Wal-Mart Contradicts Itself
The past couple weeks have seen plenty of stories describing ways in which Wal-Mart has mobilized to aid the Gulf Coast in preparation and relief efforts during hurricane season.
It seems, however, that even though the corporation was making efforts to lessen the blow of the storm, they still haven’t lost sight of the bottom-line. In a story posted yesterday in The Examiner, Wal-Mart was accused of price-gouging gasoline at one of their stations along an evacuation route in Southeast Texas. The Wal-Mart/Murphy USA located on U.S. 69 in Lumberton raised their price of gasoline a total of 12 cents in the day leading up to the evacuation for Hurricane Gustav, then another 10 cents when the evacuation was announced.
These prices were NOT consistent with other gas-stations in the area and following the storm, prices dropped again to reflect market prices. And despite a gas station manager claiming that prices went up because of a “gas price rise”, the cost of oil per barrel dropped over each of the three days.
Evacuation Gas Game [The Examiner (Texas)]:
In the days and hours leading to the potential call for a mandatory evacuation for Southeast Texas residents the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) blasted across its electronic billboard alert system that a hurricane was coming and residents needed to fill up their tanks with gasoline.
According to a local wholesale fuel provider, most everyone heeded TxDOT’s advice, but The Examiner also kept close watch on one gasoline retailer located along the main evacuation route from Southeast Texas.
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Posted by Luke West on Tuesday, September 09 | 16 comments | Permalink
Salt Lake City, UT. Planners OK Controversial Wal-Mart, But Commission Votes Next
On July 29, 2008, Sprawl-Busters reported that Wal-Mart was trying to sugar-coat a project in Sugar House, one of Salt Lake City, Utah’s oldest neighborhoods. The area is known for its distinctive local stores and small-town charm. Wal-Mart wants to build a 122,320 s.f. supercenter in the heart of Sugar House, but first it must tear down an empty 113,000 s.f. Kmart it bought several years ago. The city’s zoning ordinance says the existing building can be remodeled—but not torn down. Wal-Mart has therefore asked for a rezoning of the property---and tried to sweeten the deal by offering a landscaping package, “green” features on the building, new sidewalks and other site amenities. “We plan to invest a significant amount of money and resources into the redevelopment of this site, eventually providing the community with a store that is appealing to the eye, technologically modern and environmentally progressive,” a Wal-Mart spokesman promised.
But an advisory group to the council, known as the Sugar House Community Council, opposes the rezoning, claiming that a previous owner of the parcel on E. Parleys Way agreed to the current zoning rules in exchange for zoning flexibility on another piece of property. “I don’t care what the business is, whether it’s Wal-Mart or Kmart or Target or any other business. The thing I’m concerned about is that it stays with the current zoning, with the current types of businesses” in the area, a Sugar House Community Council spokesman said.
But the vice-chairman of the Sugar House Council thinks Wal-Mart is a sweet deal. He told the Salt Lake Tribune that many people oppose the rezoning because they don’t like Wal-Mart. “I fear that they will use their hatred of Wal-Mart, because they don’t like Wal-Mart for Wal-Mart, and they will not judge it for what it will do for the community,” he said. Kmart, which has been at this location for 40 years, is shutting down. Wal-Mart bought the property in 2005, but less than a year later, the city voted to prohibit superstores in the ‘community business’ zone.
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Posted by Al Norman on Monday, September 08 | 0 comments | Permalink
ARIZONA SITE FIGHT: VICTORY IN AHWATUKEE
Wal-Mart market off table for Ahwatukee site
A Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market planned for Chandler Boulevard and Desert Foothills Parkway in Ahwatukee Foothills is off the table for now.
The Bentonville, Ark.-based retailer said it has no choice but to opt out of a lease with their co-developer BMB Marketplace LLC when that company filed for bankruptcy.
“From our perspective, the future’s uncertain,” said Wal-Mart spokeswoman Delia Garcia.
She said the company is still interested in opening a location at that site, but Garcia said the property was taken by BMB’s creditors.
Posted by Luke West on Friday, September 05 | 0 comments | Permalink
ARIZONA SITE FIGHT: NEIGHBORHOOD MARKET ON HOLD
Wal-Mart Market plans on hold [Ahwatukee Foothills News (Arizona)]
Arizona’s troubled real estate sector and flat economy has taken down Wal-Mart.
At least plans for a Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market on Desert Foothills Parkway near Chandler Boulevard.
The giant blue retailer was ready and waiting to build a 40,000-square-foot, 24-hour neighborhood market, with plans and a building permit, after investing months in neighborhood meetings and redesigns to accommodate residents’ concerns.
But Wal-Mart’s development partner, BMB Marketplace LLC of Scottsdale, declared bankruptcy earlier this year. And, last month, the land was sold at auction to a bank.
“Now, we’re just evaluating the next step,” said Wal-Mart spokeswoman Delia Garcia.
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Posted by Luke West on Wednesday, September 03 | 0 comments | Permalink
Phoenix, AZ. After Two Years, Wal-Mart Cancels Lease With Developer
Wal-Mart is ready to build another store in Phoenix, Arizona, but after more than two years of trying, it keeps losing developers.
