Flagstaff, AZ
Proposed Build-Out: Supercenter
Current Status: Wal-Mart announced its plans to build a second store in Flagstaff but has not yet submitted an application.
Principal Contact: Becky Daggett --
Primary Website: http://www.friendsofflagstaff.org
Wal-Mart has announced their plans to build a Supercenter in Flagstaff, AZ. The small town of about $50,000 already has one Wal-Mart as well as many other shopping alternatives and is not in need of this store.
Last year, after a bitter struggle, Wal-Mart successfully overturned a big box ordinance that prohibited stores greatr than 100,000 from building in the city. A local group called Friends of Flagstaff's Future took on the giant retailer and worked tirelessly to inform the public about the effects another Wal-Mart will have on the local economy and the city's landscape. However, they lost an extremely close ballot initiative and the ordinance was overturned. Wal-Mart went to great lengths to overturn this ordinance, spending thousands of dollars and even resorting to using Nazi-era imagery in newspaper ads. The ads were met with shock and disgust by the citizens of Flagstaff and the entire country and were called "The Worst Business Mistake of 2005" by CNN Money. However, Wal-Mart won the battle and successfully overturned the ordinance by a narrow margin.
In February, Wal-Mart announced their plan to build a Supercenter. Friends of Flagstaff's Future along with the rest of the community is committed to keeping this store out and will continue to educate the citizens of Flagstaff about the effects it will have.
