How can you save a small town that has been Wal-marted to near desolation?

Question

Wal-mart has located itself just out of town now no one visits the downtown area, most small businesses have gone under.

Kids leave just out of high school and never return.

Help! It's my home town and I'd like to see it survive!

Answer 1

Wal-Mart cannot and is not all things to all people. There are things that they do well and things that they do poorly. There all also times when you can't buy what you want at Wal-Mart, because they want to stock things that sell quickly.

Identify what Wal-Mart in your town does poorly or that people want that WMT does not provide. Determine what these people can and will pay for what they want and then see if you can make a profit selling it to them. If you can sell something at a profit then do so and if not, you have to decide between your loyalty to a town with a non-existent retail district and a location with more diverse economic vitality.

P.S. Walmart is very sensitive to this community deterioration issue. Go ask the Store Director what customer complaints are most frequently received and see if you can learn a possible area that Walmart is missing.

Good Luck,
Dana B

Answer 2

Let us think about this....If the local population did not purchase anything from Wal-Mart then the local businesses would still be there. See the toughest part is as a person/family we all want to save as much as possible to put back into our pockets. Unless you can change the local's minds to spend more money on the same items...you are in a losing battle. Sorry