Falling sales-tax revenues. An onslaught of vacant storefronts. When your state economy is based on growth, and the national economy goes in the tank, these are the dangers. According to yesterday’s Arizona Republic:
By late next year, more than 75 stores are expected to close, resulting in a loss of nearly 2,000 Arizona retail jobs. The turnover likely will offer shoppers bargains at various going-out-of-business sales and could eventually inspire an influx of newer, trendier stores. But the closures also have city officials scrambling to cover revenue shortfalls and deter commercial blight.
While Wal-Mart may be able to absorb the cost of closed stores and their leases, cities and towns are left dealing with empty buildings that can lead to a rise in crime and vandalism, the lowering of property values, and depressed sales for neighboring retailers when the closed store is the anchor for a strip mall. And for states like Arizona, a drop in sales tax revenue. The Institute for Local Self-Reliance has pointed out that some cities, such as Oakdale, California, or Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, require retail developers set aside money that can be used by the city to either demolish or maintain the site should the store or shopping center become vacant.
Some cities, like Mesa, Arizona, aren’t so lucky.
The shell of a former Walmart sits 2 miles from a Kmart that will close in January. A Mervyn’s and Circuit City will soon depart the area. Such losses this year contributed to Mesa’s $62 million budget shortfall. The city announced 315 layoffs last month.
Cities try to cope with shortfalls in sales taxes, blight left by shut stores [Arizona Republic]
Read the rest of this story ...
Posted by Corey Himrod | Permalink
Let’s say you’re a multi-national corporation worth billions upon billions of dollars. Your business is built on an empire of discount retail establishments, most of which are so large one could get lost inside. Your stores, in fact, contain more items than actually exist in reality, all of which (both the real and the theoretical) are priced at low, low prices and ready to move.
Now, sure, you have to deal with the problem of shrinkage. Not of the George Costanza variety, but the kind that entails product leaving your stores without an exchange of money taking place. Theft is a real problem, especially if the thefted item happens to cost a couple thousand dollars like, say, a laptop computer might. The solution, it turns out, is simple. Put out for sale empty boxes.
Most would think such a strategy couldn’t possibly exist, let alone have unintended positive consequences, but you’d be wrong. It seems three men in Chandler, Arizona, purchased a laptop from a local Wal-Mart. Apparently not realizing they had bought the lightest laptop this side of an Apple thinbook, the men left the store with what they would later claim was an empty box. Low and behold, Chandler police were called when the three men returned with an empty box, claiming a laptop was never in it. Long story short, when police arrived, one of the men made a run for it tossing away what turned out to be forged credit cards in the process. Wal-Mart’s shrinkage-protection scheme strikes again, only this time thwarting a Phoenix-wide credit card forgery ring instead of a simple shoplifter.
Store employees later discovered they had indeed sold an empty box to the three men.
Posted by Corey Himrod | Permalink
This video from the Financial Times takes a look at Wal-Mart’s new small-format Marketside stores, and their close competitor Tesco’s Fresh & Easy. The analysis of the two stores is interesting: Marketside looks more polished, whereas Fresh & Easy focuses on house-brand bargains. But the most interesting - and perhaps saddest - part of the video is hearing customers’ explanations of why they like the new small format stores:
“It’s kinda like a small grocery store,” one man says. “I kinda like the idea of the local markets instead of great big stores you’ve got eight million people in.”
That is, customers are attracted to these markets because they’re like the local grocery stores Wal-Mart so frequently puts out of business. After years of flocking to Supercenters, these consumers have realized the value of shopping close to home, though still seem unwilling to support real locally-owned businesses. Marketside has all the appeal of a local store with none of the benefits: money spent there doesn’t stay in the community and its owners have no incentive to treat employees well. Wal-Mart seems to be capitalizing on the very holes its own business model has left in the retail landscape.
Big box stores go small [Financial Times]
Posted by Alex Goldschmidt | Permalink
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 | Permalink
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.
Read the rest of this story ...
Posted by Joel Nezianya | Permalink
Parker Wal-Mart project advances [Parker Pioneer (Ariz.)]
The architectural plans for a proposed Wal-Mart store to be located on the Colorado River Indian Reservation north of the Town of Parker have been turned in to the Colorado River Building Industry Association, and bidders are being solicited for the project.
Lisa Rose Theophilus, spokesperson for the CRBIA, said they received the plans July 31 from one of the general contractors invited to bid on the project, R & O Construction, of Ogden, Utah.
