Lee Peterson

Deal or No Deal, Wal-Mart Coming to Chicago

June 25, 2010

FROM RETAILWIRE:
It's a tale of two stories. One told by labor leaders in Chicago has them finally getting Wal-Mart to sit down and agree to basic principles. The other is Wal-Mart claiming it has not compromised one iota and has managed to get previously staunch opponents to step aside. What challenges will Wal-Mart face as it seeks to implement its plan of building dozens of stores in Chicago?      [more...]

Walmart will get into Chicago, there's no doubt about that. They bring jobs and better yet, affordable necessities. In a free market economy such as ours, why would anyone be opposed to that? Competition amongst retailers is a very, very good thing for consumers, right?

The more interesting question might be, where will they put these stores? You would think re-model would be the answer, but remodel what? Whatever's existing out there would not exactly be the size, shape and condition of a Walmart superstore format, correct? So, we're talking about Walmart NA having a multi-format portfolio at their disposal, edited merchandising and all...and does that exist? Do they have successful examples of that?

I guess we'll soon find out. Interesting.