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WalMart Super centers are built in commercial zones. Not in a "neighborhood" but may be within walking distance of people who are so poor that they live near a WalMart.
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Let me rephrase that, then. It must be the pits to have such a Walmart in one's area.
WalMart is just the messenger. If there was no WalMart, the poor people in the area would still exist.
I think we are generally in agreement on most things in this discussion.
Small stores have always suffered whether it be the advent of department stores, Sears, Walmart and now Amazon. But probably the biggest driver is technological change. Just as the development of the motor car made Malls viable, the advent of the internet is changing life for retail. For example, how many travel agents are left on Main Street? And technology has definitely hurt book stores. But it is not just the ability to buy books online. It is also the ability to download them onto a tablet or a kindle.
The internet has been 'disruptive' for many industries. Obviously retail, but also for newspapers, for travel, for telephone, for the postal service and even for TV as more people look to stream their content. But we cannot hold technology back even if we wanted to. It is what it is and the survivors will be the businesses that get with the program and make technology serve them rather than trying to fight it.
Can't rep you again so I'll add to your very thoughtful post.
One of the biggest job stealers may be computers. Back in the 70's when they landed on the desks of just about every workplace, jobs that had previously been done by people were either lost or diminished greatly. Mine was one of them. I learned how to run the first wave of those intruders and hung on for the rest of my entire career but not before I saw branch offices closed because they were no longer needed since everything could be done in a central home office. In my career I was laid off several times as I went from branch office to branch office at various companies because of this.
This went on and on all over the country. Many people had trouble keeping up. I remember co-workers saying they would find other professions that would never require the use of computers in any way. You can imagine how well that worked out.
Before computers, typewriters put people out of jobs, adding machines replaced the abacus. Something new always replaces something. Anyone want to go back to the horse and buggy?
I am going to be 70 soon so I have seen a lot of changes. My mom died at age 94. Think of how much she adapted to. She was born the year the Titanic sank. That was supposed to be a major innovation of seafaring vessels of its day. But she died having lived through an era of men going successfully into outer space, Sears catalogues and Amazon.
Small stores, big stores, online stores etc. if there is a need people will use whatever they can make use of.
Several years ago I took a six month sabbatical and spent it driving across the country. I can't tell you how many towns I passed through where much of main street was boarded up because of the Walmart Super Center right outside of town. I saw it again and again and again. I made it a goal to try not to stop at Walmart for supplies, but more times than not I had no other choice.
Not only does Walmart drive out all local businesses, it drives out diversity of goods and services as well. Instead, all you can get is the same cheap crap everywhere you go. It's sad to think that all of those small, unique mom and pop stores are gone, replaced by one big, faceless, characterless, greedy monolith of a retailer.
So in all of those towns, you know that Walmart was the reason. For a fact.
So in all of those towns, you know that Walmart was the reason. For a fact.
Exactly. Our Main Streets and small local stores are doing just fine and are more popular than ever, despite a huge Wal-Mart Supercenter a few miles down.
Our city does a good job at keeping things alive and supporting our community. Wal-Mart is convenient for those who do like it.
The frequency at which law enforcement gets called to Wal-Mart locations is quite telling.
In St Louis County, which has plenty of crime in north St Louis County (adjacent to north St Louis, a rather tough area), the single highest crime area in the entire county is the inside of the Fenton Walmart. Several other Walmarts round out the top five.
(But it is not drugs or even violence, it is the enormous amounts of theft that happens inside the stores and in their parking lots. And... Walmarts willingness to prosecute for that theft.)
My Vacation/Retirement home in Fajardo, Puerto Rico that has been in our family for generations is a few miles away from the town square. A Town Square that would once bustle with commerce and activity until 15 years ago. Now less than a quarter of a mile away we have Walmart, Strip Malls, with the same cheap construction all over suburbia in every town in the states. I didn't know why at first but it depressed me. At Walmart, I bought 4 plants (Probably genetically modified) that totaled 55.00 for my garden.
Then as I drove through the Pueblo one day, I noticed a garden center owned by a man who cultivates 90% of his heirloom variety plants, fruit trees and herbs. I Spent 150 Dollars on Plants and 5 Locally made artisan pots that are just like the ones that my Grand Parents and Great Aunts and Uncles had on their balconies and patios when I was a child. It gave me great joy to see the bounty that I left with and the business that I brought a small business owner in our town as I filled up our SUV with the goods as well as his own composted soil! It turns out that this man also owns the souvenir shop next door where we bought all of our gifts to bring back to the states much cheaper than in the more touristy areas.
I feel like Walmart and all of the corporate giants are killing our Town Centers once full of enterprise, architecture and grace... I spent money in that pueblo and am glad to have done so because in the long run Walmart will never give me the feeling that I get from supporting a small business...
Also, I bought WalMart (NYSE: WMT) at $59.25 on 11/30/15 and they're hovering in the $64.00 range right now (with a dividend that has risen every year). I mention this because the Bloomberg article talks about how they've lost 30% of share value in the past year.
I guess we think alike. Except my purchase was the end of Oct.
Quote:
Purchase Click here for trade confirmation
WAL-MART STORES INC ACTUAL PRICES, ... WMT 58.88
In St Louis County, which has plenty of crime in north St Louis County (adjacent to north St Louis, a rather tough area), the single highest crime area in the entire county is the inside of the Fenton Walmart. Several other Walmarts round out the top five.
(But it is not drugs or even violence, it is the enormous amounts of theft that happens inside the stores and in their parking lots. And... Walmarts willingness to prosecute for that theft.)
They should prosecute.
And, like Wegmans, maybe they should pull out of cities entirely.
Box of General Mills Rice Chex at Walmart: 3.98, same box at Safeway 6.39
Can of Campbell's Chicken Noodle soup at Walmart 1.29, same can at Safeway 2.29
No difference in quality of product, same jobs by same manufacturer, didn't see any bullies, this is not a small town comparison.
If you can afford the luxury of shopping at the nice shiny supermarket, good for you. You shouldn't pass judgment on those who do not have that luxury. Walmart is filling a need in the market place, and are pretty darn good at it. And they will open more stores in the US this year than they close.
It's funny you should say this because I shopped at an HEB grocery store that was in an average neighborhood and then drove past one in a more "upscale" neighborhood and decided to stop in. Products were priced sometimes much higher (like one item was a dollar more). I was like, why hand over more of your money to HEB for the same product? Just because you have more money does that mean you want to pay more than other people for the same stuff?
It is possible to hate Walmart on soooo many levels. Poor quality, jobs hustled overseas, businesses bullied, small town economies ruined. Congrats wallyworld, your chickens are finally coming home to roost.
Have you ever been to one of their Express stores, they don't have much of a selection. A mom & pop would have to be totally horrid to be run out by them. Perhaps a good mom & pop will go in now.
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And, like Wegmans, maybe they should pull out of cities entirely.