On April 11, 2008, Sprawl-Busters reported that a developer called The Bunch Company had left a 39,000 s.f. Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market all dressed up with nowhere to go. A planned 80,000 s.f. shopping center in the Ahwatukee neighborhood of Phoenix, near the Desert Foothills Parkway and Chandler Boulevard, was supposed to include a 24 hour Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market---which is the retailer’s “smallest” format store. But in April, it was revealed that The Bunch Company had a bunch of financial problems, and owed its bank $7.2 million, and the city of Phoenix $72,000 in property taxes. That left Wal-Mart nowhere in the neighborhood.
But Wal-Mart said it was ready to roll out its store, as soon as another owner stepped forward. “Nothing has changed from our end, we’re ready to move forward on the project,” a spokeswoman for Wal-Mart told the Foothill News. “It is a good location and a good area to serve.” The Bunch Company had planned to build another 40,000 s.f. of retailing around the Neighborhood Market. The city of Phoenix gave this project a green light in 2007, and Wal-Mart has invested several years into researching the site, according to the newspaper. “We spent extra time with city staff and the community to make sure they were comfortable with what we proposed,” Wal-Mart claimed. But with developers dropping like flies, it could be months, or even years, by the time Wal-Mart gets to Phoenix.
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Posted by Alex Goldschmidt on Thursday, August 28 | 0 comments | Permalink
First Photos of Wal-Mart’s New “Marketside” Stores
The Financial Times brings news that the Building Dept. of the City of Mesa, AZ. has posted on its website some of the first photos of Wal-Mart’s new “Marketside” stores. The stores signal a departure for Wal-Mart, as they are significantly smaller than the retailer’s traditional format and designed to compete head-to-head with UK retailer Tesco’s “Fresh and Easy” markets.
Marketside’s small format isn’t the only thing that distinguishes the pilot program from other Wal-Mart stores. Marketsides have completely independent design elements and don’t mention the word “Wal-Mart.” From the Financial Times:
The design includes a natural wood finish around the entrance, and deep-purple awnings - the same colour that will be used on the aprons of the staff, and on its website, http://www.marketplace.com. The Marketside name appears in lower case green lettering, with no reference to its parent company.
As Wal-Mart nears the U.S. saturation point for its traditional stores, the company has been forced to evolve into alternate formats. But Marketside’s distinct branding implies the company is worried customers have had enough not only of Supercenters, but of Wal-Mart itself.
Posted by Alex Goldschmidt on Tuesday, August 26 | 63 comments | Permalink
WAL-MART RETURNS TO CAVE CREEK, AZ
Wal-Mart buys 20-acre site, plans to carry out expansion [Arizona Republic]
A year after halting plans to build a Supercenter in Cave Creek, Wal-Mart is back in business.
The retailer is planning on expanding into Cave Creek, a representative confirmed, after acquiring 20 acres southeast of Cave Creek Road and Carefree Highway in May for $8 million.
There are no immediate plans for development though, said Wal-Mart spokeswoman Delia Garcia.
Last summer, Wal-Mart pulled out of plans to build a Supercenter on the land amid forecasts of shrinking consumer spending.
The retailer withdrew a general-plan-amendment application with Cave Creek and canceled a neighborhood meeting that could have disclosed project details.
“Obviously we’re always looking for places to expand. Now we have moved forward with purchasing that land,” Garcia said.
Town Manager Usama Abujbarah has suggested a future public poll to find out how residents feel about a project, once plans come forward.
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Posted by Joel Nezianya on Monday, August 18 | 0 comments | Permalink
Wal-Mart Watch Weekly Update For Elected Officials
Check out this week’s issue of the Wal-Mart Watch Weekly Update for Elected Officials – a compilation of Wal-Mart news from across the country and beyond.
This week’s issue focuses again on Wal-Mart’s efforts to warn its managers across the country of a Democratic win in this November’s elections. The company has been holding mandatory meetings for its store managers and department supervisors (possibly in violation of state and federal election law), who are being warned that if Democrats win in November it could lead to potential store unionization. And speaking of unionization, read how Wal-Mart’s attempt to bust up unions in Canada has made it all the way to Canada’s Supreme Court, while on the other side of the globe all Wal-Mart stores in China will have labor contracts by September 2008.
In addition to the aforementioned stories, you’ll also find Bloomberg and the International Herald Tribune questioning whether a slowdown in Wal-mart sales could be a negative sign for the U.S. economy in the future. And on the environmental side of things, you’ll find the Christian Science Monitor among others discussing Wal-Mart’s opposition to carbon-offset guidelines, while the New York Times and Newsweek explain why concerns over keeping costs at low levels has lead Wal-Mart to drastically alter how its products are made and transported.
And finally, check out our “Stateside” and “Wal-Mart International” sections to find out what’s going on with Wal-Mart around the country and across the globe.
Wal-Mart Watch Weekly Update for Elected Officials
Posted by Corey Himrod on Monday, August 11 | 24 comments | Permalink
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