Local Businesses Flourish After Wal-Mart Leaves Texas Town

Burkburnett, Texas is small town of 10,000 in North Texas, just outside of Wichita Falls on the Oklahoma border. Like many small southern towns, it’s retail landscape had been dominated for years by a Wal-Mart near the interstate. In October Wal-Mart enraged many residents (many of who didn’t want it there in the first place) when it up and closed down because of low profits.

So what happened you say? Doom, gloom and six horsemen riding across the Texas prairie to bring forth an economic Walpocalypse? Actually, things seem like they’re going pretty well in Burkburnett.

According to the Times Record News, local businesses are seeing a 10-15% increase in sales. Local storeowners are seeing more foot traffic and are working with each other to rebuild the local economy and find their customers what they need. Residents are going back to the stores that are owned by their neighbors, and who keep the profits in their community.

Thats sounds downright healthy, doesn’t it?

And get this - sales tax receipts haven’t dropped off that much.  The argument many city planners make for Wal-Mart is increased sales tax revenue, but in Burkburnett December sales tax receipts only dropped of 4%. And as the local economy rebuilds and grows, one can only expect the revenues to rise again.

Burkburnett, Texas is living proof that the damage Wal-Mart does to a community is not irreversible, that the fight against Wal-Mart is never hopeless. The adaptive power of the American economy is strong - and can rebuild even a supercenter-sized amount of damage.

Life After Wal-Mart [Wichita Falls Times Record News (Texas)]:

Burkburnett stores are reporting an uptick in business since Wal-Mart closed its location just off I-44 in October.

The local Dollar Store has extended its hours, and other stores are reporting a 10 to 15 percent increase in sales, said Burkburnett Development Corporation Executive Director Kelly Bolen.

“Everyone is doing their shopping locally,” she said. “Local businesses are stepping up to meet the need.”

Bolen heard that for the month of December, for instance, the city had only experienced a 4 percent drop in sales tax receipts.

“If you think in the grand scheme of things, four percent is not bad after losing Wal-Mart,” she said.

The cause for the increase in local sales may be a backlash against the retail giant.

Local resident Debra Pugliesi said she was mad at Wal-Mart for first coming into town and taking money away from local businesses. And now, she said, the store had abandoned the town altogether.

“We’re boycotting Wal-Mart after what they did to us,” Pugliesi said.

As she browsed the racks at Hayes General Store in downtown Burkburnett recently, Pugliesi said she was traveling around to Burkburnett stores to take a look at what retailers had to offer.

“We’re trying to figure out where to go. We came in here to see what all he’s got. We just came from the Dollar Store,” she said.

The high cost of fuel might also be contributing to more people shopping in Burkburnett, she said.

“Gas is too high to be running around looking for stuff,” she said. “Three dollars a gallon? That’s six bucks to go to Wichita Falls and back.”

Becky Linker, manager at Hometown Hardware, said she’s noticed more foot traffic over the past few months in the store. That’s translated into more sales.

“We’re really busy,” she said. “People just keep saying that they’re glad we’re here. They’re glad they don’t have to go to Wichita.”

Jerry Hayes with Hayes General Store said he’s also seen a noticeable increase in both traffic and sales.

“We’ve seen more faces in the store. We’ve seen an increase in sales,” he said. “The traffic inside the store, there’s definitely been more.”

Hayes said he and other business owners are working together to make sure that customers are able to find what they want in Burkburnett.

Stores regularly call each other searching for items. If he doesn’t have what a customer is looking for, maybe another business does, Hayes said.

The end result is a strong local economy with local businesses ready to fill the void left by Wal-Mart, he said.

“We were here before Wal-Mart and we plan on being here a long time after Wal-Mart,” he said. “As long as our customers continue to come in, we’ll continue to serve them. That’s our plan.”

Posted by Eric Bull on Tuesday, March 25, 2008

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