Artkansas 

I got a Best Buy gift card in 2005. I discovered that their online selection was bigger than their brick and mortar selection. There were lots of tasty CD's that I couldn't find elsewhere. Dan Hicks and the Hot Licks! Yow! I am having fun.

Eatadonut

Is Detroit unionized?

twochins

we got a walmart into town about three years ago...that was huge news in this really small town...i find it hard not to shop there every once in a awhile...that's because we really have no other options...our walmart i believe is the only place in town that has bike racks beside the tiny public library...i think walmart has the bike rack because they recognize that they're workforce can't always afford a car...anyway, if they can build a huge store somewhere near you they certainly will...and if they can build only a small one, they will do that as a resort...not that they are trying to help the community or do something positive for the environment or living area...this is because they are a business to make profit...do folx on bicycle ride home with a huge exercise equipment box on thier bike rack?

Roody

You know, this whole petroleum-based, car-centered modern marvel of a distribution system just isn't working well for most people. The poor have no food and the wealthy have no souls. And nobody has a community, except maybe on the internet. But at least I had cheap coffee and strawberries for breakfast on January 1, no doubt produced by slave labor in Central America and shipped to my local segregated Sprawlmart with subsidized diesel fuel.

I guess it's simplistic to blame the whole thing on cars, and yet.....

donnamb 

Depends on the industry. Retail/grocery is a mixed bag. As of 10 years ago, Meijer was unionized, Wal-Mart not.

donnamb 

I totally agree. Meantime, there's no decent supermarket in Detroit. <sigh>

brevig

A few years ago I would purchase an item based on how much it cost and the attractiveness of the item--purchasing the more costly items. I'm a bit wiser...and oppose these stores. For convenience I sometimes give in because it's easier to find one of the large box stores when moving into a new area than it is to find an alternative smaller owned business.

Otherwise, I try to avoid shopping at them.

lyeinyoureye

I'm not sure why everyone dislikes Wally's World so much. They simply edge out the smaller businesses by having an efficient transportation infrastructure and buying in bulk to minimize costs as much as possible. Sure, they exploit local labor and ruin local economies, just like their suppliers do overseas... If anything, I'd say that the nations in Asia and South America that produce these goods are loosing out far more than any communities in America are. And it's not like those same goods don't permeate the marketplace, sold at retailers large and small. I say Wally's exploitation of America is great, at least it's not limiting the effects to developing nations any more...
Maybe one day the entire world will see the price of multinational greed.

wahoonc

Kroger and Safeway are also union. (not sure they are in that area) Walmart is most emphatically NOT IIRC correctly there was a single store in Canada where part of the "associates" managed to organize and Walmart promptly shut the store down. They claimed at the time it was a low performer... The grocery store situation is interesting in our area, the closest large town has 3 major chain stores and that is it. We also have an Aldi's, but to get to any of those I would have to drive past not one but 3 Food Lions Food Lion used to be the biggest dump, but they have really cleaned up their act in the past few years. The small town we are moving too has an IGA that is locally owned...wanna guess where I plan on shopping!

Aaron

sonatageek

In Cleveland they are building a shopping center right next to the steels mills in the industrial valley. It is called Steelyard Commons and there is a bike path that connects (more or less) to the Ohio and Erie Canal Towpath Trail. There are current and planned additional bike paths that lead off of the Towpath and go into the adjacent neighborhoods.

https://www.steelyardcommons.com/main.asp

Not sure if this is all that good for mom and pop retail in the surrounding neighborhoods, but it should have good bike and bus access.

I-Like-To-Bike

Ya think?

mike

Huh? If anybody eats well in the USA, it is the poor. When I am in the check out line paying for my chicken and flour, who do you suppose is buying the steaks and salmon - yup, the person paying with the government assistance food debit card. That is no lie. I see it all the time. Ironically, I think the poor in the USA eat better than a lot of the working class.

As for the wealthy not having souls, I certainly haven't found that to be true either. The wealthy - especially in the USA, are extraordinarly generous and we have seen evidence of this on a big scale within this past year.

Finally, if you are concerned about consuming food raised overseas by slaves, PLEASE buy American. We might work like dogs, but at least we aren't slaves.

Tom Stormcrowe

Over in West Lafayeytte, Indiana, Walmart has a trailhead for the Cattail Trail as well as the NW Greenbelt Trail. Matter of fact, they helped fund these trails on the specific condition that they serve as commuter routes serving residential neighborhoods and the industrial park and Purdue University. The Walmart trailhead is right by the store and avoids riding through the parking lot and ends right at a HUGE bike rack. They are also considering a "bikeport" concept in providing a permanent weather shelter for the racks. Occasionally they do do some bike friendly stuff!

littledog

Aldi's is the saving grace in my neighborhood. There is a Kroger which replaced another chain grocery store. Kroger is not unionized and the former grocer was,yet the prices are no cheaper. We have an IGA but it is very expensive,more so than Krogers. If none of them existed then I would welcome a WalMart as a necessary evil.