The CRBIA is a trade organization of construction companies and associated businesses in the Colorado River area. Theophilus said members could view plans of various projects in the area as part of their research in making bids on these projects.
According to the documents provided by R & O Construction, the store will be located on State Route 95, across the highway from the Moovalya Plaza Shopping Center. The size of the building will be approximately 105,000 square feet. McGraw-Hill Construction Dodge published the documents. The architect is Boice Raidl Rhea Architects of Merriam, Kan.
Read the rest of this story ...
Posted by Tony Calero | Permalink
It’s quite possible the city of Barstow, Calif., could get a Wal-Mart distribution center before Kingman, though that doesn’t mean Kingman won’t get one.
Last week, the council for the city located approximately 205 miles southwest of Kingman approved an initial proposal for a distribution center, said Wal-Mart Regional Community Affairs Director Keith Morris.
The 895,000-square-foot center will focus on food distribution, while the Kingman center will focus on general merchandise distribution, Morris said.
According to an article from The Daily Press, Wal-Mart announced on Dec. 15, 2005, plans to build the food distribution center in the Barstow Industrial Park. With environmental reports to be completed, along with other steps in the development process, Wal-Mart expects the center to be operational in 2011 or 2012, Morris said in an interview with the Miner.
“There haven’t been any changes,” Morris said of the status of the Kingman distribution center.
There is no timetable for when construction will begin.
Read the rest of this story ...
Posted by Tony Calero | Permalink
Rezone allows Wal-Mart to sell small parcel [Kingman Daily Parcel (Ariz.)]
Wal-Mart has been granted a rezone that will allow the mega retailer to sell the 0.72-acre parcel between its superstore and the Smith’s on Stockton Hill Road, but the issue did not satisfy all officials who voted on it Monday.
Councilman Ray Lyons opposed the request because, he said, he did not agree with a Wal-Mart representative who said a new business there would be beneficial to the community.
“Personally, I’d like it if they left it the way it is,” Lyons said. “It’s a little oasis in a sea of blacktop.” Asphalt is hot, and his rationale for casting the only vote against the rezone was on the basis that it made the area cooler. He suggested planting a few trees on the lot instead.
Sean Lake of Pew & Lake PLC, the realty firm representing Wal-Mart, argued that the rezone and sale would be beneficial to Kingman because it would generate sales tax revenue for the city. He noted that the request conformed to the General Plan, the city’s land use map, and is consistent with surrounding property uses.
That was just his opinion, however, and he said he respected other views.
Read the rest of this story ...
Posted by Joel Nezianya | Permalink
Wal-Mart looks to open markets [Arizona Republic]
Marketside, Wal-Mart’s experimental small-format grocery store, is hiring managers for pilot stores that are set to open in Mesa, Chandler, Gilbert and Tempe later this year.
Wal-Mart has set up a Web site for people who want to manage the micro-size stores: http://www.workformarketside.com.
At 15,000 square feet, Marketside will be about 1.5 times the size of a typical Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market, the store Wal-Mart is said to be taking on.
Wal-Mart has been silent on its plans for Marketside.
News about the stores has come out of London, near the home of Fresh & Easy’s parent Tesco. Tesco is the world’s third-largest retailer; Wal-Mart is No. 1.
A Wal-Mart representative said that locations for the test stores are set and more details are to come.
Posted by Tony Calero | Permalink
Wal-Mart mum on El Con Mall move [Tucson Citizen (Ariz.)]
Wal-Mart and Macy’s won’t confirm reports that the two are in discussions about Wal-Mart taking over the vacant Macy’s at El Con Mall.
Lane Oden, an attorney for El Con, reportedly told leaders of surrounding neighborhoods in April that talks are “far along” for Wal-Mart to assume the Macy’s lease, but Oden “doesn’t take calls from reporters,” a woman at his office said.
El Con spokeswoman Susan Allen would not respond to a request for an interview other than to issue a prepared statement:
“Interviews and/or comments on the dispositon of the Macy’s lease at El Con Mall are premature as there is no deal at this time of which we are aware that merits discussion.”
When asked specifically about Wal-mart, Macy’s spokeswoman Laura Smith said: “No comment. We don’t really know the specifics yet. Maybe we will know more in a week.”
Read the rest of this story ...
