Wal-Mart to build mega-super-gigantor store

[Forge]

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/04/05/n...GLE&adxnnlx=1081170495-YScjKSOUBe4ZfNzN3eUQBw

Inglewood voters go to the polls on Tuesday to decide whether to turn over 60 acres of barren concrete adjacent to the Hollywood Park racetrack to Wal-Mart to create a megastore and a collection of chain shops and restaurants.

...

The proposal would essentially exempt Wal-Mart from all of Inglewood's planning, zoning and environmental regulations, creating a city-within-a-city subject only to its own rules. Wal-Mart has hired an advertising and public relations firm to market the initiative and is spending more than $1 million to support the measure, known as initiative 04-A.

The company is blanketing the community, which is roughly half African-American and half Latino, with mailers and telephone calls and is broadcasting advertisements on television stations with black and Latino audiences.

Company officials say that Wal-Mart adopted this aggressive new tactic only after it became clear that Inglewood officials — backed by allies in organized labor, church groups and community organizations — would never approve the complex. Wal-Mart is strongly anti-union.

Basically, Wal-Mart wants to build a small town. I don't know if that's a good idea or not...

 

[WODIN]

Soon enough will all be part of the wal-mart universe having a walmarty day.

 

[HumorMe]

When is too much, too much?

 

[the nature boy]

Would that spherical smiley face creature that brings us low low prices be the mayor of WallMart Town?

 

[Forge]

I think they should get rid of the happy face for Wal-Mart and just go with a Borg's smiling face.

You will be assimilated into the Wal-Mart collective...resistance is futile.

http://www.adtcomedy.com/walmart.jpg

 

[powerslave]

I hate Walmart!

 

[string_bean00]

I hate Walmart!

I hear ya, but better than K-Mart.

 

[Y_lifter]

but not better than Target

 

[Moderate_THIS]

Walmart lets RV's park there overnight, thus it rocks.

 

[Werd]

Please explain to me the difference between Kmart, Walmart and Target.

I would never be caught dead in Kmart...

Walmart is acceptable to be seen in, but you never want to let anyone know you actually bought something other than facial tissue or holiday candy from there.

Target is actually notsobad.

BUT WHY? THEY ARE ALL EXACTLY THE SAME.... LOL

 

[jerkbox]

i like Kmart

too many fucking people in Walmart every time I go there....I hate those giant ass super stores.

Target is cool too

 

[Forge]

I would never be caught dead in Kmart...

Why not? Are you too embarrassed to be shopping for good deals on products? Or is it more of a status thing?

I personally shop for the best deal always, no matter where it is. I don't give a fuck who sees me where, that line of thinking is too high school for me. I spend my money in the best and most effecient way possible.



The thing that scares me about Wal-Mart is that they are getting VERY powerful, even in a political way. Money is power in America, and WM is cruising to take us over. They are the Microsoft of department stores, what I'm afraid of is that they will soon be the Microsoft of EVERY kind of store.

 

[string_bean00]

Target is cool too

I work at Target. They are some anal motherfuckers.

 

[milo hobgoblin]

WOW a place where all the illegals and poor trash can shop to their hearts content..

Wal Mart could build a fucking amusement park.. where everything costs only 1 cent and I still wouldnt step foot in that fucking shit hole of a store.

Fuckign disgustig, nasty rat hives.. within a year or two they turn onto Ghetto Marts..

 

[MattTheSkywalker]

Wal-Mart got huge by selling stuff that people want cheaper than anyone else. They could build a 10-square mile store, and you DON'T have to shop there if you DON'T want to.

I love the idea. F**k unions and government bureaucrats

 

[Testosterone boy]

Also by buying stuff cheaper than anyone else. They sell some real junk there..........shows what a lot of people want.

 

[ViperHMS]

WOW a place where all the illegals and poor trash can shop to their hearts content..

Wal Mart could build a fucking amusement park.. where everything costs only 1 cent and I still wouldnt step foot in that fucking shit hole of a store.

Fuckign disgustig, nasty rat hives.. within a year or two they turn onto Ghetto Marts..

A lot has to do with the stores location. I live in a college town, and it is a great place to shop in. I can pick any time of the day to go there and see good looking college girls there. More so at night. If I go to our twin cities SuWalmart, its nothing but white trash. I hate going to that walmart just because of the atmosphere. To each his own. Personally I love walmart, I work at one of the distribution centers and it pays better than 98% of the other companies here, but their insurance is a fucking joke!

Viper

 

[Deus Ex Machina]

it's a good idea.

cheap products, jobs created, more $$$ for inglewood.

 

[Werd]

Why not? Are you too embarrassed to be shopping for good deals on products? Or is it more of a status thing?

