Presentation: What Happens to Local Businesses When Walmart Moves In?
This brief presentation looks at how Walmart could impact local businesses if it’s allowed to expand into urban areas.
Stacy Mitchell Talks Walmart and the Future of Big-Box Retail on San Francisco’s KALW
ILSR’s Stacy Mitchell was a guest on Your Call on San Francisco public radio station KALW. She joined host Rose Aguilar and Charles Fishman, author of The Wal-Mart Effect, for an hour-long conversation about how Walmart came to dominate the economy and what local business owners and retail workers are doing to counter its market power.… Read More
Your Call: What’s the Future for Big Box Stores?
KALW Radio, August 21, 2012 On today’s Your Call, a conversation about Wal-Mart as it turns 50. It’s the third-largest publicly traded corporation in the world and the largest private employer with 8,500 stores in 15 countries and 2 million employees. How has it been able to dominate the global retail market? Join us at 10 … Read More
Independent Businesses Deliver Bigger Economic Benefit, Study Finds
Choosing a locally owned business generates almost four times as much economic benefit for the surrounding community as shopping at a chain, a new study has concluded. … Read More
Why Have So Many Cities and Towns Given Away So Much Money to Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s?
The Atlantic Cities, August 13, 2012 When Bill Winkler opened his small archery shop, he was prepared to compete against businesses large and small – but not against a government-financed competitor. “The day Bass Pro opened here in Bossier, the number of arrows I sold dropped off by 50 percent,” says Winkler. A Bass Pro Shop … Read More
Why Tax-Free Online Shopping May Soon End in Ohio and Other States
The Plain Dealer, July 21, 2012 Your days of getting a sweeter deal by buying tax-free online may be ending. In an era of tighter government budgets, more states are looking to recapture the tax dollars that are lost when Internet sellers don’t charge state and local sales tax. What looks like a savings to the … Read More
Walmart Shopping in a Local Economy
Bellevue Patch, July 19, 2012 Stores of differing types and sizes affect the entire business ecology from local stores. Local consumers still can vote with their feet and wallets. Following up on the latest store openings in Bellevue I found a stark contrast on how different stores handle publicity. Hedge & Vine, the boutique furniture store … Read More
Local Ownership Makes Communities Healthier, Wealthier and Wiser
Most policymakers don’t imagine that their economic development decisions will affect such things as voter turnout or the prevalence of chronic disease. But a growing body of research is finding that scale and ownership of business matter in ways that extend far beyond economic outcomes.… Read More
Walmart Claims Its Stores are Magnets for Small Businesses; Not So, Research Finds
In its push to get into urban areas, Walmart is claiming that its stores are actually good for nearby small businesses, at least those that do not compete in the same product lines. But the empirical evidence — including a extensive study published recently in the Journal of Urban Economics — indicates otherwise. … Read More