Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I understand the concern of local merchants that think they can't compete with the low prices - but I also think it will drive more people into the area - and can be a benefit for the area. It didn't seem to impact Ala Moana.
As a tourist, when I come to stay at Ala Moana (condo) I always go spend a couple of hundred dollars at Walmart - for sunscreen, shampoo, all the stuff you can't carry on a plane, and beer and breakfast stuff. By being able to only spend a couple of hundred dollars on that type of stuff for my ten day vacation, I have more money to spend on local restaurants and shopping (if I so choose) but I can tell you I'd rather spread the money around honolulu than give it all to the ABC Store paying twice what stuff is worth.
If Walmart is going to pay Honolulu prices for enough real estate to put in a walmart store, I don't see how they are going to be a store with low prices.
If Walmart is going to pay Honolulu prices for enough real estate to put in a walmart store, I don't see how they are going to be a store with low prices.
Ha ha. We already have a Walmart in Honolulu that is packed because of its markedly low prices compared to other stores. If anything it's rent probably lower downtown than its existing store by Ala Moana.
Walmart comes in with low prices, drives everyone out then they slowly bring the prices back up once everyone is else out of business... They are a plague, do everything in your power to keep them out.
I have yet to experience Wal Mart jacking the prices back up after the local guys are gone. I believe this to be a conspiracy theory geared at angering people. Now, their Labor practices...yeah, those can be pretty bad.
The thing I wonder is how it will effect Downtown in the evenings. Most everything seems to shut down in the evening after everyone leaves their offices. If Wal Mart is going to stay open later, that could change the area. I bet that their alcohol sales will jump in the evening. That store manager would do well to carry smaller bottles of hard alcohol to capture some of the bar crowd who wants to save money getting a buzz. Pop into Wal Mart for a 5th, and go back to Chinatown already buzzed.
I also wonder how they will deal with the homeless in downtown.
The effect as I read it is to revitalize downtown in the evenings. In theory, people just won't go to Walmart, they may also go out to eat, and shop other places. The Walmart at Ala Moana is a complete zoo which is why I don't shop there, it is just uncomfortably crowded.
The Ala Moana one is definitely crazy. My favorite: People who wait at the end or middle of a lane, blocking everyone else, just to get a close spot to park. Raises my blood pressure as soon as I enter the parking structure.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
