I have a few major qualms about Walmart opening a store in Dudley Square. Walmart is not just a supermarket. It's a superstore selling all manner of items that will put the Walmart in direct competition with literally scores of other stores in the area, including pharmacies, hardware stores, clothing stores, bike stores, auto parts stores -- the list goes on and on. Most of those stores pay people better, often significantly better, wages and benefits than Walmart. Walmart has a long history of entering a market and killing the competition. That would likely mean Dudley Square and a wide area around it would be trading better jobs for worse -- and undoubtedly fewer of them too. Most of the companies that would get hurt by Walmart are not likely to be mega-conglomerates with questionable employment, environmental and political records. Would Walmart sell stuff cheaper? Yes. Undeniably. And that's important. But we have to assess the wider cost to the community. And by the way: the Dept of Ed's move to Dudley is not like other pie-in-the-sky development plans Menino has floated. He controls this one. I consider it a much more likely plan than most others he's announced. Having a major agency move to the most prominent property in the square will make the neighborhood a more viable place for existing companies to do business, and would make it more attractive to newcomers too. For Walmart to come in now would nip all that promise in the bud.

Walmart can easily undercut local stores on price. It's happened in many other places. Walmart moves in, undercuts the local retailers, and before you know it the only store left is Walmart. The store they are proposing in Dudley is one of their "neighborhood market"s, which is a grocery store and not a traditional Walmart. Even so, I'd be very worried about the negative impact such a store would have on local retailers, who don't have the scale to be able to sell products as cheaply as Walmart. How Walmart treats their employees is definitely an issue as well. They have been known for low pay and providing minimal or no health insurance. Even with the healthcare and wage laws we have in Massachusetts, I'm sure Walmart would do the bare minimum to satisfy those laws. On top of that, the profits from local stores go back into the local community, rather than to a corporate headquarters.

I am mostly against a Wal Mart too, but, the "profits go to a corporate headquarters" argument gets me. The largest share of the profits of a mom and pop shop would typically go to the owners (I'm guessing) are they immediately going to spend it in the neighborhood? Just buying more items from other local shops, or automatically dumping money into their homes hiring local contractors?

The benefit from more employment in an area with a need in that department is paid wages to employees that then filter their money back into the neighborhood.

But, if anybody has seen the "Something Wal Mart this way comes" episode of South Park, well then, a different reality is awaiting us!

The Mayor along with the Democratic Party in Massachusetts are bought and paid for by the unions in this state. The reason that Walmart is not allowed in is because it is a non-union store. What is so terribly wrong with the people in Roxbury being able to buy their groceries for much less money, It's ridiculous to think that you are doing a service for the people of Roxbury by letting the existing stores charge 20-30% more for the same goods. Who will do more for more people, Walmart with it's huge selection of goods at lower prices (by the way the prices will always stay lower) or a local market.
The government should not be propping stores that charge more and make us think they are doing us a favor.

Jan Paulsen- I like your idea of a Target or Walmart downtown. Nothing else is going on in downtown crossing...

There is reason why Walmart is able to provide its goods at lower prices than any other retailer. Do you think it's because Walmart is really interested in giving Americans a great deal? Do you think it's because Walmart wants to pay factories and factory workers and producers and distributors a fair price? Of course not. The scale of Walmart creates an economic reality that benefits ... Walmart and no one else. This is well documented. (Watch the Walmart movie on Netflix for a quick reference.) If city officials, business people... and the residents of Dudley want to improve the neighborhood, they should make investments in their small, local and independent businesses. Also - a big reason the city is opposed to Walmart is because of its labor record. Take a look at what they pay their employees and how they treat them.

Dudley Square has been a blighted area for a very long time. Many mayors have had plans and promises to improve it, and nothing seems to ever change. This current mayor has his own plans and promises, which so far have also come to naught. It's a mystery to me why Mayor Menino is trying so hard to keep Walmart out, when no other improvement effort has worked in that neighborhood after many years of apparent effort. Jobs for the local residents, and more buying options--this is a problem? Especially since Menino doesn't live there, and has both a good job and easy access to shopping options. Plus, as others have commented, how is it that he gets to say, anyway? I didn't know we had a commissar of stores who gave permission for all store openings. All this time, I thought our economic system was, like it is in the rest of the U.S., capitalism. No commissars there. Very strange.

There is an employment problem in that neighborhood, absolutely. But I don't feel that allowing a company in that has a well-documented record of lousy employee relations is the solution. Let's make it easier for existing small businesses to access credit to expand, or for local residents to open new businesses.

It's true- we're fortunate that in this state we have a healthcare safety net. However, that doesn't attach unless you're making little money. Is that the kind of business we should get excited about entering our city? I don't think so.

Sure, Wally World will bring jobs, but the company has a horrific record of employee law suits -- unpaid overtime, various forms of discrimination, iffy terminations, etc -- and it seems the only time they change, or give lip-service to behaving better, is after being sued.

Where ya gonna park? Dudley Square is a very old section of Boston that was never intended for massive amounts of vehicles or people. The main roads are narrow and the traffic varies from bearable to terrible depending on the time of day. So lets toss in a retail giant that'll add a thousand cars a day to the mix. Whew, what a brainstorm.

South Bay, sure. Dudley, nyet. In case anybody missed it, WalMart officially is no longer at the top of the heap insatiable, corporate scoundrels and losing ground rapidly -- their policy or rapid expansion and obvious greed have put the company in sad financial shape. No longer the Wall Street Sweetheart and a very strong competitor coming quickly from behind.

Might be time to consider a few other interests in Dudley...

I have no love for Walmart, but to leave an area unserved (as in the case of the North End and Downtown) is also not right.

Where I see Walmart starting up they tend to act as a defoliant killing everything around they compete with. So Walmart is not a great choice if you want local development.

The other factor Walmart's sourcing of goods tends to be off shore. In fact Walmart is the largest importer of goods from mainland China (even bigger than Apple hands down). If the trade deficit with China wasn't so lopsided this wouldn't worry me, but it is, which means Americans jobs erode. As of late the costs in China are increasing which is why Walmart needs to expand and why Wall St. is worried about them being profitable.

In tough economic times people will gravitate to the cheapest price they can for a given item or do without, when things are not so bad they will be looser with the pursestrings. Of course distance of travel also effects things here as well. People will buy along there daily travels from work or around where they live. This is more true today as the cost of fuel is so high.

Take a look at Southern California communities and you'll see a more planned approach with local and regional shopping centers which I think we need to emulate here.

John, I want to applaud you for doing "research" and by that I mean walking outside and taking a 'perilous' walk down Dudley. But, did you do any research into what bringing in a Walmart to small, relatively closed economy does? Did you do any research into other places that have welcomed Walmart with open arms? Did you ever stop to think about why the Mayor is so vehemently apposed to it? Did you research his track record with local businesses?

From your article, it sounds like a loud, resounding NO to all of the above. Please do more thorough research before making such a statement.

*opposed

Why is this conversation even taking place! Dudley is not in "The South End". This should be in "The Dudley Patch"! At any rate the Mayor has said NO! Case closed.

From the NY Times today:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/21/business/wal-mart-cuts-some-health-care-benefits.html?hp

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