Oh Really, Walmart?
Walmart has taken another stab at engaging Tacomans. We’re not sure they’re getting any better at this. We read in the TNT today a response by Walmart senior director of community affairs Steven V. Restivo to the recent piece by Tacoma locals Justin Leighton and Bard Luippold. In a bristling defense of his employer, Restivo, takes on the statistics sited by Leighton and Luippold. Restivo calls the studies referenced “outdated” or “discredited,” and counters with references to “More recent and complete studies by independent parties,” which support his case that Walmart creates living wage jobs, but does not go so far as to actually reference these studies.
The article ranges from hostile defense to condescending generalities, comparing Tacoma to the west side of Chicago, a neighborhood Restivo claims welcomes Walmart’s presence, as Tacoma should. Being more or less unfamiliar with Chicago’s West Side, we did a quick Google of “west side Chicago,” and turned up the following on page 1:
The first three search results are Wikipedia articles. Numbers four and five are a little more… colorful:
Does Chicago’s west side feel like a 3rd world country?
While we acknowledge that this isn’t the most complete or objective review of the neighborhood, it does raise some questions about how exactly Walmart views Tacoma’s Central Neighborhood.
So, does Restivo know Tacoma better than Leighton? Is his comparison of Tacoma with the West Side of Chicago accurate? Is he missing the point? His final paragraph reads as follows.
We’re finding that the more people learn facts about the company – as opposed to the urban myths peddled by the Viewpoint authors – the more they see the value in bringing a Walmart store to their community. We’re proud of the contributions we make in communities across the country – from creating jobs and generating tax revenue to helping customers save and contributing to local nonprofits – and look forward to engaging with Tacoma residents to listen, answer questions and share information about our company.
The reference to “the Viewpoint authors” is interesting (what does he consider himself?). The concluding words strike a seemingly conscilliatory note, but it is a little difficult to take at face value; at what point during the last six months has the company engaged Tacoma residents “to listen, answer questions and share information?” It’s a little difficult to believe that they’re ready to begin an open dialogue now as anything more than a PR campaign.
Read Restivo’s full article from The News Tribune.
Read more on Leighton and Luippold’s article and the ongoing Walmart conversation from Exit133.
Filed under: Tacoma Business, Retail, Walmart
5 comments
J Jenny Jenkins February 1, 2012
They “look forward to engaging with Tacoma residents to listen, answer questions and share information about our company,” but from the tone of this article I’m guessing they don’t have much interest in what the community has to say back to them.
W Weyland Duir February 1, 2012
“…the contributions we make in communities across the country – from creating jobs and generating tax revenue to helping customers save money…”
So it’s, not about profits? Walmart is just doing God’s work?
F fredo February 1, 2012
The people who hate WalMart will not listen to any dissenting opinion and the column published in the News Tribune by Leighton & Luippold proves it. It rehashed a bunch of old “studies” which were cherry picked by the authors. There was no attempt to present a balanced POV.
L L.O. Monaghan February 6, 2012
Mr. Restivo wrote a rebuttal to Mr. Luippold and Mr. Leighton’s original opinion piece and nowhere did he attempt to compare Tacoma to the west side of Chicago. The original authors referenced a study where they tried to paint a picture of the devastating impacts of Walmart, specifically using a Chicago case study. Mr. Restivo was providing a counterpoint to this claim, so if you want to claim anyone was trying to liken Tacoma to the west side of Chicago, you should give credit where credit is due—to Mr. Luippold and Mr. Leighton.
In their original article on the subject, they state, “And a case study from the Center for Urban Research and Learning at Loyola University Chicago (Davis et al, 2009) stated that local stores on the West Side of Chicago were more likely to go out of business the closer they were to the new Walmart” (http://www.thenewstribune.com/2012/01/22/1993640/research-indicates-new-walmart.html).
When you ask, “Is his comparison of Tacoma with the West Side of Chicago accurate,” maybe you should be addressing the very Tacomans who made this claim first.
M Mofo from the Hood February 6, 2012
Painting a picture of Walmart as “The Terminator” is silly. If anedoctal evidence shows that businesses near a Walmart store have closed, then it’s important to keep in mind that business failure is never just a sales issue.