Joe Field of Flying Colors Comics & Other Cool Stuff in Concord, California saw our article on Wal-Mart's program to support small business in targeted markets where it has stores (see 'Wal-Mart to Aid Small Retailers'), and is very skeptical of the company's intentions:
I was amused to read the start of your Wal-Mart report yesterday --- 'It looks like an April Fool's headline, but mega-retailer Wal-Mart has announced a program to help small retailers succeed when a giant Wal-Mart store lands in the neighborhood.'
In case any retailer here has a thought about taking Wal-Mart up on its offer of local 'help,' let me give a little clarity to the situation.
1) Wal-Mart is emphatically NOT a friend of small business. There are way too many cases of Wal-Mart coming to a town and within a short time, local businesses are driven out. Wal-Mart is a giant that creates blight in suburban and rural areas. Google Wal-Mart horror stories for yourself to learn how Wal-Mart deals with its suppliers and then puts local businesses in jeopardy.
2) 'Wal-Mart will also donate up to $500,000 to local chambers of commerce for the creation of small business Websites and business improvement seminars.'
Wal-Mart is having a bit more difficulty in getting approvals in urban areas for its 100,000+ square foot facilities, so it's important to see what these 'donations' really are: political pay-offs to those who may have more influence in getting local things done, pure and simple politics rather than a hand-out to struggling small business owners.
3) Wal-Mart is not a good business neighbor, period. A recent study of
$68 to the local economy. At Wal-Mart and other chain stores, only $43 of each $100 in sales was re-circulated in the local community. If you want all your money going to
4) According to the Northern California Independent Booksellers Association, studies show that frequent book buyers are now buying only 40% of their books locally, while the 60% goes to big chains and online stores. That sure doesn't sound like something our Direct Market needs to follow!
As retailers, we need to do everything we can to keep any business from migrating to Amazon or Wal-Mart. If 60% of graphic novel and comic books sales ever went to Amazon and Wal-Mart (or the other mega-chains, for that matter), Direct Market retailers would no doubt be severely impaired. More than that, though, consumers' choices would be constricted dramatically, as publishers would be essentially forced to take dictation from their largest retailers. That would sap all the dynamics out of our specialty market.
Local small business owners need to be very aware that it's vital to the long-term health of your local economy and vital to the very survival of the comics' specialty market to 'stay local' with your spending and to stay out of Wal-Mart, period!
The opinions expressed in this Talk Back article are solely those of the writer, and do not necessarily reflect the views of the editorial staff of ICv2.com.