I am about as non-status-y as you could ever meet. My post admitted that there was no rhyme or reason to it. But for some reason even though Kmart, Walmart and Target are all pretty much the same there is some sort of stigma attached to Kmart while Target is actually "cool". Walmart seems to be the middle of the road.

I guess image truly is everything! LOL

 

[milo hobgoblin]

No its idealism... I have some problems with the way Wal Mart does business... but we have already beaten the horse to DEATH.. so I wont go into it here.

 

[Dial_tone]

neighborhoods don't like them because they put mom & pop stores out of business, so the net job creation isn't as high as it initially appears to be. You end up with an area that has gas station, liquor stores, a check cashing place, fast food and a Walmart...with boarded up stores everywhere else. Consumers do end up with better shopping though.

 

[milo hobgoblin]

yes consumers may do better... but with the "Wal Mart" mentality.. there wont be any consumers left in fifty yeras.. everyone will HAVE to shop at Wal Mart.. because it will be the only place left.. and everyone will be working in the service industry..

People do not realize what they are giving up to save 25 cents on a jar of pickles..

BUT I do apprecitae the non Union aspect of it.. I DO try and shop in non Union Stores like Trader Joes when given the choice...

 

[Burning_Inside]

Why i do NOT shop at wal mart.

http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/77/walmart.html

 

[Gambino]

they just built a super-fucking-walmart in my small town, on the first day, the local grocer laid off 30 employees, with more to come...downtown's get the shaft.

 

[milo hobgoblin]

Good article Burning.. I read that a couple months ago... I realized how true it was when my girlfriend told me the same story about her company.. the sell flowers to wal mart...

 

[big4life]

I don't like Wal-Mart or what it does to a community when they move in, but people keep going there so they only have themselves to blame.

 

[Aerojaxx]

I hate Walmart!

Me too...

 

[IwouldSlamU]

walmart is bad news in the long run

 

[the nature boy]

Why i do NOT shop at wal mart.

http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/77/walmart.html

that's a good article. I posted it a couple of months ago.

 

[p0inko]

Wal-Mart got huge by selling stuff that people want cheaper than anyone else. They could build a 10-square mile store, and you DON'T have to shop there if you DON'T want to.

I love the idea. F**k unions and government bureaucrats

amen.

 

[atlantabiolab]

neighborhoods don't like them because they put mom & pop stores out of business, so the net job creation isn't as high as it initially appears to be. You end up with an area that has gas station, liquor stores, a check cashing place, fast food and a Walmart...with boarded up stores everywhere else. Consumers do end up with better shopping though.

Ummm...Dial, don't you live in Georgia? I live near three Super Walmarts and I see none of the effects you state. The "checks cashed" stores tend to be in the areas with more "mom and pop" stores.

What you are alluding to is areas that are already on the verge of blight, where the few stores that do exist are not competitive and the introduction of WalMart finally pushes them over the edge. While it may be upsetting for the owners of these stores, it is not a disaster for the community, since it provides more jobs (WalMart can employ more people than the mom and pop stores) as well as lower prices for goods, thus increasing the spendable income of the citizens.

This article is ridiculous. It insinuates that "big" equals "evil", not to mention its allusion to WalMart being akin to an "army" ("As Wal-Mart continues its march across the American landscape..."). The article states that the area being developed is deserted real estate and that it will be developed into many stores, not merely one WalMart. This shows the idiocy of Americans: they bitch about jobs and then block market forces that tries to provide them jobs.

WalMart's only downfall, in my opinion, is their use of local government's power of eminent domain to confiscate land from private owners.

 

[westsnoop]

The story reminds me of the original Robocop movie, where the sinister corporation takes over Detroit. Will Walmartville have it's own police force to "ensure security"?

 

[RADAR]

Thank God for Plasma TV's and big screens, How in the hell can you service a tv for Wal-Mart if they sell it for $99.00

They are across the road from me- I never had this problem before wal- mart became popular!


RADAR

 

[gtrcivic]

Please explain to me the difference between Kmart, Walmart and Target.

I would never be caught dead in Kmart...

hell, the Walmart near my house....i've seen a Lamborghini Countach, Ferrari, and bunch of SUVs and Corvettes in the parking lot...good deals, low prices, are just that, doesn't matter how much you make....

Some of the well off people i know, they got the generic toilet paper /tissue paper in their place....now thats fucked up. you want the best for wiping your ass..or blowing your nose

 

[ChefWide]

Please explain to me the difference between Kmart, Walmart and Target.

I would never be caught dead in Kmart...

Walmart is acceptable to be seen in, but you never want to let anyone know you actually bought something other than facial tissue or holiday candy from there.

Target is actually notsobad.

BUT WHY? THEY ARE ALL EXACTLY THE SAME.... LOL

not the same. Walmart is nazi business practice ground zero.

