Tales from Wal-Mart Purgatory
November 15, 1998
Here’s another in occasional tales from Wal-Mart Purgatory. Georgia Ann Smith was shopping at a Wal-Mart store in Springfield, MO. She was looking to buy
Uncategorized
Wal-Mart Parking Lot Nightmare
November 15, 1998
Here’s a story you won’t see in Wal-Mart’s Annual Report. It comes from an Arkansas court case in May of 1998. At approximately 9:30 pm
Wal-Math, Voo-Doo Economics
November 14, 1998
Wal-Math is not taught in your local school system. It’s a form of mathematics employed by developers and big box retailers who want to impress
CVS Turns Away Poor People.
November 11, 1998
CVS, the convenience store chain that boasts it has “listened to customers and operated stores to meet their needs,” apparently draws the line when it
Home Depot Spends Big on Ballot.
November 11, 1998
When citizens groups go up against companies like Home Depot on an election ballot, one thing they can expect with certainty: the company will spend
Target’s Electoral Politics.
November 11, 1998
It’s become commonplace for big retailers to create local “astro-turf” citizen’s groups, designed to look and sound like “grass-roots”, but be entirely financed and directed
Home Depot’s Content Problem.
November 8, 1998
Special Notice to All Home Depot Suppliers: The company is having an on-going problem identifying the content of its merchandise, and kindly requests that manufacturers
A New Use for Rite Aids.
November 6, 1998
Susan Schulman, a reporter for the Buffalo News, has written a news piece that suggests a new use for those Rite Aid stores that have
Lost American Jobs.
November 1, 1998
The American apparel industry has literally lost its shirt over the past several decades, as the industry, once concentrated in the United States, has had
The Moveable Wal-Mart
November 1, 1998
Now you see it, now you don’t. Wal-Mart has perfected the art of playing one community off of its neighbors (see the Lake Placid entry
Stop Texas A&M’s Wal-Mart.
October 31, 1998
Sprawl-busters in Commerce, TX have a problem with the kind of commerce Wal-Mart is proposing in their community. Wal-Mart currently has a store in Commerce,
Wal-Mart Supercenter Provokes Opposition.
October 31, 1998
A citizens group called Smart Growth for Northern York County has organized to battle a proposed Wal-Mart supercenter in Carroll Township, Pennsylvania. According to a
Wal-Mart Welfare Referendum
October 31, 1998
East side, West side, all around that town. It was Wal-Mart’s original plan to open two new supercenters in Norman, OK on the same day
Wal-Mart’s Illegal Avocados.
October 26, 1998
Wal-Mart, the Made in the USA company, is facing $156,000 in fines from the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture for illegally importing avocados from Mexico. According
Wal-Mart’s Sewage Failure.
October 21, 1998
Wal-Mart sent six representatives over the New Hampshire state line into Vermont looking for help with their septic problems. But their plea for a septic
Wal-Mart’s a LULU!
October 18, 1998
The Nassau County Public Works Director is worried about plans for a 183,000 s.f. Wal-Mart supercenter on this small barrier island in Northern Florida. After
Wal-Mart Slams the Door
October 16, 1998
Wal-Mart spent nearly 5 years and several million dollars trying to get a store location in the town of North Elba, NY, right next to
Home Depot Up In Smoke.
October 16, 1998
For the third time in as many years, a major fire at a home improvement center has been investigated by the National Fire Protection Association.
Rite Aid Abandons the Palace
October 16, 1998
All the world is a stage, but Rite Aid can’t get into the Pagoda Palace Theatre for all the money in the world. Once again,
Wal-Mart Drops Fake Tommy Hilfiger
October 13, 1998
You better check carefully that cool Tommy Hilfiger T-shirt you bought at Wal-Mart or Sams. According to Hilfiger, Wal-Mart has knowingly sold at least seven
Trampled At Wal-Mart.
October 13, 1998
There is a bumper-sticker reportedly promoted by Wal-Mart that says:”Outta my way, I’m shopping at Wal-Mart”. That certainly was the case a couple of days
Disabled Employee Sues Wal-Mart
October 12, 1998
Robert Belfante used to work at the Wal-Mart distribution center in southeast Hernando County, Fl. In 1995, he asked the company to give him a
Wal-Mart’s Dueliing Churches
October 12, 1998
“I am a business person,” explained St.Petersburg City Councilor Larry Williams, “and I always think that encouraging business is usually good. In this case, I
Keep Your Hands Off Our Neck!
