I keep thinking people are talking about Walmart as a socioeconomic phenomenon, maybe even as a metaphor, rather than an actual store.
To use an example you and I are both familiar with, what Home Depot did to Hechingers. And I know there's a Home Depot near you, in a place that used to be a Hechingers.
I do go to Home Depot myself but try to give as much business as I can to a little mom-n-pop hardware store in Springfield, Fischers.
OK, let me try to explain this -- I don't think it's too esoteric to follow. You know I like to work on the house. I recently stripped, stained and varnished the stairs. The best common brand of stripper is made by Savogran, a big company, but Home Depot stopped carrying Savogran, they only carry the competitor now. I could drive all the way to Chantilly to go to Lowes, or I can pay 1/3 more at Fischer, which carries everything.
At the price of gas these days and time, and fear of losing the last little hardware store around here, I grit my teeth and pay 1/3 extra.
So, when people talk about Walmart, I think they must mean "we're afraid of losing our little mom-and-pop stores." Not talking about Walmart, per se, but the idea of Walmart. |
