Sam Walton boasted in his autobiography that Wal-Mart had become its own competition, and in discussing his saturation strategy, used Springfield, MO as a case in point. “In the Springfield, Missouri area,” he wrote, “we had 40 stores within 100 miles.” In southeast Springfield, some residents have apparently had more than their fill of Wal-Mart saturation. The Concerned Citizens of SE Springfield has complained that Wal-Mart already has 9 stores and 2 superstores in their small city, and now the company wants to build another supercenter in a “quiet rural neighborhood”. “We have a united group of about 400 residents,” the Concerned Citizens say. “We have signs and buttons, and we have hired an attorney.” “We won the first of many battles we know we will have to fight — the next is with the City Council…It’s hard to believe we are unable to stop them without hiring an attorney.” The most remarkable part of the story is how Wal-Mart managed to find any land left that didn’t already have a Wal-Mart squatting on it.
For more information about the Concerned Citizen’s group in Springfield, email sprawl-busters at: [email protected].