October 12, 1998
The small town of Kilmarnock, VA (pop.1,500) made some loud noise this week against a proposed 109,000 s.f. Wal-Mart superstore plus a 145,000 s.f. Lowe’s
The “Retromood” CVS
October 12, 1998
What do AARP, Emory University, and the Sierra Club have in common? A dislike for CVS drug stores that try to substitute for a full
Home Depot Stand Still in Levittown
October 3, 1998
An “outpouring of letters” from residents against Home Depot has knocked a proposed Levittown project off the fast track. The company had hoped to go
State Bans Wal-Mart Construction
October 2, 1998
The signs at Wal-Mart say: Watch Out for Falling Prices. But the signs at their Dickson City, PA store should have read: Watch Out For
Economic Impacts Exaggerated
October 2, 1998
A draft economic impact analysis of what would happen in Bozeman, Montana if Wal-Mart is allowed to expand its discount store into a supercenter, indicates
Love, Wal-Mart style.
October 1, 1998
The 5th. US Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that a former Wal-Mart employee is entitled to $75,000 in punitive damages, and $19,000 in compensatory
Wal-Mart Shares Drop 6%
October 1, 1998
According to one Wall St. analyst, retail stocks took a slide on Sept. 30th. because of fears of a consumer slow down. Wal-Mart stock dropped
Cap on Superstore Size
October 1, 1998
Irland’s Minister for the Environment and Local Government, Noel Dempsey, rocked the development world in June when he issued a two page General Policy Directive
Rite Aid: Dead on Delivery
September 30, 1998
You can’t do much worse than this: Rite Aid lost a vote before the Buffalo Common Council on September 22, 1998 by a vote of
Impact of Large Stores
September 30, 1998
The British Department of the Environment, Transport, and the Regions has published a new study that indicates large foodtores sited outside town or commercial centers
Wal-Mart in Hiding?
September 25, 1998
The Rockingham County, VA County Board of Supervisors voted Sept. 23rd by 4-1 to allow land zoned industrial to be included as part of a
Home Depot Bad Neighbor
September 25, 1998
Newsday newspaper has published an article focusing on the cold reception many residents on Long Island have given to their new neighbor, the orange monster
No H2O, No Sewer for Wal-Mart
September 23, 1998
In August of 1997, the Village Council in the small rural community of Tijeras, NM began hearings on a proposed 155,000 s.f. Wal-Mart supercenter just
A Thousand Rite Aids.
September 23, 1998
Say a last farewell to the Williamsville Inn, which recently was sold to a developer from Buffalo, NY to be demolished to make way for
Depot’s engines shut down.
September 19, 1998
The town board in Riverhead just didn’t follow the law — and as a result, all the bulldozers out on Route 58 shut down their
Wal-Mart By the Bay.
September 12, 1998
You can just imagine the tourist appeal this holds: “Come to Old Town Eureka, California, and be sure to visit our unique Wal-Mart by the
Dead Mall Walking.
September 10, 1998
Sprawl-busters in the Utah community of Ephraim have some bone-chilling news. Rumors of Wal-Mart interest in coming to Ephraim have been rattling around for many
Big News In Town
September 9, 1998
The editor of The Record-Enterprise calls it “big news”. The President of the Chamber of Commerce “thinks it’s great”. The Town Administrator says it meets
They’re baaack!
September 4, 1998
In January of 1998, sprawl-busters in Kanawha City, a section of Charleston,WV, reported that the city planning commission voted down a Wal-Mart supercenter, and that
A Moment for Bernie
September 4, 1998
According to a Reuters news story, Home Depot Chairman Bernie Marcus has seen his net worth drop by 22%, or roughly $470 million, since July
Wal-Mart’s Pipe Dream
September 4, 1998
At first no one would reveal who the mystery tenant was that wanted 29 acres of land in Rockingham County, VA. The developer, a South
Welfare for Wal-Mart
September 3, 1998
What has $46 billion in assets, 3,408 stores around the world, and still receives state and federal tax subsidies? A: Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. There were
Wal-Mart’s Dark Fence.
September 3, 1998
Rocky Mount, NC already has a Wal-Mart — but it’s time to get a bigger one, because Wal-Mart customers need bigger aisles to drive their
Wal-Mart’s Calculator Doesn’t Add Up.
September 3, 1998
Oh, the dangers of doing business with Wal-Mart! The folks at ADDvantage Media have watched a dream turn into a — lawsuit. In 1993 and
Home Depot’s Dictionary.
September 1, 1998
Environmental activists have nailed Home Depot for years because of its sales of “old growth” wood products. But on August 30, a group of activists
After weeks of nail-biting and rampant speculation, Wal-Mart unveiled last month the name of its new?
September 1, 1998
After weeks of nail-biting and rampant speculation, Wal-Mart unveiled last month the name of its new retailing concept. Wal-Mart had announced earlier this summer that
Grossly Unattractive CVS.
August 25, 1998
“I hate this,” admitted Bethlehem City Councilwoman Magdalena Szabo. “It’s grossly unattractive and serves no purpose.” That’s a pretty good definition of the CVS convenience