Posted by Alex Goldschmidt | Permalink
Wal-Mart isn’t answer to El Con Mall’s woes [Arizona Star]
With our apologies to Charles Dickens: It is the best of malls; it is the worst of malls.
It is the epoch of belief and the spring of hope at Mesa’s Dana Park Village Square, a multi-building shopping center on about 70 acres at Val Vista Drive and Baseline Road.
Most of the stores are fairly upscale national chains and there is no major anchor, such as Macy’s or Target. The stores, small shops, restaurants and a boutique grocery — an AJ’s Fine Foods — are clustered and positioned to attract Mesa and Gilbert residents with disposable income.
It is the epoch of incredulity and the winter of despair at Tucson’s El Con Mall, on East Broadway west of Alvernon Way.
El Con sits on 93 acres of prime central Tucson property, nestled among several venerable, upscale neighborhoods. It is across from Reid Park, golf courses, the zoo and the tennis center, and is near to the University of Arizona.
Read the rest of this story ...
Posted by Alex Goldschmidt | Permalink
Wal-Mart scraps Gilbert Town Square plans [Arizona Republic]
Wal-Mart is abandoning its plans to build a scaled-down Supercenter in Gilbert Town Square.
The company placed the project on hold during a review of all pending developments, but decided the proposed store no longer fit its business growth strategy, Wal-Mart spokesperson Delia Garcia said Tuesday.
Wal-Mart owns the property that was planned as the store’s site and is considering option, including selling the land, Garcia said.
The company announced plans for the store in 2004. Neighbors protested the move.
The store would have covered about 100,000 square feet, and would have featured a slightly smaller product selection than a regular Supercenter.
Gilbert Town Square is located south of the southwest corner of Gilbert and Warner Roads.
Posted by Alex Goldschmidt | Permalink
Wal-Mart has announced a plan to open hundreds of in-store medical clinics within the next two years, aiming to have 400 clinics up and running by 2010.
The announcement comes on the heels of the overnight closing of the prominent Wal-Mart in-store clinic CheckUps, which literally closed so suddenly not even its employees knew not to come into work. Those 23 CheckUps that shut their doors represented nearly one third of Wal-Mart’s current in-store clinics.
The CheckUps debacle apparently was caused by a startup company that couldn’t bring in enough revenue quickly enough to cover its costs. It’ll be interesting to see how Wal-Mart addresses this in the future - obviously it would be in Wal-Mart’s best interest this time around to do a little homework and partner with companies it knows will succeed.
The story, out of Phoenix, reported several Phoenix are hospitals were reluctant to discuss the issue.
Wal-Mart to open 400 health clinics nationally by year 2010 [Phoenix Business Journal]
Grocery, drug and retail chains are expanding to offer in-store medical clinics as uninsured patients with common illnesses clog Valley emergency rooms.
Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the nation’s largest retailer, is eyeing the Arizona market and looking to partner with local hospitals and health systems to run mini clinics in its stores.
Read the rest of this story ...
Posted by Corey Himrod | Permalink
Wal-Mart postpones Gilbert mini-Supercenter [Arizona Business Gazette] 
No time line yet for development of protested plan
Plans for a scaled-down Wal-Mart Supercenter in central Gilbert have been put on hold, according to the company.
The giant retailer had planned to construct a store in Gilbert Town Square this year.
“We do own that land, but we don’t have a time line for developing it yet,” company spokeswoman Delia Garcia said.
“We’re still interested in developing the property, and we’re still interested in serving that part of Gilbert.”
Read the rest of this story ...
Posted by Andrew Yonki | Permalink
Plans on hold for central Gilbert Wal-Mart [The Arizona Republic]
Plans for a scaled-down Wal-Mart Supercenter in central Gilbert have been put on hold, according to the company.
The giant retailer has planned to construct a store in Gilbert Town Square this year.
“We do own that land but we don’t have a timeline for developing it yet,” said company spokeswoman Delia Garcia. “We’re still interested in developing the property and we’re still interested in serving that part of Gilbert.”
In 2004, the company announced plans to build a mini-Supercenter in the retail center located south of the southwest corner of Gilbert and Warner Roads.
Read the rest of this story ...
Posted by Andrew Yonki | Permalink
Wal-Mart pays Mohave County water hookup fee [Mohave Daily News (Ariz.)] 
KINGMAN - Wal-Mart took the next step to begin construction of a distribution center near the Griffith power plant southwest of Kingman.
