Shopkeepers Are Antidote To Big Boxes – Spending at neighbors’ stores changes the world.

When residents of Powell, Wyo., collectively bought their main street’s fading department store, it sparked a downtown commercial revival.

The big shopping news here in the Twin Cities is that Wal-Mart is coming to town with three “supercenters,” each grafting a huge grocery onto a gigantic discount store. There is wide speculation this will shake up several locally based chains.

Many stores simply shut their doors at the first sign of Wal-Mart, rather than prolong the misery of trying to compete against the invincible giant. You can see the results in boarded-up Main Streets and neighborhood shopping districts across the continent. According to noted environmental writer Bill McKibben, in Iowa alone Wal-Mart wiped out 555 groceries, 298 hardware stores, 293 building supply stores, 161 variety stores, 158 women’s clothing stores, 153 shoe stores, 116 drug stores, and 111 men’s and boy’s clothing stores in 10 years. The economy and culture of these places changed drastically as local shoppers’ money flowed out of town rather than circulating again and again through the community.

By Jay Walljasper
Elm Street Writers Group

BillingsGazette.com/Used by Permission.

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