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Comments
That bodes well?
Giving up on Somerville and Watertown...
That bodes well...or does it?
Are they giving up on those areas because they've solidified a backroom deal with Menino to locate in DTX or nearby? Conspiracy theorists want to know!
Right?
I'm really hoping it also doesn't mean they heard about a certain Best Buy on Newbury St. folding...
That space would make no
That space would make no sense for them: it's not big enough, it's not close enough to their target market, they'd have to fight the snobs and the local schools tooth and nail, and so on.
Thank goodness for the snobs
Thank goodness for the snobs then!
They heard the furniture
They heard the furniture store run by the tax-dodging alleged ex-neo-Nazi wasn't going up.
Seriously, I don't like Wal-Mart either, but every single large retail conglomerate is, on an absolute level, evil. That's how you become a large retail conglomerate: you treat people like garbage.
"tax-dodging alleged ex-neo-Nazi"
wow, what is alleged, the "Nazi", the "neo" or the "ex"? And the tax dodging is presumed? Meanwhile, Bill Ayers gets a pass. Nothing to see here folks, move along.
When Bill Ayers announces plans to open a store in Somerville
Then we'll talk.
I'm confused
Tax-dodging ex-Nazi? The Pope owns a furniture store?
Wal*Mart knows that they're not welcome in those towns.
That's why they decided against moving into Somerville and Watertown. To that, I say...good riddance! We need Wal*Mart here in Somerville like we need holes in our heads.
Yeah, it's really horrible
Yeah, it's really horrible when a big box store like Wal-Mart moves in to compete with local businesses like K-Mart and Target.
Maybe Menino can lure them to
Maybe Menino can lure them to the Seaport -- there's a nice big parking lot right next to Louis Boston.
The Natick Collection could
The Natick Collection could use a Walmart!
Alas, there's already one...
... about a mile and a half west along Route 9.
Leave while you can
With anti-business legal, tax, and permit costs, and anti-car road policies keeping customers away, any large retailer is smart to walk away. Has anyone seen people bring a flat screen TV or grocery cart full of shopping home on a bicycle or the T regularly? Yeah, cars are handy sometimes.
Yeah Boston is so anti-car
That's why I didn't see anyone driving on the roads today. Not one single car! Nope. It's too hard. Nobody drives.
And the Bowker Overpass, the McCarthy Overpass, the Casey Overpass and Storrow Drive were all knocked down. Yesterday!
That's right...
Nobody drives here --- it's too crowded.
I've taken furniture home
I've taken furniture home from IKEA on a bicycle. That twine they have in the dispensers out front is really handy!
There is a stunning lack of roads in Boston
I can't seem to find one anywhere. My car is stuck in the marsh somewhere.
I must be so deprived
Yes, I don't own a car, so I must be so deprived of all large or modern amenities. I must not have a TV in my house. Maybe I don't even have furniture! And I can only bring home one item of food at a time! Indeed, not having a car makes my buy nothing at the stores!
Walking, the T, a bike, and Zipcar go a long way. Pretty much as far as owning a car does, without the hassle.
Big box is DEAD
Ask Best Buy on Newbury how many flat screens they were selling?
The atrium mall is slated to be turned into medical offices, and malls across the country are dying.
Boarders is gone. Fileens and Marshalls are gone.
Honestly the future is a resurgence of small stores that focus on niche, quality products, great customer service while having a small online presence, and a foot in the communities needs. Small showroom stores for branding purposes also make sense, as it no longer makes sense to shovel your brand in 1000's of sq foot box marts. Apple's got the right idea, Sony also offers their own branded store, all in tiny footprints.
Box marts have been and continue to be replaced by cheap, online retail that can undercut their prices and vastly out do them in customer service. There's really no hope for them.
It's too bad about the great department stores,
such as Filenes, Lerners, R. H. Stearns and Marshall's being gone, as well as Border's Bookstores. They were so cool! I miss those stores.
Marshall's is gone?
Last I saw they were doing just fine. TJX is one of the few mass-market retailers that continues to prosper.
Regarding Marshall's:
Okay, Ron. I stand corrected on that one.
Yeah
Still there, got mixed up a bit. But the rest of the post stands. I was thinking fileens boylston was marshalls for some reason.
Lack of cars
Does not explain how I got hit by a car while attempting to bike around another car parked in a bike lane today...
As a Somerville resident,
I, too, am glad that Wal*Mart decided to take its business elsewhere and not move to Somerville at all.
Wal*Mart decided against moving to Somerville because they know that they're not welcome..and with ample reason. Wal*Mart has a long-term, well-deserved reputation for inflicting severe damage to communities, their horrific labor policies, and their shoddy merchandise and bad food.
*sigh*
Here's a solution:
Buy your stuff ONLINE [Walmart, Amazon,ebay,tigerdirect, etc., etc.,] and have it shipped. Even buying 'big ticket' items at say walmart.com is inexpensive and the shipping is also inexpensive.
The area, including Somerville, should be ENCOURAGING all kinds of businesses that cater to all kinds of socioeconomic and cultural demographics, including Walmart. At the end of the day Walmart is no worse than CVS, Walgreens, dollar tree, etc., and that's the truth.
Why are so many 'progressives' such CONTROL FREAKS? Why can't they live and let live? Why do they fight every type of development? The building will be too tall, too wide, not enough 'green' space [newsflash: you live in an URBAN area, not Vermont], so-and-so are oppressing the 'working classes', and so-on....Newsflash: those 'poor' and 'oppressed' working classes are being priced out of existence in Somerville, Cambridge, Boston, etc. mostly by some of the silly policies 'progressives' espouse. It's cool some people don't haver to think twice about shopping at Whole Paycheck for their organic pasta and 'fair trade' coffee, but most people don't have trust funds, can't ask mom and dad for $, aren't in the upper middle and wealthy classes. Likewise, most people aren't 'poor' enough to get food stamps or qualify for subsidized housing. What is so hard for some people to understand about this? Or do you really understand but just don't care, except to pay phony lip service to celebrating 'diversity'?
Thank you
Spot on. Somerville is "The City of the Future" (and always will be).
Some people don't appreciate self-parody when it stares them in the face.
Trust me Aging Cynic, I know
Trust me Aging Cynic, I know it's a losing battle.
Aw, it's so adorable that
Aw, it's so adorable that you're trying to resort to stereotypes.
NIMBYism is apolitical; you really think the kind of idiot who frequents the Herald's comments section wouldn't be screaming about JC Penney and its gay agenda?
Being opposed to Wal-Mart is perfectly reasonable, and I don't think most of the people who object to it also think that Target or the K-mart or the Christmas Tree Shops near the Wal-Mart location should be sent packing.
I don't approve of people privileging some evil retail conglomerates over others, but really, give up the whole stereotype thing.
I've occasionally bought stuff through Amazon online, but
Wal*Mart and EBay....forget it! Wal*Mart has done such damage to communities and has such horrific labor policies that I've made it a point over the years not to shop at any Wal*Mart Store(s), under any circumstances. Plus, their merchandise is really shoddy, as well.
Here's a suggestion, anon: If you have a DVD player, you might want to rent the film "Wal*Mart; The High Cost of Low-Pricing", a documentary that provides excellent insight about the damage that Wal*Mart has done to communities that it's moved into, and their abusive labor policies.
So does Bill Quinn's book "How Wal*Mart is Destroying America and what You Can Do About It."