smoe.org mailing lists
ivan@stellysee.de
| From | Christopher <plattc@optonline.net> |
| Subject | Re: Wal-Mart |
| Date | Thu, 4 Dec 2003 10:38:44 -0500 |
[Part 1 text/plain iso-8859-1 (3.3 kilobytes)]
(View Text in a separate window)
I don't really have much to add in the Wal-Mart one-and-a-half sided
"debate", but there are a few things I've found interesting in the
Wal-ification of the US, particularly how it's hit (and not hit) the NYC
metro area.
Now it should be pretty obvious that a Wal-Mart in the middle of Times
Square is not a viable business plan. Real estate is just too pricey for a
megastore like that. And even if it were to happen, how much business would
they do? A major conceit of the megastore is "load up the car with
economy-size pallets of <insert household item here>". (Maybe that's more
Costco or Sam's Club than Wal-Mart, but in any case, I think it's a factor.)
Joe Schmoe Manhattanite is certainly not going to stock up on 50 rolls of
toilet paper, lug it home on the subway, and store it on top of his
space-saving combination sofabed/bathtub/kitchen table. So Wal-Mart won't
hit the island of Manhattan (though K-Mart did, and I think they're
struggling here), which again should be self-evident since it's more a
small-town phenomenon than a big-city one.
That said, there's another factor hitting this fair city that's at least as
distressing as Wal-Mart the Downtown-Killer. For instance, what used to be
a corridor of hip shops and cafes in Soho is now a glorified outdoor mall,
chockablock with the very same retailers you'd find in Anytown, USA. You
got yer Pottery Barn, yer Gap, yer Banana Republic, yer J Crew, right there
on Broadway just south of Houston. (I'm still waiting for a Chess King to
open; then the transformation will be complete.) Walk through Times Square
and you'll be tempted by such culinary temples as Olive Garden, TGIFridays,
Sbarro, and, natch, the largest McDonald's on the planet. "Great," one
might say. "It's capitalism at its best. They surely must do brisk
business, they employ locals, what harm?" Tell that to the restaurant
owners a block or two away, some of whom have been there comfortably on
Restaurant Row for decades. And who are shuttering one after another as the
culture of "I need to know that I can eat the same crap I can eat back home"
digs deeper.
Take it a step further: look at what's playing on Broadway -- "The Lion
King," "Beauty and the Beast," and coming soon, "Mary Poppins" and "The
Little Mermaid." Who needs movies? We can spend ten times as much and see
real (or only partially animatronic) people! And hey, we already know the
stories, so there's no danger of being challenged by icky thought-provoking
ideas.
Take it another step further: ClearChannel now owns pretty much every major
radio station in NYC. To keep from annihilating themselves, they carve out
their niches: there's the bland top-40 station (with wacky morning hosts!),
the bland K-Rock (with national shock jock Howard Stern!), the bland oldies
station (with Cousin Brucie for crying out loud), the bland neo-retro-disco
station (with... who knows!), the bland country station (with... who
cares!). No commercial classical station. No commercial jazz station
(unless you consider Kenny G to be jazz).
That most American pursuit of branding has turned into blanding. More and
more, it's impossible to have any sense of place, anywhere in the world.
Sure, the street names may be different, but the landmarks are the same.
You've just left Anytown, USA. Welcome to Anytown, USA.
Christopher
For assistance, please contact
the smoe.org administrators.