Wal-Mart Watch Daily Clips - February 10th

WAL-MART LOOKS TO GET ITS SLICE OF STIMULUS PIE

• Rantoul officials have four projects ready for stimulus funds [News-Gazette (Ill.)]
  Hazel said the most urgently needed project for Rantoul calls for spending $2 million to improve South Murray Road from the new Wal-Mart Supercenter south to County Road 2900N.
  

• Al Norman: 'Shovel-Ready' Stimulus Plan: Buy A Dead Wal-Mart? [Huffington Post]
  The big winner will be Wal-Mart, which will sell off its dead store, and make more money at its superstore 8 miles away. Instead of pressuring the retailer to donate their 'old' store, Clyde wants to use federal taxpayer's money to bail out a company that made almost $13 billion in profits last year.
  

WAL-MART'S NEXT RECESSION TARGET: NEW ENGLAND

• Wal-Mart drives for more Mass. grocery business [Boston Globe]
  Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the nation's largest grocer, is making an aggressive push across Massachusetts to double its supermarket business over the next year.

VOICES FROM ALL SIDES WEIGH IN ON WAL-MART'S CHICAGO DESIGNS

• Commentary: Trib Misses The Point On Wal-Mart ... Again [Progress Illinois (Ill.)]
  The more things change, the more they stay the same.
  

• Wal-Mart Goes after Chicago Locations, Again [Media Buyer Planner (Md.)]
  Hoping to take advantage of the opportunity afforded by a tanking economy, Wal-Mart is seeking approval from a reluctant Chicago City Council to open as many as five new stores in the city.

WAL-MART, OTHER RETAILERS PUSHING CONGRESS TO ROLL BACK CHILDREN'S SAFETY LAW

• Retailers Urge Rollback of Children's Safety Law [Wall Street Journal]
  In a letter to Congress, the Retail Industry Leaders Association said that testing current inventory for compliance with the law, and disposing of goods that didn't measure up, would cost "hundreds of millions of dollars" for lead and even more for phthalates, which some studies have linked to developmental disorders in children. The group's members include Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Costco Wholesale Corp., Target Corp., Sears Holding Corp., J.C. Penney Co. and Best Buy Co.
  

• Toy retailers struggle to comply with guidelines [Washington Post]
  Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Target Corp. also said they would be compliant with the new regulations by Tuesday. They said they had been working with vendors to ensure toys met the rules but declined to say whether or when they had pulled any toys off their shelves.
  

• Retailers face penalties for selling toxic toys [San Francisco Chronicle]
  A federal law regulating toxic chemicals in children's products goes into effect Tuesday, placing retailers in California under additional pressure to clear the shelves of toys containing illegal amounts of lead and other toxic compounds.
  

WAL-MART TO SELL LOW-COST CHINESE CARS?

• Wal-Mart May Sell Chinese Cars [U.S. News & World Report]
  According to Kicking Tires, "Ligocki said she believes that within five years consumers will be able to buy a Chinese vehicle at their local Wal-Mart." No agreement is in place, however.

• Chinese Cars Coming to a Wal-Mart Near You? [Kicking Tires Blog]
  Now the industry must brace for the next big idea, which is to sell low-cost Chinese vehicles at big-box retailers like Wal-Mart and Costco. This is how GS Motors plans to sell the F1 Hatchback in Mexico (for a bargain price of $5,500).

NORTH DAKOTA HOUSE COMMITTEE RECOMMENDS DEFEATING PHARMACY LAW CHANGES

• ND House committee wants to keep pharmacy law [Forbes]
  A North Dakota House committee wants to keep the state's restrictions on pharmacy ownership.
  

• Committee opposes pharmacy law repeal [Bismarck Tribune (N.D.)]
  A House committee voted 8-5 Monday against a bill that would repeal North Dakota's pharmacy ownership law.
  

• Debate on ND pharmacy bill takes on edge [Associated Press via Jamestown Sun (N.D.)]
  A drugstore executive told store pharmacists in a recent electronic mail message that their pay raises depend on their willingness to fight an attempt to repeal North Dakota's pharmacy ownership law.

'SLOW FASHION' AN ALTERNATIVE TO WAL-MARTIZATION OF CLOTHING?

• Is the time right for Slow Fashion? [Christian Science Monitor]
  "If we can radically reduce our clothing purchases, there will be no reason to buy cheaply made, imported, sweatshop clothing from Wal-Mart," she wrote. "We will be able to afford to purchase high- quality, environmentally sound clothing."

WAL-MART TEAMING UP WITH REP. RANGEL TO OFFER TAX PREPARATION SERVICE

• Tax-Troubled Rangel to Help Unveil Tax Preparation Program [Fox News]
  The New York Democrat is joining the Wal-Mart Foundation and other organizations in announcing a Foundation grant to provide free tax preparation services.

RECESSION GIVES WAL-MART'S CHINESE SUPPLIER LI & FUNG A BOOST

• Li & Fung Benefits as Wealthy ‘Hit Hard’ by Recession [Bloomberg]
  Li & Fung Ltd., the biggest supplier to Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Target Corp., is benefiting as the recession boosts sales of low-priced toys and clothing, company President Bruce Rockowitz said.
  

• China looking even better [Calgary Herald (Canada)]
  China is clearly not immune from the global economic slowdown, but the world's second-largest economy is still one of the most sought-after trading partners for any nation or multinational business.
  

UK'S TESCO CONTINUES TO PUSH INTO U.S. WEST COAST

• Tesco pushes area expansion - British grocer to open three more stores in 2009 [Pacific Coast Business Times (Calif.)]
  Just over a year ago, British retail giant Tesco announced its $2 billion investment in the United States under the store name Fresh & Easy. Since then, the company has opened four neighborhood markets in Ventura County and has caught the attention of a few retail heavyweights hoping 2009 doesn’t bring another British invasion.
  

