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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMULBERRY LEMAY CROSSINGS, LOT ONE, FILING ONE - FINAL PUD - 36-96D - MEDIA - (20)Sunday, October 28, 2001 Business editor. Robert Bau 7��)- ".r Robert Baun Business r, iJook Wal-Mart's arrival stirs emotions It's not so good to be the I its rise to retail royalty in the United States, Wal- Mart has inspired derision fit for a tyrant. Bundle up all the ill -feeling toward Starbucks, McDon- ald's and Microsoft, and it may not match the collective bristle that anti -Wal-Mart factions show toward Ameri- ca's largest retailer. I remember during a public hearing for the new Wal-Mart Supercenter - which opened last week — someone picked me out in the crowd and sup- plied me with a pamphlet la- beled "How Wal-Mart is De- stroying America." An online newsletter, Sprawlbusters, is dedicated to sniping at Wal-Mart's heels across the country. The company is accused of ruthlessly stomping out mom-and-pop competition. Wal-Mart is the most sued company in the United States (It's Wal-Mart's policy not to settle out of court). The type of opposition Wal-Mart faced in building the Fort Collins Supercenter — the developer proposed the project seven years ago — has been a pattern repeat- ed across the country. Kmart and Target get teased. Wal-Mart's house is routinely egged and toilet - papered. How much enmity Wal- Mart deserves is debatable. Still, it's also debatable Wal-Mart fills a need, either for shoppers or workers; in Larimer County. Wal-Mart says its average shopper visits 23 times a week. Personally, I know some people who will make it 0.0 times a week, for reasons that range from smugness to virtue. But in the face of an eco- nomic slump and layoffs, not everyone can be6Fselective. "They're not n_ _. ssarily going to go to high -end stores," contends Elaine Worzala, a professor of fi- nance and real estate at Col- orado State University. "They are going to be saving money, and Wal-Mart, therefore, should actually do a little bet- ter." Wal-Mart's also an em- ployment boon for some area residents. With the opening of the Supercenter, Wal-Mart has about 2,000 employees in the county. "To me, particularly given the economic downturn ... it can't help but be a plus," said Worzala. Obviously, Wal-Mart's not replacing the engineering jobs being lost at Advanced Energy, Agilent and Hewlett- Packard Co. But Worzala be- lieves Wal-Mart helps to ab- sorb blue collar or assembly workers who may have been out in the cold. "A lot of people say serv- ice jobs are no good but they can provide stability," Worzala said. Robert Baun is business edi- tor at the coloradoan. He can be reached by phone at 224- 7742, by fax at 224-7899 or by e-mail at RobertBaun@col- oradoan.com.