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<DIV><FONT size=4>Dick,</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>Those interested in WalMart issues may wish to
visit:</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4><A
href="http://www.wakeupwalmart.com/">http://www.wakeupwalmart.com/</A></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>W.</FONT></DIV>
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<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: black"><B>From:</B>
<A title=44schmidt@earthlink.net href="mailto:44schmidt@earthlink.net">Richard
Schmidt</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A title=vision2020@moscow.com
href="mailto:vision2020@moscow.com">vision2020@moscow.com</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Tuesday, November 01, 2005 5:08
AM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> [Vision2020] Fear of big-box
stores mostly a bust</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<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."
</P></SPAN></DIV>
<P>
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