first retailer to sell $1 billion in goods, the owner of nearly sixteen thousand stores and dozens of factories and warehouses. But its explosive growth made it a mortal threat to hundreds of thousands of mom-and-pop grocery stores. Main Street fought back tooth and nail, enlisting the state and federal governments to stop price discounting, tax chain stores, and require manufacturers to sell to mom and pop at the same prices granted to giant retailers. In a remarkable court case, the federal government pressed criminalcharges against the Great A&P for selling food too cheaply—and won.

The Great A&P and the Struggle for Small Business in America is the story of a stunningly successful company that forever changed how Americans shop and what Americans eat. It is a brilliant business history, the story of how George and John Hartford took over their father’s business and reshaped it again and again, turning it into a vertically integrated behemoth that paved the way for every big-box retailer to come. George demanded a rock-solid balance sheet; John was the marketer-entrepreneur who led A&P through seven decades of rapid changes. Together, they built the modern consumer economy by turning the archaic retail industry into a highly efficient system for distributing food at low cost.

Jack Girardi, Partner at Girardi Keese, is one of America’s Finest Trial Lawyers and our Co-Host, as always, brings out the most important key elements to the success of today’s guests. He and his firm have been dedicated to working hard and getting the best possible recovery for its clients.

Girardi & Keese's mission is to provide aggressive representation of individuals and businesses who have been injured in some way, whether by physical harm, property damage, damage to business, or damage to economic interests. Girardi & Keese has two offices in California: Downtown Los Angeles and San Bernardino. www.girardikeese.com

Hosted by Steve Murphy.

Brought to you by "The Law Business Insider"

Contact:

Guest: Marc Levinson
"The Great A&P and the Struggle for Small Business in America"
Website http://www.marclevinson.net

Co-Host: Jack Girardi
213-977-0211
Girardi Keese
Website www.girardikeese.com

EXECUTIVE PRODUCER & HOST:
STEVE MURPHY

www.lbishow.com