Kmart, America’s forgotten retailer, had an unflattering blue light shining on it this week, when it was announced that the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
Every Wal-Mart manager is warned by the company not to “Threaten, Interrogate Promise, Spy” on their workers. Wal-Mart calls this their TIPS on unionization. But
On September 17, 2008, Sprawl-Busters reported that the citizens in Clovis, California had shamed their Mayor and City Council into reversing their vote approving a
The Governor of Texas recently had Wal-Mart stage a special ribbon-cutting for a new superstore in his state so he could brag about Texas’ economic
The driving mission of the Wal-Mart corporation is to make money by saving its customers money. “At Wal-Mart,” the company says, “everything we do flows
The first shot has been fired by public officials in what has become a bloody public relations war for the Wal-Mart corporation. Last night, by
This is a frontier story from a state where land is apparently so plentiful that the taxpayers have to sell it at auction. Arizona has
On April 7, 2009, Sprawl-Busters reported that plans for a 162,000 s.f. Wal-Mart supercenter in Brooklyn, Connecticut before the Planning and Zoning Commission had set
For the past 15 years, Wal-Mart has been trying to convert a cornfield in a small, northern Vermont town into an asphalt field of dreams.
A single Judge in Michigan has trumped the wishes of citizens voting in a referendum to stop a Wal-Mart superstore project. On January 28, 2011,
On May 11, 2009, Sprawl-Busters narrated the case of West Kendall, Florida, a suburb of Miami-Dade County. The West Kendall Community Council took up a
A piece of American political folklore says that ‘you can’t fight City Hall.’ But as Wal-Mart is finding out in the small city of Berwyn,
Since 2005, Sprawl-Busters has written a dozen stories about the never-ending battle against Wal-Mart in Tarpon Springs, Florida. On November 22, 2008, Sprawl-Busters reported that
On April 7, 2009 Sprawl-Busters reported that Cave Creek, Arizona has 10 Wal-Marts within 20 miles, half of which are superstores. There are two giant
City officials in Medford, Oregon desperately want a second Wal-Mart supercenter. But they took a vote this week that guarantees they will see no progress
Wal-Mart wants to cut down the size of its proposed superstore in Hinsdale, New Hampshire, but the wasteful aspects of this land deal still loom
For years, Wall Street analysts have criticized Wal-Mart for cannibalizing its own sales by cramming superstores on top of one another. Wal-Mart said it was
“I have always believed strongly that we don’t need unions at Wal-Mart,” Sam Walton wrote. According to one Canadian investment bank, the grocery industry in
In the employment field, it’s called ‘trading down.’ In the mid 1990s, General Motors had roughly 60,000 employees based in Ohio. Today, the GM workforce
Wal-Mart is finally realizing that you don’t have to promote huge stores to make big profits. On December 3, 2006, Sprawl-Busters updated the story of
The city of Hamilton in southern Ontario, Canada, is located half way between Niagra Falls and Toronto, in an area they call “the Golden Horseshoe,”
It’s not often that you get to see two large retailers slugging it out in public, but the fight continues in the small town of
In fiscal year 2009, Wal-Mart spent $2.3 billion on advertising. That’s about $6.3 million every day spent on image-building. One of the key myths that
A Texas developer with big Wal-Mart dreams ran into some small town opposition this past week. Developer Jeff Moore, who does business as Realm Realty
Citizens in one small community in upstate New York have held up the world’s largest retailer for five years, and probably cost Wal-Mart as much
Wal-Mart has torn down more useable buildings than any other retailer in the history of the planet. On September 9, 2008, Sprawl-Busters reported that Wal-Mart
On April 28, 2009, Sprawl-Busters reported that Wal-Mart had shelved plans to expand its existing discount store in Medford, Oregon, while at the same time
Visitors say that Maui, Hawaii is about as close to Paradise as you can get on the planet. That fact has not been lost on
Local officials in Exeter, Pennsylvania are doing a little Wal-Mart reality check. The Borough Council has decided it needs the facts before making findings. Usually
Wal-Mart gave the Aldermen in Manchester, New Hampshire a deadline, and local officials fell in line. The corporation told Manchester officials they wanted 15 acres
Who says money doesn’t open doors? Wal-Mart got off cheap in Swansea, Massachusetts, by making a small donation out of its petty cash in return
Penfield, New York is a community of roughly 35,600 people. The town is celebrating its bicentennial in 2010, and part of the celebration is the
The strategies written here were produced by Sprawl-Busters in 2006 at the request of the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW), mainly for citizen groups that were fighting Walmart. But the tips for fighting unwanted development apply to any project—whether its fighting Dollar General, an Amazon warehouse, or a Home Depot.
Big projects, or small, these BATTLEMART TIPS will help you better understand what you are up against, and how to win your battle.