urbanSTL

I didn't think about shopping when I wrote the above post about that topic last night, but I suppose I'm getting a bit too predictable. When my wife and I went on a spontaneous shopping trip today, we started off at the downtown Famous/Macy's, then onto (you guessed it) Brentwood for stops at Circuit City and Borders, and then back into the city for Target. For the record, I use the Target Greatland in the Promenade sometimes when I'm in the area, but parking, ingress, and egress are much easier at the city store. And that Target suffers a bit from its popularity in terms of merchandise selection and arrangement, although it's never as bad as your average Wal-Mart store.



It would sure be nice to have those stores and others closer, and keep my sales tax $$$$$ in the city. Lest I digress too far from the original topic, however, I'll just say for the record that I couldn't care less if a Wal-Mart is built in the city. In fact, I'd be just as happy if they never opened a store in the city proper.

Just wanted to say that I don't shop at Wal-Mart...but I've been to that store once, when my friends car battery died at 1 in the morning...needless to say, our options were limited.



But really, everybody should do what they can NOT to shop at Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart has almost single handedly changed commerce and economics in this country, and not for the better.

In the last 7-8 years, I've probably been there once - I went to the Kirkwood store out of necessity. Outside of my general disdain for the company, I found the store to be absolutely deplorable.

I think that, more than anything else, is turning people off to Wal-Mart. Their stores are really looking like K-Mart stores. I'll stick with Target. At least I get to ride escalators there and I know that the aisles will be clear. I also see the general manager out in the aisles working all the time.

^ Man, St. Chuckers really do love their Walmarts.

When I saw Rent at the Fox, there were some old women sitting in front of us. During the intermission, they were talking about how one of their relatives lived in a town without a Walmart. They were talking about how crazy that would be and how much they shop at Walmart. Then, one of them said, "He's probably better off for it."



I thought it was pretty interesting.

I went to the Target on Hampton tonight. [-o< I felt like I was supposed to after following this thread! (I'll probably fall back into late-night shopping after school begins.)

village idiot wrote:I go to Walmart at least once a week so I don't have to publically brag to anyone that "I haven't been to Walmart in 7 years."

Had the Wal-Mart in Kirkwood not been an absolute dump, maybe I would have gone back.

People shopping at Wal-Mart is not fine by me. I'm sorry if you think it's elitist or something like that, but it actually has a lot to do with their business practices, and the way they've stripped american retailers of profitability by importing products of much lower quality under the guise of 'saving' the american consumer money', when in reality they're costing the american consumer money with low paying jobs, no health benefits (pushing medical costs onto the government, which we end up paying for), and purchasing products that were made in poor countries instead of american made.



No to mention the strain they put on small local retailers to keep up with their price slashing, who can't afford to buy in the kind of bulk that Wal-Mart is able to.



We'd all be better off if Wal-Mart was not a part of this society.

shadrach wrote:I should have filed a lawsuit.

Suing Wal Mart! Now that's America!

Well I can really only generally speak for Asians, but among immigrant groups there really isn't this anti Walmart sentiment. Stores being cluttered and what not doesn't really matter. Have you seen stores in Asia? I've never found any Walmart cluttered in my opinion. I was born and raised here but we buy stuff a lot at immigrant stores. To immigrants, of any income level, it's simply a single place where you can get many necessities at a cheap price. That Walmart on manchester is probably the most diverse place in west county.



Well what am I talking about immigrants. It's like that for anybody, as village pointed out about black people. I guess that's what those old ladies from a small town or something like that someone posted earlier on here were talking about. Yeah, you can talk about all the business practices and what not, and I think you're right. But when you get down to it, there will always be a large market of people who wont think about that at all. It's part of how America became industrialized.

Why is being an elitist such a bad thing?



I prefer people to have opinions. It's better than "I'm Okay, you're okay."

^ Yes. She'll be surrounded by the beautiful people if you know what I mean, but she shouldn't have to fear for her safety there.



And remember, the Target Greatland at The Promenade isn't that far away, and the prices aren't that much higher than Wally World.

