Yes, he said, Wal-Mart pays lower wages than unionized grocery stores, but in general its wages and benefits are in line with those of most retailers.When an economist can draw a crowd of 100 regular folks wherever he goes, you can tell he's hit on a hot topic. Here's Ken Stone's webpage, with links to a wide array of his publications."Retailing's just a low-paid profession," he said. "That's all there is to it."
Yes, he said, Wal-Mart puts a lot of pressure on local businesses, but it also saves consumers money on a host of everyday staples.
Yes, he said, his research shows that Wal-Mart draws business away from existing stores, especially in such market segments as grocery, apparel and hardware. But other segments, such as restaurants, taverns and consumer services, tend to benefit from the customer traffic Wal-Mart attracts.
Stone said a typical Wal-Mart supercenter will bring in $70 million a year in sales. Overall, his research shows, counties tend to see a gain in net sales for the first few years after a supercenter arrives, followed by a drop-off after Wal-Mart builds more stores in the region.
"It's pretty much a zero-sum game when you come right down to it," he said. "If a store does 70 million in an area that's not growing very rapidly, it doesn't come out of thin air. It comes a little bit out of this merchant's cash register, a little bit out of that merchant's cash register."
Posted by Kevin on May, 28 2004 at 11:00 AM
