I’ve been reading this book titled “The Wal Mart Effect” by Charles Fishman. It’s a book that discusses the tremendous ripple that Wal Mart has to the people of this continent, people abroad, the stock market, suppliers, other retailers, and the consumer perspective of what retail purchase should be like. I’m not too far into the book yet, but the statistics are simple awe-striking, and there’s no doubt that Wal Mart is shaping the retail scope of this side of the world to a great degree.

“In less than 4 months, Walmart exceeds the annual sale volume of its closest competitor! . . . within 10 years, they had 888 supercenters. That’s an average of 7 new stores a month for 10 years in a row.”

Wal-Mart is unique in the sense that it more or less has no competition – yes, there are other mega-retail stores such as Target, Costco, and other grocery store chains such as Safeway, Walgreen, etc., but the figures are astronomical. The runner-up to Walmart’s sales will still have an yearly sale volume that is equivalent to what Walmart makes before St. Patty’s day. In less than 4 months, Walmart exceeds the annual sale volume of its closest competitor! Also, the viral growth rate of Wal Mart is another shock. At the end of 1990, Wal Mart had only 10 supercenters across America. In 2000, within 10 years, they had 888 supercenters. That’s an average of 7 new stores a month for 10 years in a row.

“My mother was very excited about the new Wal Mart that opened up down the streets. Soon, it became our central shopping destination. It was where my parents bought me my first Nintendo console!!! . . . I realize the Wal-Mart effect that descended upon our family.”

I remember 1991~1993, when I livced in the small town of Columbia, Missouri (yes, who would have thought? I used to live in the USA, in a rather hick-town. Compare that to Yaletown, Vancouver). My mother was very excited about the new Wal Mart that opened up down the streets. Soon, it became our central shopping destination. It was where my parents bought me my first Nintendo console!!! The old-school console that had Super Mario 1 & 3, Duck Hunt, etc. I still have the machine and it works, surprisingly. It’s where we purchased our bikes. It’s where we purchased our toaster, heater, fan, etc. At the time I was a 6 year old boy who had no concept of reading these signs, but now that I read this book and recall those days, I realize the Wal-Mart effect that descended upon our family – foreigners in the middle of the USA in a town with a very very small population – in fact, still less than 100,000!!!

On the other hand, Vancouver hasn’t quite been affected by the Wal Mart craze. This is from a meager point of view from a consumer and a citizen of this city, but it really hasn’t. There are, I believe, 2 Wal Marts in the Greater Vancouver region. In Vancouver itself, there are none. There’s 1 in North Vancouver, and another in Surrey. Maybe there’s a 3rd one near the Tri Cities or even further East, but I’m not sure. In any case. I haven’t been to a Wal Mart in over a year now. Seriously. I came close once – my friend needed something as we drove by, but they were closed at 10PM.

The greatest allure of Wal Mart is the prices. Secondly, is the diversity of the goods they have in their huge stores. Wal Mart has often been criticized for their overly low prices. Critics argue that the employees are underpaid, and they hurt the smaller local businesses. Essentially, a Wal Mart comes sweeping in, takes down the smaller retailers, and then amalgamates the employees as their own at lower wages – that’s the argument at least.

Since Vancouver does not have much of a prominent presence of Wal Mart, I will just tie in other larger/low-priced stores into the same category as Wal Mart and treat them as one. There are a few of those around here. Coscto, The Canadian SuperStore, and Wal Mart are the ones we have around here. And then there are the generic grocery stores and what not that are higher in price compared to these superstores such as Safeway, Marketplace IGA, etc.

Now, back to the argument – does Wal Mart hurt local businesses? I guess it depends on the city. In a lot of cities where the average income is very low, and the cities are very well condensed, I can see everybody flocking towards Wal Mart. It’s close by, your main priority is saving $$$ – why the hell not? But Vancouver has a bit of a different demographic I guess. I just don’t see the Wal Mart effect being so strong in a city like Vancouver, and here is why.

1. Is the extra drive worth the savings?Vancouver has bad traffic, it’s a given. There’s no way in hell I am crossing the Lions Gate Bridge to get stuff from Wal Mart when I can get them all within downtown. Even if the prices are higher, I will not put myself through that. I go to Costco sometimes, only because it’s only 3 blocks away, and when I’m getting laundry detergent or anything else I can buy bulk.
2. How fast can you shop?The truth about these superstores is that it’s very hard to find things, and also, it’s time consuming to go through everything. I personally find it overwhelmingly complicated to shop at any of these stores unless I’m guided by somebody who knows better!
3. How specialized are the staff, and the array of products?I’d rather go to Futureshop or Best Buy for electronics, because they have a more knowledgeable staff, and they have a larger array of the right stuff. Especially when it comes to buying an LCD TV or a monitor, I cannot stand the cheaper/lower quality brands. I will not buy a Proview brand TV, for example, because it’s $300 cheaper. I’d rather get a Samsung or a JVC. Also, when I choose electronics, I need a large array of options. “Does this have HDMI? How many S-Video inputs does it have? What’s the contrast ratio?” I could never be satisfied buying a TV from Costco, regardless of how cheap they are.

Of course, these opinions are coming from me, and I cannot say it represents theopinion of the generic public, but I have a hunch that there are many people like me. Depending on what you perceive as valuable to you, you will have different preferences. And Vancouver is not a low-income city with a thick condensation of population. The thick condensation stops downtown, more or less.

Even then, the downtown crowd falls into roughly 3 crowds.

• Rich, so don’t give a damn about driving an extra distance for cheaper everyday goods. (Yaletown, Coal Harbour, mainly)
• Young, hip and cool – either don’t care enough to try to save money by driving out, or don’t even have cars – they live downtown so they can walk everywhere. (West End, mainly)
• Homeless – they can’t buy anything anyhow other than hits of Heroine after pan-handling all day. (the streets, or shelters, mainly)

Note that downtown Vancouver rent is too expensive for a Wal Mart anyhow – Wal Mart is meticulous at cost-analysis and saving in order to preserve the low prices. There is a Costco, but that’s still on the outskirts of downtown, you need to drive there.

“Vancouver seems to be free of the Wal-Mart Effect. It’s just another store.”

So, from any perceivable angle, Wal Marts in Vancouver cannot dominate in the sense of the “Wall Mart Effect” – it’s merely another store, just like the Superstore, Home Depot, or anything else. They do OK – they make a profit. But I haven’t seen signs of struggle from the other smaller retail chain sectors. In the States, Toys ‘R Us has been sold off after Wal Mart started selling more toys, and other smaller grocery chains in cities have been closing all over the place after losing customers to Wal Mart. But that’s not the case in Vancouver.

Based on what the consumers find valuable, as well as the geographic limitations, Vancouver seems to be free of the Wal-Mart Effect.

It’s just another store.