ThreeOneFour wrote:^ Yes. She'll be surrounded by the beautiful people if you know what I mean, but she shouldn't have to fear for her safety there.



And remember, the Target Greatland at The Promenade isn't that far away, and the prices aren't that much higher than Wally World.

but....the sales tax in that area is rather high (8.575%) whether its Maplewood Commons or the Promenade. I rather just shop where I live rather than go buy things in that clusterf*** sales tax ripoff retail area south of the Galleria. I own an office in Maplewood and when I need/buy office supplies I buy where sales tax is lower.

village idiot wrote:I really think its just another thing socialist push in the world of class warfare. If it wasn't Walmart then it'd be someone else.

Walmart=Power to change American society socially and economically. Walmart affects all Americans lives.



Walmarts global buying stragegy made it possible to avoid a US recession in the last couple of years (by keeping commodity prices 'artificially" low while raw material prices rose). Remember, energy and housing are thrown out of the inflation-equation, so "consumer spending" is the main component in tracking inflation. Walmart alone kept cost of living increases within economists preferred baseline inflation numbers. But the Asian-import model is breaking down... the rising dollar coupled with drastically increased costs to ship this stuff half way around the world is making the margins on these goods evaporate. Rapid inflation is now all but inevitable. While a painful recession is all but assured, the increase in import commodity prices could actually help American manufacturing return to some competitive balance.



Price moves goods in America and home-based companies simply could not compete with Asian manufacturing. The American consumer willingly gave up quality while costing solid, life-wage jobs at home. On the manufacturing end, Unions were torn apart at their foundations (and continue to be today) as a direct result of Walmarts practices. Retailers all over America closed up shop and mainstreet put out a "for rent" sign.



Walmart's predominantly rural and suburban focus in the US (whether intentional or not) was both racist and anti-urban. First, Walmart destroyed Kmart, which did have urban presence. Only after receiving negative press about discrimenatory employment practices did Walmart attempt to move into urban settings (in just a few markets). The very unions that Walmart helped bust or cripple actually stopped many of Walmart's feeble urban "expansion" projects--while ironically ensuring a continued erosion in both income and purchasing power for poor urban residents. Basically, white middle class America retained spending power while inner-city, predominantly African-American consumers were beaten with non-reported inflationary commodity pricing (not reported because consumers bought their items outside of the tracked, high-volume, scanned-item retailers that feed the Consumer Price Index). No doubt this scenario helped hasten the decline of many depressed urban residential areas in the US. Especially those with little mainsteam consumer commodity availability (think near North Side), right Paul McKee?



So, after costing our country high paying jobs, setting us up for an unavoidable recession, taking away our retail entreprenurial spirt and helping tear apart the fabric of our historic built communities, I think I will spend my money elsewhere....

As to the safety or "feel" of the Maplewood Walmart, I'll step up. I'm a thin, young woman, fairly attractive, white, professional, etc. I don't go to Walmart often -- only for access to my credit union (which has a mini branch there) or candy, Gatorade and batteries on the way out of town.



I've never seen anything weird happen or have never felt threatened. It feels like suburbia to me, though perhaps with a little more color than how most people consider suburbia. There are soccer moms and paycheck cashers and screaming kids and countrified folks and teenagers of all colors of the rainbow who wear their pants too baggy. It's... you know... normal for Walmart.



Also, if I go, I usually take Metrolink, except for the aforementioned stops on the way out of town in the car. I live near the Skinker station, so I generally take Metro or the #1/#2 bus to cover any errands in Brentwood in one trip. And though the Maplewood station is not my favorite (loooong, kinda dark walk from there to Walmart, via a city business building, garages and parking lots) and is not as inviting as the Big Bend station or a normal walk like Galleria station to the mall, it's fine.

Frankly, I think one Wal-Mart is as good or bad as the other. They're all a little dumpy compared to your average Target, and they all have their share of freaky people. That said, I don't think you have to be any more concerned about your safety at the Maplewood Wal-Mart than any other suburban retail establishment.