Jack Shewmaker - consultant, J-COM - The Power Players

Discount Store News, Dec 4, 1995 by Don Longo

His lelacy at Wal-Mart alone would place Jack Shewmaker among the greatest contributors to modern mass retailing. But Shewmaker, a man of both vision and action, still exerts an influence that is both powerful and ongoing.

"He's one of the few individuals out there who can cross all the bridges in the stream of our industry," says Al Feldan, the former chairman of the Associate Member Committee of the International Mass Retail Association, of which Shewmaker was a strong supporter. "His knowledge and expertise allows him to reach retailers, manufacturers, support organizations and technology companies."

This retail industry legend (he was elected Discounter of the Year in 1981 by DSN readers) serves as a consultant to Wal-Mart (he's still a board member, too); Big W Discount Stores in Sydney, Australia; ALH Australia Limited, Repco and Pacific Dunlop Group in Melbourne, Australia; Edgars and OK Bazaars, both in South Africa; and Central Stores in Bagkok, Thailand. His speaking engagements take him to England, Germany, Switzerland, Australia, Portugal and Canada.

Although Shewmaker currently is "busier now than ever before," he will always be associated with his contributions to the world's largest retailer.

After joining Wal-Mart in 1970, Shewmaker held jobs that gave him a breadth of retailing experience: district manager; vp of security; vp of store operations; executive vp of store operations; personnel; merchandise; president and chief operating officer; and vice president and chief financial officer.

In a wide-ranging interview with DSN, Shewmaker talks about his career at Wal-Mart, his initial apprehension following his retirement as an active executive of the retailer in 1988, his current consulting projects and his broad leisure activities.

Prior to a weekend spent with his son racing his Porshe 911 and Dodge Venon Viper 550 around a private track, Shewmaker was in Berlin giving a speech at the International Food Fair, and prior to that, he was in Johannesburg, South Africa, helping to re-engineer an African convenience store chain.

"When I retired [in February 1988, when Sam Walton promoted David Glass to ceo], I worried that it was the biggest misjudgement I ever made," Shewmaker tells DSN. "I thought that a year after I retired, no one would remember me."

While many observers speculated that Wal-Mart was not big enough for two such strong-willed executives to coexist happily, Shewmaker comes off as self-effacing in a one-on-one interview.

"I know I am not the smartest person, nor the most knowledgeable, but I am a student. I have a huge need to learn," Shewmaker says.

"I know in some ways it sounds egotistical, but ... I am always totally open and honest with both sides of any business relationship, even when they don't like it. Tough love, some refer to it as," he says.

"Jack's a no bull kind of guy," says one friend of his. "He may not be as tactful, but he is a thinker, a believer, and more importantly, a doer."

Once, while visiting stores, Shewmaker saw a fence in the parking lot that needed to be repaired. "He ran into the store, grabbed a hammer and nails and fixed it himself," says an observer.

Shewmaker concedes that the "people who are there [at Wal-Mart] now are better at running it now than I would be. They are great at keeping a big machine operating. I was better at new ideas and development."

Many industry experts say Shewmaker laid the groundwork for what Wal-Mart has become today. He is more willing to spread the credit. "Wal-Mart was always a cooperative effort," says Shewmaker, who takes satisfaction in the fact that many of the executives he helped hire and promote through the ranks are still in key positions with the company.

"I had a mother with an exceptional gift for spotting talent in others," Shewmaker says. "She would point out people who had a lot of ability; she was exceptionally astute. Sam [Walton] was also that way. They are among the people I learned from over the years."

Von Johnston, who recently retired as director of Wal-Mart's People Division (human resources) after more than 16 years with the retailer, was a beneficiary of Shewmaker's keen eye. He told DSN a few years ago, "Jack Shewmaker [then executive vice president] called me and said, `I just know that in the back of your mind you want to work with people.' He saw that's where I needed to be."

Shewmaker's greatest contributions transcended his job at Wal-Mart and helped change the entire supplier/retailer relationship in the industry. He was in the forefront of both technological development and furthering the partnership process with manufacturers.

"To a large extent, the people who believed in real technology and distribution investment 10 years ago now find themselves with a real advantage in the cost of goods in their stores," says Shewmaker.

As for the future, Shewmaker is convinced that it is time for new ideas in retail. "We've invested most of our capital in techonology and not enough in leadership development," he says. "I fear that businesses are being run by technocrats and not entrepreneurs and risk-takers. If we are run by technocrats, we will become clones of good ideas of our past."