The town I live in has 150,000 people. I know of only 3 bike racks in town. Two of them are at bicycle shops and one is at the main library. If you go to the big box sprawl side of town on a bicycle then you are taking your life in your own hands. The SUV's do not welcome bicycles at all on THEIR road. There are no bicycle paths or even sidewalks in this area. The only enclosed mall in this area does not even have bus service. They have talked about it for many years but it has never happened. Even though the indoor mall is extremely bicycle inacessible I rode my bike there once as a challenge. The SUV's refused to let me in the traffic lanes to turn and there are no walk lights. Not that it would any difference in that area. That whole area is bicycle and pedestrian hostile. Bicycles are for those who own a vehicle and transport the bike to safe riding area. Or for rag and can pickers in areas in the older parts of town and also kids.

Oh,I forgot. The Rescue Mission also has a bike rack.

Roody

There are many negative reasons for Walmart's success, and at least one positive reason: they tend to respond very quickly to changes in the business climate. They were hurt A LOT by the higher gas prices, and not mainly (from what I've read in the press) because it cost more to ship merchandise or heat their stores. No, mainly gas prices hurt them because people started driving a little less often to Walmart stores, typically located some distance from residential areas. So I bet one reason they've included bike-friendly measures is to experiment in case gas prices rise permanently to the point that it really hurts sales.

PSYCLONE

Will they be serving beer?

Hippykid

https://video.google.com/videoplay?do...=walmart&hl=en

le brad

getting more affluent will not hurt wal-mart, gas prices hurt wal-mart. As gas prices rise the average wal-mart shoppers disposable income decreases, which in turn decreases the amount of money they can spend at wal-mart.

Chris L

While Walmart's don't exist in Australia (yet), I already often ride to shops that fit the description I just quoted. Personally, I find the busiest highways in this city are also the safest tor ride on, and it's surprising just how many things will double as a bike rack if you're a little resourceful.

Roody

They have Walmarts in China and India and even Vietnam, but not in Australia? Interesting. How did you all keep them out?

Busy highways don't seem safe around here, at least in suburban shopping areas. To lock at Walmart you need a long chain to go around a lamp pole, because they usually lack any railings that will take a U-lock. But the main problem for me is that Walmarts are usually located out in the boonies, while I live in the city. The closest one is at least 45 minutes away, and this is pretty typical. Hence the title of this thread about the possibility of Walmarts in the city.

lds700

You hit that right on the money, I too have felt that same way at our local Wally World. I also believe there are a fair percentage of people who think you ride a bike because you either lost your license or
you can't afford a car (i.e. no job, I'm a dirtball) I'll take being from another planet everytime!

littledog

Wal-mart tried to go upscale with designer clothing. They failed. High gas prices hurt the low income shopper. So if wal-mart is to continue to grow they need a captive market. To go where no retailer will go. The ghetto and low income areas.

And I bet they put in bike racks.

Chris L

Probably just economics. Australia's population is less than 20 million, and there are already several pseudo-Walmart style chains here. They probably figured there just wasn't enough money to be made here.

Busy highways also usually have nice wide shoulders -- something a lot of suburban arterials lack.

I'm not really a fan of U-locks. I just use a chain with a lock on it -- perfect for lamp poles, trolley railings, whatever I can find really. That said, while there are plenty of bike thieves around here, it doesn't take much to outwit them, so it may be a different situation on your side of the world.

That's a fair comment, I probably wouldn't bother making the 45 minute trip for something I could pick up in the next suburb in five minutes. Personally, I don't find the pricing in those big chains to be substantially cheaper than a lot of smaller stores, despite what they usually claim. Often, however, when it comes to buying a specialty item, a lot of those big outer-suburban warehouse type stores are the best bet. When that happens, I find it easier just to deal with whatever the situation is.

noisebeam

Closest Wall-Mart is 3.8mi from my house.
There are 9 Wall-Marts within 10 miles.
There are 20 within 18 miles.
(how do i know this?)

Why do we need more?

Never been there.

Al

KrisPistofferson

I have a Walmart that is within easy riding distance from my house, I never go there. Aside from the well-documented corporate evil, the sideshow freaks that swarm that place always puts the brakes on whatever hope I've got for humanity in my little heart, so it's a matter of saving myself from depression. Walmart is like a Coen Brothers movie-version of an Aldous Huxley or Anthony Burgess novel.

Anyway, I prefer to go to Sears, because even though their prices are higher, they carry quality products, and they're right next to a huge theatre. The bikes are still crappy, though.