Supercenter impact under scrutiny by merchants
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
ALEDO - The impact of supercenter stores on small towns is the focus of a presentation sponsored by the Viola Area Chamber Commerce next month. Although Wal-Mart has no concrete plans on the table for a supercenter in Aledo, the company has confirmed it is evaluating and researching the option. The company's John Bisio said the issue is in the exploratory stages. The Viola Chamber forum will include a presentation from Doug Cunningham with the Hometown Merchants Association from Lincoln, Neb."This group formed about four years ago," he said. "Our basic goal is just to try and educate consumers on what the impact is of supercenters."
Aledo currently has a smaller Wal-Mart store that opened in the mid-1980s.
The meeting is at 6 p.m. Feb. 5 in the Viola Fire Station.
"Most of us believe in free enterprise and many people say this is just free enterprise, but this is so much different than free enterprise," Cunningham said. "This is a company in my view that is monopolistic. The amount of business they do, if they were a country, they would be the 13th largest economy in the world."
Cunningham also is a former independent grocer and former Nebraska state senator. Wal-Mart has unveiled plans for supercenters in Silvis and Geneseo and local mom and pop shops and downtown businesses are worried about what the impact will be to their businesses.
"All of the time I hear well if these stores just try to find their niche everybody would survive," Cunningham said. "It's just simply not true. Everybody cannot survive and there will be a lot of loss of business."
His Viola presentation is free and open to the public.
