Wal-Mart is the world’s largest retailer. So perhaps it’s not surprising that foes of the company are legion.

Among the most famous is Al Norman. In 1993, he helped block Wal-Mart’s plans to build a store in his hometown of Greenfield, Mass.

Since then he’s written a book, “Slam-Dunking Wal-Mart! How You Can Stop Superstore Sprawl in Your Hometown,” and founded SprawlBusters, a group dedicated mainly to fighting the rise of “big box” stores around the nation.

He says Wal-Mart hurts small communities by driving homegrown retailers out of business, homogenizing and monopolizing the local trade.

“Wal-Mart,” he told the Journal-World, “has become the end of competition.”

That kind of talk irritates Wal-Mart officials.

“Our chief mandate is taking care of our customers,” said John Bisio, a spokesman for the company. “Never once have we opened our doors with the intent to displace competition.

“If that was our plan, I think we would find ourselves run out of town. But people recognize the value we can provide.”

Norman acknowledges shoppers love Wal-Mart. That doesn’t mean the store is healthy for a community, he said.

“Consumers are the predator,” he said. “They’ll change the place they shop so they can get a 10-cent discount on underwear.”

And that’s worked to the company’s advantage.

“Competitors always complain about the aggressive efforts of rivals … regardless of whether those efforts make consumers better off,” Bisio said. “People out there want to penalize a company that’s worked very hard to be successful and be efficient.”