Walmart eyes urban expansion in US

[Are_grits_groceries]

Walmart has stepped up efforts to mobilise local political support for new store openings in US cities and urban areas that were last month identified as a growth priority for the retailer by Mike Duke, its chief executive.

In addition to a renewed drive to open a second Supercenter store in Chicago, the retailer is also raising its political profile in Philadelphia and continuing to cultivate the ground for a potential move into New York City.

Walmart has long faced political resistance to its plans in the largest US cities, largely orchestrated by the UFCW grocery workers’ union and its political allies. Walmart, the largest US private employer, is strongly anti-union.

Eduardo Castro Wright, chief executive of Walmart’s US stores, has estimated that urban markets where the retailer is under-represented could yield billions of dollars of new sales.

“We already have in our real estate programme a robust plan to go after those,” he told analysts in October. The retailer has only one store inside Chicago’s city limits and none in New York or Boston.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/8a5ffa1e-c728-11de-bb6f-00144feab49a.html?nclick_check=1

This should be interesting.

[Wapsie B]

1. Ok fine. But no public $$$ to them. Not a single dime.

No economic concessions, no tax breaks, nothing. It never ceases to amaze me how a retail store can have their hand in the public till wherever they build a store. A case could be made for giving economic incentives to someplace like a manufacturing plant, to keep it in the area rather than moving to some low-wage region. But what is a retail store going to do if they don't get these handouts,move their stores to Mexico? Walmart needs to be where they are in order to sell their wares. How does it benefit a city to give retail stores like this economic development funds?

[Vincardog]

2. How does it benefit a city to give retail stores like this economic development funds? It drives all

the other retailers out of business. It also brings great demands on the public assistance because vampire Walmart teaches its' employees how tho get health care: get on the dole.

[Tim01]

3. Ditto. nt