nrb
Active Member
Yeah, their grocery section isn't bad but it only sells the basics. You wouldn't be able to find anything more exotic than a mango and practically no specialty herbs, spices, oils, etc. or any interesting cuts of meat. It kind of reminds me of what grocery stores used to be in small towns about 25 years ago.
That's the thing with Walmart and the thing that people are constantly missing when they say it'll kill Kensington: Walmart just sells basics. They don't sell fancy shoes. They don't sell fancy bikes. They don't sell cheese that doesn't come pre-sliced. They compete with other big box retailers who sell basic, high-turnover, low-medium quality household items. These same retailers buy their products from the same Chinese suppliers and pay their workers the same wages. The only reason Walmart gets all the flak is because it's the largest retailer and therefore a symbol to hang your grievances of the whole retail industry on. It's similar to McDonald's. Nobody makes movies about how unhealthy it is to eat at Burger King or Taco Bell, but you're putting the same garbage in your mouth. Or worse.
I get your point but it's not really true. When it comes to labour rights Walmart is particularly bad. It's well documented and has already been covered in this thread how they union bust, and have an especially aggressive business model to drive competitors out of business. If you look at what's happened to Canadian box retail since Walmart has entered the market it's not pretty. Eatons and Zellers are gone. Hudson's Bay has been struggling for a very long time. These are the most high profile and biggest examples but you can imagine what's happened to smaller retailers.
It's easy and convenient to shrug shoulders at this but because of the size of Walmart, the economic issues are huge and very complex. It's driving entire national chains out of business. While it might not seem terrible without a close critical examination, the effects of this are really important. Trying to compete with Walmart means lowering costs, which means driving down employee wages, finding cheaper ways to manufacture goods (resulting not only in massive losses of local jobs from outsourcing, but in huge growth in dangerous working conditions in overseas factories under pressure to lower their costs), and the resulting pressure on government to lower business costs decreasing government revenue. It's a really big, wide reaching issue.
Do you ever wonder why big box retailers tend to sell basic, high turnover low quality items? Walmart invented that business model... the same way McDonald's grew the fast food business model. The poster earlier hits the nail on the head when he talks about the decline in quality of manufactured goods at Canadian Tire. When you are competing with Walmart you have to lower costs, there's absolutely no alternative except being run out of business. Decline in quality, offshore manufacturing, lower wages, corporate welfare follows.
Is this something we want in Kensington Market? You might have a point that Kensington's culture is so resiliant and unique that Walmart opening in the area will have little effect, but why even take the chance? What benefit is there? Why do we need a Walmart there?