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Presumably this is a chance for small local shops to come back. Usually the arrival of a large supermarket like Walmart means the death knell for many small loc

Presumably this is a chance for small local shops to come back. Usually the arrival of a large supermarket like Walmart means the death knell for many small local shops in its catchment area, and a savage blow to that areas society.

kough 11y ago
Seems like the blow had already come from the closure of the mines in this case. The first paragraph of the article: """ To hear Mary Francis Matney tell it, Walmart didn’t kill the once-vibrant cluster of shops next to a railroad and a creek in the faded old coal town of Kimball, W. Va. — the disappearance of the mines had pretty well taken care of that already. But now that Walmart’s leaving, too, as one of 154 U.S. stores the company closed in January, the town might be snuffed out for good. """
MCRed 11y ago
I saw an economic study from several years ago showing that the arrival of a Walmart actually stimulated the growth of "Small shops" around the Walmart. That it stimulated commerce in the area-- in part because walmart brings in people from quite a distance (especially in rural areas) and the stores showed up to capture that traffic.
- officialchicken 11y ago
  Link, please. Not that I doubt you, but that kind of statement needs to be backed up. Every study and article I've seen over the past 10+ years that concludes the effect is neutral at best. Directly from the federal reserve bank: "Given some positive and some negative outcomes, it's probably safest to say that Wal-Mart's net imprint on a county's health appears to be smaller than most perceive." [1] [1] https://www.minneapolisfed.org/publications/fedgazette/the-walmart-effect-poison-or-antidote-for-local-communities https://www.minneapolisfed.org/publications/fedgazette/the-w... [2] https://ag-econ.ncsu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/novdec05.pdf https://ag-econ.ncsu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/novdec05... [3] http://www.forbes.com/sites/timworstall/2013/03/31/of-course-walmart-destroys-retail-jobs-thats-the-darn-point-of-it-all/#5f7df6c8152b http://www.forbes.com/sites/timworstall/2013/03/31/of-course...
deleted 11y ago
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kough 11y ago

Seems like the blow had already come from the closure of the mines in this case. The first paragraph of the article: """ To hear Mary Francis Matney tell it, Walmart didn’t kill the once-vibrant cluster of shops next to a railroad and a creek in the faded old coal town of Kimball, W. Va. — the disappearance of the mines had pretty well taken care of that already. But now that Walmart’s leaving, too, as one of 154 U.S. stores the company closed in January, the town might be snuffed out for good. """

MCRed 11y ago

I saw an economic study from several years ago showing that the arrival of a Walmart actually stimulated the growth of "Small shops" around the Walmart. That it stimulated commerce in the area-- in part because walmart brings in people from quite a distance (especially in rural areas) and the stores showed up to capture that traffic.

officialchicken 11y ago
Link, please. Not that I doubt you, but that kind of statement needs to be backed up. Every study and article I've seen over the past 10+ years that concludes the effect is neutral at best. Directly from the federal reserve bank: "Given some positive and some negative outcomes, it's probably safest to say that Wal-Mart's net imprint on a county's health appears to be smaller than most perceive." [1] [1] https://www.minneapolisfed.org/publications/fedgazette/the-walmart-effect-poison-or-antidote-for-local-communities https://www.minneapolisfed.org/publications/fedgazette/the-w... [2] https://ag-econ.ncsu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/novdec05.pdf https://ag-econ.ncsu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/novdec05... [3] http://www.forbes.com/sites/timworstall/2013/03/31/of-course-walmart-destroys-retail-jobs-thats-the-darn-point-of-it-all/#5f7df6c8152b http://www.forbes.com/sites/timworstall/2013/03/31/of-course...

deleted 11y ago

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