SMALL NEW YORK LIQUOR BUSINESSES FIGHT TO STOP WAL-MART

• Small stores fight proposed wine sales by grocers [Democrat and Chronicle (N.Y.)]
  While those who favor allowing wine to be sold in grocery stores talk in terms of lower prices, more convenience, more tax revenues and more sales, the opponents have a more stark argument: jobs.

ALLSTATE INSURANCE HOPING TO LURE IN CUSTOMERS WITH FREE SAM'S CLUB PASSES

• Auto Insurer Offers Savings On More Than Car Insurance [Dow Jones Newswire via Wall Street Journal]
  Allstate Corp. hopes to refashion its good hands image into a helping hand for anxious consumers: Anyone visiting an Allstate Web site can print out a free one-day pass to Sam's Club, the discount warehouse owned by Wal-Mart Stores Inc.

ON NASCAR'S INTEREST IN WAL-MART SPONSORSHIP

• NASCAR: Need sponsor, inquire within [Florida Times-Union (Fla.)]
  It used to be easy for a NASCAR team to get the attention of a corporate boss. An enterprising member of the team would paint a race car in the business' colors, park it in front of the headquarters and fire up the racing engine.
  

COMMENTARY: WAL-MART OUTSOURCING NOT GOOD FOR AMERICA

• Exporting jobs is one way America has gone wrong [Tallahassee Democrat (Fla.)]
  This My View column is to express my concerns about where America has gone wrong and also to offer some insight as to what can be done to improve our situation.
  

WAL-MART TO CARRY LOW-COST NOTEBOOK COMPUTERS

• Wal-Mart To Carry Asus Computers [Ubergizmo]
  Rumor has it that Asus "is expected to start marketing its notebooks through Wal-Mart in the second half of 2009” according to a DigiTimes report.

To keep updated on Wal-Mart Site Fights across the country, visit the Battlemart blog at http://walmartwatch.com/battlemart/blog

GEORGIA SITE FIGHT: WAL-MART ROLLING IN GOV'T DOLLARS IN ALBANY

• Wal-Mart plans delayed [Albany Herald (Ga.)]
  Dougherty County commissioners learned Monday that Wal-Mart, the retail behemoth that had been set to begin construction next month at an East Albany location, is delaying construction for one full calendar year because of a tumultuous economic climate, Chairman Jeff “Bodine” Sinyard said.
  

• Albany, GA. Even With $800,000 Subsidy, Wal-Mart Puts Another Store On Hold [Battlemart Blog]
  Even with almost a million dollars in welfare coming their way, Wal-Mart has postponed yet another store-—this time in a small Georgia city that already has one supercenter just minutes away.
  

WASHINGTON SITE FIGHT: WAL-MART PROPONENTS, OPPONENTS SQUARE OFF AT THE DALLES CITY COUNCIL

• Wal-Mart Round 2 tonight at courthouse [Dalles Chronicle (Ore.)]
  Wal-Mart proponents and opponents will state their case Monday night in a public hearing at The Dalles City Council.
  

VERMONT SITE FIGHT: BATTLE OVER ADDING GROCERY STORE TO BENNINGTON WAL-MART CONTINUES

• Wal-Mart grocery planned [Bennington Banner (Vt.)]
  Developers revealed Monday that a new Wal-Mart, proposed for Northside Drive, would have a full-service grocery store, and a state environmental commission denied two organizations, which oppose the project, party status.
  

• Party status denied for Wal-Mart opponents [Burlington Free-Press (Vt.)]
  The District 8 Environmental Commission, which held a preliminary Act 250 hearing Monday, said the Vermont Natural Resources Council and Citizens for a Greater Bennington couldn’t show how the Wal-Mart would directly affect their members but were given three weeks to bolster their arguments.
  

MARYLAND SITE FIGHT: EX-CROFTON WAL-MART SITE TO HAVE NEW LIFE

• Mixed-use eyed for ex-Crofton Wal-Mart site [Annapolis Capital (Md.)]
  Bill Berkshire has a new plan for a development in Crofton, and he promises it won't be nearly as controversial as the Wal-Mart he once tried to build.
  

KANSAS SITE FIGHT: DISPUTE OVER CONTROLLED INTERSECTION AT NEW STORE SITE CONTINUES

• New traffic signals speed ahead of Wal-Mart to NW Lawrence intersection [Lawrence-Journal (Kans.)]
  Wal-Mart may not be opening for another couple months, but a set of traffic signals adjacent to the site is up and running.
  

IOWA SITE FIGHT: TRUE VALUE HARDWARE TO TAKE OVER ABANDONED STORE LOCATION

• True Value going into former Wal-Mart [Decorah Newspapers (Iowa)]
  The former Wal-Mart building in Centrum Plaza has been sold to Farver Development of Newton.

ONTARIO, CANADA SITE FIGHT: MORE DELAYS IN LINDSAY

• Wal-Mart decision delayed again [Lindsay Post (Canada)]
  The Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) has once again delayed a final decision on the Mason Homes development at the corner of Colborne Street and Highway 35 in Lindsay.
  

ONTARIO, CANADA SITE FIGHT: OWEN SOUND STORE DECISION STALLED

• Council puts off Wal-Mart vote [Owen Sound Sun Times (Canada)]
  City council decided Monday to put off voting on an expansion request from Wal-Mart after receiving a last-minute letter from the downtown A&P's head office claiming a "serious risk" of closure if the expansion were to proceed.

For more news on Wal-Mart as well as commentary, opinions and multimedia, visit our blog at http://walmartwatch.com/blog

Posted by Chris C on Tuesday, February 10, 2009

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