 

[Fast Twitch Fiber]

Why I refuse to shop at Walmart:
1) They have refused to sell me sleeping pills and cough syrup in the same transaction because the two drugs are "incompatible". I guess it doesn't matter if they are for 2 different people.
2) They wouldn't sell me syringes to take my HRT injections even though there is no law in my state requiring a RX for needles
3) They stopped selling Maxim and other men's mags because they had women in bikinis on the cover. However, they will gladly sell 9mm handgun ammo to your local drug dealers.
4) They refused to develop my vacation pictures from the nude beach because of their "family values" policy. There was nothing sexually explicit, just naked adults in the picture.
4) There are too many fat asses to move around the store with a shopping cart. That damn store is a cellulite magnet.
5) You can't get any assistance from their customer service people
6) It takes 45 minutes to navigate their parking lot
7) No music with a parental advisory sticker (but for some reason they don't censor R rated movies???) This seems a bit inconsistent. I'm afraid eventually all movies and music will be required to meet Walmart's standards.
8) They put American's out of work while providing plenty of low paying jobs for China and India

 

[jestros]

4) There are too many fat asses to move around the store with a shopping cart. That damn store is a cellulite magnet.

Bump, you want to see the sick cess pool of human waste that america has become, go to walmart.
I get naueseated when I see those 5 foot wide asses in front of me.

 

[Forge]

Bump, you want to see the sick cess pool of human waste that america has become, go to walmart.
I get naueseated when I see those 5 foot wide asses in front of me.

I'll admit, I don't go to WM often but when I do I always get behing some slow fat person taking up the whole isle. Or they are in a motorized wheelchair. Or they have a family of 6 running around them.

I know it sounds like a stereotype, but this is something I could bet money on and win every time. One of the reasons why I'd rather pay more at a local ma & pa store: it takes me much less time to do my shopping than at WM.

 

[Dial_tone]

Ummm...Dial, don't you live in Georgia? I live near three Super Walmarts and I see none of the effects you state. The "checks cashed" stores tend to be in the areas with more "mom and pop" stores.

I moved to Los Angeles five years ago. You probably don't live in a poor-lower class neighborhood where mom & pop stores tend to proliferate. Witness the changes in the Old National Hwy area of College Park over the last 20 years.

What you are alluding to is areas that are already on the verge of blight, where the few stores that do exist are not competitive and the introduction of WalMart finally pushes them over the edge.

Yes, I am because those are the neighborhoods that are fighting the super Walmarts. Your neighborhood probably welcomed them with open arms. The mom & pop stores are very competitive with each other, but very few businesses of any size can match Walmart's prices. There's a vicious fight over a super in Inglewood, which is probably about 10 miles away from here.

 

[atlantabiolab]

I moved to Los Angeles five years ago. You probably don't live in a poor-lower class neighborhood where mom & pop stores tend to proliferate. Witness the changes in the Old National Hwy area of College Park over the last 20 years.
Yes, I am because those are the neighborhoods that are fighting the super Walmarts. Your neighborhood probably welcomed them with open arms. The mom & pop stores are very competitive with each other, but very few businesses of any size can match Walmart's prices. There's a vicious fight over a super in Inglewood, which is probably about 10 miles away from here.

But those stores are not providing the area with competitive prices, thus the citizens of this area have less spendable income: if I spend $2.50 for a loaf of bread, as opposed to $0.99 at WalMart, I have $1.50 less to spend on other things I need/want. Add up all the little things you buy a week and it can be significant. Not to mention, these little stores don't hire alot of people and provide little to no benefits, whereas WalMart does.

This is more rhetoric of the "anti-bigness" Luddites. "Company X is becoming too big" as if this demonstrates some bad trait.

 

[p0inko]

i see many hypocrites here.

really, how many of you would rather go pay a shitload more at a 'mom and pop store' than getting it for way less at wal-mart?

let's see how many liars we have here...

 

[Apöllo]

I worked at Kmart as a teenager for like $6 an hour as a cashier. That shit sucked. About three years ago Wal-mart effectivly pushed Kmart out of San Antonio. They are currently building all their new stores across the street from many of our H.E.B. stores who had previously drove out all other competitors decades before.

I never shop at walmart. I do have a Sam's card and I usually buy my gas there, but other than that I simply do not shop there. Their prices are not that low either. I don't know where anyone gets the idea that Wal-mart is saving them cash, but I save more money driving to H.E.B. or Target. Just because they sell shit for 9.97 instead of 9.99 is not enough of an insentive.

Honestly I think those folks need jobs, even if it meant Wal-mart Jobs. Sooner or later the market will change or Wal-mart will Unionize. You never know.

 

[Apöllo]

http://www.walmartversuswomen.com/