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Sam's club follows the profit By
Matthew Flitton The titans of consumerism have found a small valley where stores are still owned by locals and they want to crush the peasants. Look out. Big box development is here. The carnage has already started. Robb's hardware, which opened in the old location of Al's Sporting Goods (itself recently morphed into a superstore), just closed its doors. An employee told me that part of the decision was the arrival of Home Depot and Lowe's Home Improvement. Anderson Lumber is getting rid of consumer stock and will woo contractors, effectively surrendering the home-improvement market to the building behemoths. In an attempt to strengthen its grip on Logan, Wal-Mart has recently expanded into a twisted labyrinth of spending. Not happy with that, Sam is opening his Club down the street. The purported reason for this development is to strengthen the local tax base by catching dollars that otherwise would sneak out of this valley and go to the same stores down in Ogden and Salt Lake. Local governments are quick to believe this logic. But that's not the whole truth. These corporations follow the Profit. They only care what will increase their margin. Why should they build million-dollar stores here? It would be cheaper to stay where they are. The truth of the matter is they're coming to capture sales dollars that stay here and go to local retailers. These companies don't care about the local culture. When Wal-Mart was built in Ephraim, locals who wanted to maintain the agricultural flavor of town asked the company to consider a building design akin to an old time country store and a barn. Sam and his boys laughed and put up a cinderblock box. These businesses are the invasive species of the retail world. They come in and ruin the living environment for local retailers. What you end up with is a dull, monotonous retail landscape. The aisles are the same in Utah, Florida or Wyoming. If they don't like the way business is going here, they can leave without a loss. These big boys are smart. They don't own their buildings. They lease them. That way they're not stuck with the problem of what to do with a would-be warehouse if they don't get along with the natives. Admittedly, some dollars that would have been spent in Ogden will stay here, but the reason these gods of growth have planted themselves here is plunder. What can locals do to stop them? DON'T SHOP THERE. Support local retailers. Spend your money where it was made. If you really want to do something about these invasive species, go to sprawl-busters.com and learn how to fight Goliath. If you want to contact me, I'll be in North Logan slinging stones.
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