Once a Wal-Mart........

I enjoy spending a lot of time in northern New Hampshire and Maine. I make the drive up Route 16 North every other week if not weekly to participate in my favorite outdoor activities depending on the season.

Over the past several years I have noticed a Lowe's being constructed and opened on Rt. 16. It always struck me as odd that a store of that size could be supported by a local and very rural economy. Further, I am continually amazed about how the road was restructured and traffic patterns changed to support the store. The subsequent traffic the new Lowe's created was unbearable and I cursed the store for years. For those of you who don't drive Rt. 16 to the White Mountains, it is a 2 lane road for the entire drive with only a handful of passing sections. When Lowe's was constructed a new overpass, bridge and intersection were also constructed. I found the following article: Once A Wal-Mart: The New Lives Of Big Boxes very interesting as it speaks about the "after life" of Big Box stores after the stores have closed.

Some Big Box stores are having a difficult time surviving this economy regardless of how efficient their supply chain may be. The root cause of a Wal-Mart and/or Lowe's shutting down can range from over ambitious corporate growth plans to the inability of the local economies to support such massive stores. Regardless of what the cause may be, what is to be done with the existing buildings and infrastructure once the Big Box store has closed?

In class we have focused on Wal-Mart's supply chaining expertise and the profound impact the corporation has had on private business and consumers in America. The stores can also revitalize towns and suburban areas by providing jobs in the stores themselves as well as the corresponding construction jobs/contracts for the buildings and infrastructure. The NPR article referenced above addresses some of the attempts at reusing the buildings after the Big Box stores have left. The uses range from public facilities such as libraries to indoor race tracks. Some of these ideas have worked while other businesses have not been able to keep up with the high overhead of the buildings themselves.

What is the future of Big Box business in America and exactly how many Big Box stores does small town America need? Does a town of 5,000 people need both a Lowe's and Wal-mart? Will the new government administration give tax credits to smaller stores and install new trade tariffs on the Big Box stores? Can these Big Box stores sustain their growth? I am not doubting the viability of these supply chaining masters but merely playing devils advocate in trying to forecast the number of Big Box stores that may be here today but gone tomorrow.

It is no secret that the majority of the goods sold in Big Box stores are imported from overseas; at a time when supporting our local economy is more important than ever. Furthermore, the Big Box stores are putting smaller stores and businesses out of business. I try not shop at Big Box stores because I want to support our local economy, and I end up buying things I don't truly need simply because "they are a good deal." What I propose is that the government use these abandoned big box stores for social service organizations. The US Government is now buying mortgage backed securities so why not invest in Big Box real estate? Imagine a new VA hospital off Rte. 16 where Veterans could gains access to health care rather then make the 3 and 1/2 hour drive south to be seen by a physician. The infrastructure of roads is already there and construction is completed! In short, I believe the government should seriously consider using these abandoned stores. Imagine the savings for the tax payers if new construction for offices, hospitals or any other infrastructure was stopped and the existing Big Box stores used. There seems to be enough empty big box stores out there to make this viable option. The idea is about as creative as those cited in the article but at least it would help the American people while maintaining the local economy that the Big Box stores had promised to do.

And for the record, pursuant to our class conversation I thought the stores were called "Big Box" stores because their inventory was shipped in containers (big boxes) on cargo ships from China.