We have a new Super Wal Mart going up here in this Iowa town of 8700.
I read recently about some communities that have told wal mart “NO” to putting one up in their town. I can think of several reasons from killing competition to what to do with that other building.
Walmart dominates this community since we also have a warehouse here.
I’m wondering if other communities are seeing this giant taking over the retail buisness and driving out all others?
A simple case in point:
My wife went shopping here in town for a set of towels to make a baby shower gift. The only place that sells towels is Wal Mart.We used to have a Pennys store. We had a Wards catalog store. We had a Sears catalog store. We had a Spurgeons store We had a Gibsons discount store. We had a “Dime store” All at the same time.
Now we just have Wal Mart.
I just can’t wait to see what having a Walmart grocery and gas station will do.
As far as I am aware, any legal activity has to be allowed somewhere in the community. So when our township didn’t allow for a modification of a mixed use development to permit a Walmart, it was because the location was environmentally damaging and not because it didn’t want one. Hence, Walmart can’t claim that we have exclusionary zoning.
The fact is that stores like Walmart don’t move into a vacuum. The people who go to work for them wouldn’t have any better opportunities—if they did, they wouldn’t work for Walmart. The customers don’t go there because their usual shopping places are better, they go to Walmart because it better serves their needs. If Walmart is engaging in anti-competitive practices, then by all means it should be prosecuted. However, I’ve never seen any empirical data suggesting that it does, and I’ve never seen any empirical data suggesting that Walmart makes the community worse off.
I would like to see a thorough welfare analysis of Walmart’s impact on a community.
I went to univeristy in a town with about 110 000 people. They refused to allow a Wal-Mart to be built there (though I don’t know under what by-laws etc that was acheived). They do, however, have TWO giant Canadian-Tire stores, which, while not quite the same thing, serve about the same purpose. Most household things can be purchased there, as well as odd items that you’d never think to look for! And they tend to be much cleaner, in my experience.
So anyways, I just think it’s funny that a town that didn’t want the “Big Box” stores was fine with having two such canadian stores in it, about 20 minutes driving time apart.
Where I am now, the Wal-mart is actually a few minutes outside of town - probably a bit of a compromise on providing the land space and not taking over the down-town.
I have to think that the department stores mentioned in the OP were probably having trouble before Walmart moved in. I’ve seen too many places where the two have managed to coexist peacefully to think that Walmart was the only factor in driving out multiple thriving department stores. In my experience, the people who buy their sheets and towels and tools and clothes from Wally World and the ones who buy that stuff from Penney’s or Sears (when the choice is available) are generally different demographics, so adding a Walmart to the mix shouldn’t be the only factor in those stores closing.
…Guelph?
Well, I know the small town my Grandmother lives in almost had a Walmart move in, but some local businessmen/city council managed to keep them out, claiming that it would kill the downtown business area and so on. Of course, half the business have closed down anyways.
I think the idea that people should be able to tell me where to shop is silly. Somehow I don’t get all warm and fuzzy for Sears and J.C. Penny as companies. I assume they are looking to make a profit as well. I really don’t shop much at Wal-Mart, but why should politicians make the decision for me?
I love superwalmart…I can take care of all my walmart business and get groceries (at a good price) all in one foul swoop. Also, ours has a really good selection of fabrics. I sew and that is very important to me. I am not willing to pay 2.99 to 3.99 (US dollars) a yard for broadcloth when I can pay 1.87 at superwalmart