On November 14, 2002, Charles Schumer, a U.S. Senator of the State of New York, wrote Lee Scott that Tupper Lake, the "Crossroads" of the Adirondacks, needed a Wal-Mart desperately, because the two closest stores -- both Ames department stores -- had closed when Ames went out of business.
To Schumer's political advantage, zip code 12986 was devoid of big boxes, and he could gain points by trying to do something about it:
Recently, Ames Department Store closed its retail stores in Tupper Lake and Saranac Lake, leaving the residents of southern Franklin and St. Lawerence Counties and western Essex County with no comparable retail establishment nearby. In fact, the closest alternative is the Wal-Mart in Plattsburgh, a full hour and twenty minutes away.The citizenry were up in arms, of course, but Wal-Mart seems to have not even considered it.
As you can see from the map of Wal-mart locations around Tupper Lake, no Wal-Mart has been built within 50 miles of the town.
Tupper now has a WiseBuys instead of a Wal-Mart, and the chain provides an excellent example of creative destruction:
"WiseBuys was formed to proactively address the recent loss of Ames Department Stores throughout northern New York,” said WiseBuys Stores, Inc. founder Thomas Scozzafava. “Ames represented a vital retail destination in the larger, key shopping centers and filled an important role of providing a variety of affordably priced and much-needed merchandise. It is our goal to replace and expand on the concept of Ames.Much, much more here.
Posted by Kevin on August, 25 2005 at 10:47 AM
