Midcoast Maine Residents Oppose Coastal Home Depot

Date: 1 Feb 2003 | posted in: Retail | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

Residents of the midcoast region of Maine are petitioning the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and the US Coast Guard to deny permits to a planned Home Depot store in the town of Rockland. The 100,000-square-foot store is slated for a 24-acre site along the coast near Route 1. The project was approved by the Rockland Planning Commission in October. It still needs permits from the DEP, which is accepting public comment through February and is expected to issue a decision in March. … Read More

McDonald’s Defeated in Oaxaca, Mexico

Date: 1 Feb 2003 | posted in: Retail | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

Officials of Oaxaca, Mexico, have turned down an application by McDonald’s to open an outlet in a 500-year-old plaza at the center of town. "There are values that we have to preserve, such as our traditions and culture," city leader Gabino Cue Monteagudo said. A local ordinance allows local officials to reject development projects that endanger the city’s cultural heritage.… Read More

British Government Rejects Big Box Sprawl

Date: 1 Feb 2003 | posted in: Retail | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

In a move that could derail big box development projects throughout England, Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott has rejected a bid by the furniture chain Ikea to build a 300,000-square-foot store (seven times the size of a football field) outside the city of Stockport. In a letter explaining his decision, Deputy Prime Minister Prescott said the proposed store violated several provisions of both national and local planning policy. … Read More

Wyoming Town Latest to Open a Community-Owned Store

Date: 1 Feb 2003 | posted in: Retail | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

The town of Powell, Wyoming, is one of a growing number of places where residents are opening community-owned department stores. More than 800 shares of stock in the Powell Mercantile, priced at $500 each, were purchased by approximately 500 local investors. The 10,000-square-foot store, which sells mostly mid-range clothing and shoes, opened in July and has turned a profit ever since. … Read More

Charleston Merchants Join Forces to Promote Local Stores

Date: 1 Feb 2003 | posted in: Retail | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

A dozen independent businesses in Charleston, West Virginia, have banded together to promote one another and the idea of supporting locally owned businesses. In November, the group began running print, television, and radio advertisements. The print ads read, "Supporting your locally owned stores keeps your dollars in our community. … Read More

Supermarket Concentration Harms Farmers and Consumers

Date: 1 Feb 2003 | posted in: Retail | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

Supermarket chains in the northeast are using their market power to reap record profits on milk at the expense of both dairy farmers and consumers, according to a new report. The findings are fueling legislative efforts in several New England states to rein in the power of grocery chains. One proposal in Maine would tax big box retailers to support dairy farms.… Read More

Local Stores Create Triple the Economic Activity of Chains

Date: 1 Feb 2003 | posted in: Retail | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

When you spend $100 at the chain Borders Books & Music, your purchase creates only $13 worth of local economic activity. That same $100 spent at locally owned book or record store generates $45, or more than three times as much local economic activity. That’s the conclusion of a new study conducted by Civic Economics and published by Livable City in Austin, Texas. … Read More

German High Court Convicts Wal-Mart of Predatory Pricing

Date: 1 Feb 2003 | posted in: Retail | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

Germany’s highest court has ruled that Wal-Mart’s below-cost pricing strategy undermines competition and violates the country’s antitrust laws. Two years ago, the federal Cartel Office accused Wal-Mart and two other large supermarket chains of selling goods below cost and ordered the companies to raise their prices. The items in question included about a dozen staple products like milk, butter, and vegetable oil.… Read More

Local Retailers Can’t Grow in the Shadows of Supercenters

Date: 17 Nov 2002 | posted in: Retail | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

Big box retailers are rapidly rolling out stores throughout Minnesota. Wal-Mart and Target are leading the pack with plans to build hundreds of new "supercenters" nationwide. These giant 200,000-square-foot stores are twice the size of a standard Wal-Mart and include general merchandise and a full supermarket, plus dozens of specialty vendors, from florists to gas stations. Wal-Mart is scouting locations for a supercenter on the North Shore of Lake Superior. Small townships like Lakewood are likely sites. Wal-Mart is already building a supercenter in Cloquet and plans to abandon its existing 100,000-square-foot outlet when the new store opens.… Read More

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