[Spam] Re: [Vision2020] Shopping Center Plans Filed forPullman-Moscow Highway Site

[Jeff Harkins]

Quite the contrary Andreas -

Whitman County has moved considerably ahead of Latah County in 
economic terms - driven primarily by the higher levels of funding at 
WSU versus UI and the growth of Schweitzer Engineering.  And, their 
ag sector is larger than ours. This provides a catalyst for Walmart 
to view Whitman as a separate market.  It would seem reasonable to me 
that Walmart expects the Pullman store to draw business from Colfax, 
Palouse, Uniontown, Albion and Johnson.  That would appear to be a 
sufficient population base to support a supercenter in Pullman.

In Latah, the Walmart Store draws from Moscow, Genessee, Potlatch, 
Troy, Elk River, Bovill, Deary, Harvard and Princeton - a slightly 
lower population base - and at the current time, from Pullman.  Could 
Moscow support its own Supercenter without Pullman 
shoppers?  Seemingly yes, but that is the real question.  Walmart 
seems positioned to take the gamble that the two stores would make 
it.  At the same time, the economic consequences to Pullman having a 
store and Moscow not are also very real.

I find it odd that in the convenient analysis of our local market - 
no one seems to question the viability or appropriateness of having 
two building centers owned by the same folks 9 miles apart.  But 
Moscow Building Supply and Pullman Building Supply both seem to do 
well - and the Moscow store has to compete with JJ Building Supply 
and Spence Hardware.

The fundamental issue for me is not on the retail side - candidly, we 
have a very diverse consumer population here on the Palouse and it 
requires a considerable range of product to satiate their 
demands.  Who would have ever thought 5 years ago that Moscow could 
support  more than one Espresso Stand?

No - our real challenge is to provide for value-added export - 
businesses and jobs that produce goods and services for sale to 
customers outside of our economic zone.  If we can do that, we will 
not only want more retail outlets, we will need them. Grow or die - 
that is our choice.

At 02:22 PM 1/9/2006, you wrote:

>I guess you would have to discuss the "two stores model"  with 
>Walmart corporate strategists to know why they think two stores is 
>the best way for them to proceed.  But it does seem rather clear 
>that they have identified two markets.  And there are significant 
>differences in the two markets (Moscow vs Pullman).  Pullman does 
>appear to have awakened to the realities of the need for growth and 
>economic development to support their infrastructure and planned 
>infrastructure.
>
>
>You can't possibly plead ignorance about the purpose of the two 
>Wal-Mart SuperCenters, Jeff. There's almost certainly an 
>insufficient market for two SuperCenters in the Moscow-Pullman area; 
>comparable populations are sufficiently served by one. This is a 
>long-term investment. WalMart can afford to eat losses from one or 
>both stores -- losses insufficient to trigger an antitrust suit -- 
>for basically eternity. Local businesses that compete with WalMart cannot.
>
>What we are talking about is not the healthy competition of a 
>well-regulated market, and you know this. This is attrition. As soon 
>as local retail (and whatever national competitors aren't able to 
>keep up with WalMart's spend rate) is entirely choked out, they can 
>feel free to close one of the two WalMarts -- but before they do, 
>they can entice Moscow and Pullman into a bidding war to keep this 
>albatross hung around our neck.
>
>-- ACS
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