More Proof

More proof that Wal-Mart and other "big box" stores are a benefit, not a bane, from today's Idaho Falls Post-Register:

Some people welcome the big-box retailers while others worry about them.

NAMPA — Canyon County has welcomed a new Wal-Mart, Costco and Sam’s Club in recent months to the delight of discount shoppers.

But some people in this fast-growing county of suburban subdivisions and dwindling farmland are wondering whether consumers now will bypass traditional mom-and-pop stores for the new asphalt and neon shopping centers anchored by these big-box retailers.

Big-box stores, such as Wal-Mart, have a reputation for driving out local business, but Canyon County’s economy is growing fast enough to support both national retailers and local shops, said Jason Schweizer, director of the business and accounting department at Albertson College of Idaho.

“Big stores have a bad rap for doing that, and in some communities, you could make the case that that happens,” he told the Idaho Press-Tribune. “But in a growing area like ours with such a thriving economy, the whole pie is getting bigger, and everybody’s getting a bigger piece. There is more demand than capacity.”

Rather than detract from mom and pops, the new big-box stores will stop the economic leakage to Boise, where Canyon County shoppers used to buy bigger items, said Cliff Long, the city of Nampa’s economic development director.

Because Canyon County shoppers had to make a 60-minute round-trip drive to Boise’s malls and department stores, they stayed for dinner and visited many stores.

The addition of big-box shopping, means far more money will stay inside Canyon County, Long said.

“These new retailers literally represent tens of millions of dollars of new investment,” he said. “But most importantly, it helps stop the retail leakage to Ada County.”

Paulette Thompson, co-owner of All About You Weddings, a small wedding accessory store in Nampa, welcomes the new shopping options. Thompson opened her business seven months ago, knowing the big boxes were on the way.

“It will help the Nampa community support Nampa,” she said. “And more traffic could bring more business.”

The managers of Owyhee True Value Hardware, which has been in Nampa since 1965, said they will fill specialized needs that hardware chains such as Home Depot and Lowes cannot.

“We’re kind of like a convenience hardware store,” manager Brent Erdley said. “Not everybody wants to park six blocks away and walk through a huge store just for a roll of duct tape.”

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