 | Mom and pop business keep the retail giant's parking lots near empty |
Despite slashing prices and outsourcing manufacturing to underdeveloped nations around the globe, the giant retailer Wal-Mart filed for bankruptcy Wednesday. Wal-Mart spokesperson Gerry Roland cited the national chains inability to compete with small-town folksiness as the companys downfall.
For years Wal-Mart has struggled in the shadow of old-timey soda fountains, curb service diners, family run hardware stores and their ability to deliver bulk quantities of folksiness and country charm with incredible efficiency, Roland said in a statement announcing the corporations demise.
In recent years Wal-Mart implemented a number of policies to combat their competitors wholesale delivery of Americana. Wal-Mart greeters were required to attend training sessions in which they learned to do their jobs from wicker rocking chairs. During training, greeters attended intensives on knitting, whittling and telling long, meandering stories about distant relatives struggles with rheumatoid arthritis. Though Wal-Mart greeters were forced to adopt the new corporate-wide Porch Swing Posturing, customers seemed confused by the changes.
Last week, I went in for a Nickelback CD, some drywall nails and a gallon of milk and I couldnt even grab a cart without listening some old hags story about her sister-in-laws cousins bad hip. It took 20 minutes to get past the doors, said Macomb, Illinois Wal-Mart shopper John Desmond. Then, when I got to the checkout line, the cashier spent, like, forever giving the lady ahead of me advice on how to keep her cat off the sofa.
Changing the greeters protocol was just one tactic Wal-Mart used while desperately trying to create a more hometown feel for its 300-plus North American outlets. In 2005, Wal-Mart corporate headquarters announced that each 24-hour mega-mart would remove the motion-sensing sliding glass entry doors and replace them with wood-framed screen doors.
We want to recreate that old Main Street slap of a spring-mounted screen door, said Wal-Mart vice president of marketing Don Lane in a memo to store managers nation wide. As soon as the screen doors are shipped in from Malaysia, we will begin installation and weathering. Small holes and tears will be strategically placed in the screens with openings not to exceed 1.5 percent of the total screened surface.
Lane saw that many people remained loyal to their community mechanics even after Wal-Mart arrived with a licensed and insured automotive service staff. To draw in more customers to Wal-Marts maintenance bays, Lane tweaked the look of Wal-Marts automotive department from the parking lot to the mechanics themselves.
We thought putting some rusted Monte Carlos up on blocks in the parking lot would make people feel more comfortable with Wal-Marts automotive department. I also relaxed the dress code for our mechanics, encouraging them to leave a few days grease on their undershirts, Lane said. Needless to say, it was either too folksy or not folksy enough.
Wal-Mart will begin closing and latching the screen doors at 350 of its locations, and laying off an estimated 230,000. The remaining Wal-Mart stores will be split into more manageable enterprises each leasing separate spaces within their respective communities, with each Wal-Mart to become individual grocery stores, hardware stores, green houses, sporting goods stores, electronics dealers, pharmacies, appliance stores and clothing retailers.
The smaller stores will be easier to manage and without the overhead of a single building, Wal-Mart executives speculate the authenticity of the chains folksiness may finally win over customers, Lane said.
As for the 100s of giant Wal-Mart buildings left empty across the country, at least one will be leased right away.
Henry Hank Foster of Foster Hardware in South Fork, Indiana said hes been looking into expanding his family business for years.
Once I move into the old Wal-Mart building, Ill have plenty of room for Foster Hardware to grow, Foster said. Ive been looking for a larger space because I want to introduce some new product. Im thinking of adding an attached grocery store and maybe Ill carry some TVs and stuff. If this goes well, Ive got my eye on the Lafayette store, too.
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