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<DIV>All,</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>I was in Sandusky a couple weeks ago and barbershop talk is that Wal-Mart's
sales are much less than expected in the new store there. This is only 2 towns
involved in this story but they are pointing out that existing stores need to
change the way they do things and sharpen up their business savvy to compete
with the big boxes. The thing that happens is they bring more people to town and
existing stores need to reach out to those new people. </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>One of the things we noticed when we moved to Moscow is that a store or
business would advertise on radio or in the D-N but NOT tell where they were
located. That is fine if they just want to advertise to the people who already
know where they are. It is frustrating when you are new to the area and can't
find a store that sounds interesting in their ad. If they want new business for
goodness sakes tell people where you are located. (Next to the Bill's Flower
Shop doesn't do me a damn bit of good if I don't know where Bill's Flower shop
is) If they can't give a street address where I can find them then they do not
deserve my business. If you are advertising and the radio or news paper don't
give your address you are wasting your money.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Dick Schmidt</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>PS Meijer is a big box store, with headquarters in Grand Rapids, MI,
who started the superstore concept by also selling groceries.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=headline>Fear of big-box stores mostly a bust</SPAN><BR><SPAN
class=subhead>Merchants: Chains have not hurt much</SPAN><BR><BR><BR><FONT
size=2>By ANGELA MULLINS<BR>Times Herald</FONT><BR>
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<P>When Wal-Mart first announced its plans to build a store in Sandusky, owners
of local businesses feared bleak, dire predictions about their futures.
<P>They feared customers, looking for the convenience of one-stop shopping,
would choose the box-store giant instead of local retailers.
<P>The same fear was present for many business owners in Marysville when Meijer
announced intentions to build a destination shopping center at Range Road and
Gratiot Boulevard.
<P>Now - several months after both stores opened to eager customers - people at
several locally owned businesses in both communities haven't seen much of an
impact.
<P>Many are more optimistic than ever they can co-exist with the big-box stores
and can find a way to capitalize on the new shoppers rolling into town.
<P>Some experts said that attitude may be key to survival and may have been
invoked to prevent self-destruction.
<P>"(Business owners are) spending more time and more effort to bring people
in," said Laura Crawford, executive director of the Marysville Chamber of
Commerce. "They're working harder to serve customers and change with the
marketplace."
<P>Meanwhile, plans move forward for new Wal-Mart Supercenters in Fort Gratiot
and Marine City.
<H3>Fear subsides</H3>
<P>Sandusky, the government seat of Sanilac County, had avoided the big-box
store craze.
<P>That changed Aug. 24 when the Wal-Mart Supercenter swung open its doors to
155,000 square feet of shopping space east of downtown.
<P>Longtime business owners were nervous about what Sam Walton's brainchild
would mean in a city of about 2,750 people.
<P>"They (critics) told us to expect to lose 25% of our pharmacy business," said
Bobbi Frohner, manager of the Sanilac Pharmacy on Elk Street.
<P>More than two months later, it's hard to see that same apprehension from the
city's business community.
<P>"We've lost seven people (from the pharmacy)," Frohner said. "I think there
was a lot of hype in the beginning. If nothing else, I've had people come to the
store ... who obviously haven't been here before."
<P>Several other businesses have had similar experiences. More traffic coming
from out of town has helped balance any lost sales - and added to the customer
base.
<P>Dawn Smith, whose Ace Hardware is on Sandusky's main downtown route,
continues to see familiar faces frequenting the aisles of her store - as well as
a few new shoppers.
<P>"The local people have really supported the local businesses in the
community," Smith said.
<P>Adam Innes, a service technician at Dalton Computers, agreed.
<P>"It's a loyalty thing," Innes said. "(Customers) know they're going to get
what they want and know where it is."
<H3>Learning to survive</H3>
<P>Long before Meijer opened its 206,000-square-foot Marysville store June 14,
the business community began preparing for its arrival.
<P>Crawford, the chamber director in the St. Clair County city of about 9,680
people, had been working to help business owners plan for the added competition.
<P>Crawford's aim was to teach businesses the tools they would need to survive.
Examples included stressing things such as the importance of properly setting
inventory levels and realigning merchandise.
<P>For the most part, everyone has made it through the first four months, she
said.
<P>While some parking lots are "more sparse" than before Meijer's grand opening,
many businesses owners have reported feeling less of an impact than expected.
<P>"Business owners that I have talked to that feel the effect of losing market
share, so far, are happy because they've lost 20% or less," Crawford said. "If a
business only loses that much revenue, it's a good thing in their ability to
survive with (a box store)."
<P>Rex Harcourt, a president of the Carter's grocery-store chain, said there's
no doubt the company's Marysville store has felt the impact of direct
competition.
<P>Aside from clothing, electronics and toys, Meijer also sells food.
<P>Harcourt would not say how much business the store has lost but said some
changes, including marketing, are in the works.
<P>"We're a grocery store next to a grocery store, so it's naturally not
positive," he said. "Any competition, you're concerned (about)."
<P>Chuck Keeler, who owns The Mulberry Bush Hallmark Gold Crown Store, said his
store will continue to offer items Meijer doesn't carry.
<P>Keeler remodeled, expanded and moved his business closer to Gratiot
Boulevard. He hasn't felt - and isn't expecting - a big backlash from Meijer's
presence.
<P>"The type of gifts selections we carry in the store are completely differing
than what the Meijers and the Wal-Marts carry," Keeler said. "When we were
researching (Meijer opening), we thought it would be nothing but a positive for
us."
<H3>Looking ahead</H3>
<P>Businesses in Sandusky and Marysville likely have had all the time they will
need to gauge the long-term effects superstores will have their community, one
expert said.
<P>Eugene Fram, a J. Warren McClure Research professor of marketing at Rochester
Institute of Technology in New York, for several years has been studying big-box
stores.
<P>A loss of business from a new opening doesn't take months to build, Fram
said. Rather, the impact almost always is immediate.
<P>That doesn't mean, however, businesses initially will be honest about what
they are seeing at the registers, Fram said.
<P>Some will put on a positive face for the public while noticing a decline in
sales. Others will not admit defeat even to themselves.
<P>"Some of the smaller businesses will not admit to it because then it becomes
a self-fulfilling prophecy," Fram said. "(Owners) can be in denial themselves
... saying (the new superstore) may not be the cause."
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