Wal-Mart announced Thursday that it paid $289,350 to Mohave County for a one-time hookup fee for its water allocation for a proposed distribution center off Interstate 40 near Yucca. The hookup fee is $1,420 per gallon per minute for a total of 200 gallons per minute, county spokesman Darryle Purcell said.
Once built, the proposed Wal-Mart distribution center would employ about 500 people. The county already issued necessary grading permits for the warehouse center.
The company bought the land in early 2006 for the proposed center but put the project on hold later last year.
The 1.5 million-square-foot center would be built on 23 acres and serve as a warehouse for Wal-Mart Supercenters in Mohave County, the Sam’s Club in Bullhead City and also serving Arizona, Southern California and Nevada.
Posted by Andrew Yonki | Permalink
Many communities are eager to see a new Wal-Mart come to town, but few think of the effect the retailer will have if and when it leaves. This article from Minnesota’s St. Cloud Times gives a local perspective to the retailer’s global prospects. Visit Battle-Mart for more information about fighting Wal-Mart in your local community.
Wal-Mart’s exit is boon, bane for communities [St. Cloud Times (Minn.)]
An empty Wal-Mart building sits along a stretch of road in Little Falls and shoppers have been rerouted to a newer, bigger Wal-Mart down the street.
Its owners have taken care of the old building after the Wal-Mart Supercenter was built in August. It’s been repainted a shade of light green, masking signs of what once thrived there.
At any given time, about 300 to 400 former Wal-Mart stores sit empty around the nation, in some cases for as long as five to seven years, said Ken Stone, a retired professor from Iowa State University who has studied Wal-Mart for about 20 years. Those empty buildings can be a blight to a community and area businesses if they sit untouched for too long.
“It’s a real problem, there’s no question about it,” Stone said.
Read the rest of this story ...
Posted by Alex Goldschmidt | Permalink
Peoria Wal-Mart offers a first: Buy property in store [Arizona Star]
Real estate might be the one thing shoppers expect not to be able to buy at Wal-Mart. But one Phoenix-area real estate agency is working to change that.
Metro North Realty opened a branch last month in a Wal-Mart at 7975 W. Peoria Ave in Peoria. Metro North Realty broker Octavian Dobos said he is interested in possibly opening Wal-Mart branches in the Tucson area, but two Tucson real estate professionals were somewhat skeptical of the idea. The Peoria branch is the first Wal-Mart-based real estate office in the state, although there are some others throughout the country, said Wal-Mart spokesman Daniel Morales. Branch manager Daniel McCarthy said he’s hoping to capitalize on the foot traffic in the store and get more exposure for his listings. The added visibility might be necessary next year if the market continues to lag, he said. While many real estate agencies are trying to enhance their presence on the Web, McCarthy said he suspects buyers will start to prefer personal attention to virtual tours and other Internet-based home-shopping tools.
Read the rest of this story ...
Posted by Andrew Yonki | Permalink
Wal-Mart moves on center [Mohave Daily News (Ariz.)]
Wal-Mart is moving forward with the long-delayed distribution center planned along I-40 near Kingman.
The company inquired about the cost of its water hookup and water allocation with the Mohave County Public Works Department.
“The recent development is they are financially securing their water out there,” Jonas Peterson, deputy director of economic development for Mohave County, said. “It’s $1,400 for the hookup fee.”
The water allocation is charged at a rate of $1,240 per gallon per minute. The Wal-Mart allocation is for 200 gallons per minute.
“The allocation fee is $280,000 and they’re in the process of financially securing it,” Peterson said.
Read the rest of this story ...
Posted by Alex Goldschmidt | Permalink
Page council supports roundabout despite objections from Wal-Mart 
PAGE—Page City Council reaffirmed its support for a roundabout near the Wal-Mart Supercenter Thursday night, even though Wal-Mart has said it doesn’t want to build one.
Council’s 4-2 vote may turn out be be only symbolic, as the Arizona Department of Transportation has the final word on construction of a traffic control device at the busy intersection.
Traffic on Highway 89 at Haul Road picked up considerably in January 2006 when Wal-Mart opened. In 2004, Page City Council sold the land for the supercenter on the stipulation that the local houseboating industry had to be accommodated.
Read the rest of this story ...
Posted by Andrew Yonki | Permalink
View Wal-Mart Watch's videos on YouTube