Ahead of the reopening of several Walmart stores damaged by the unrest following the killing of George Floyd in 2020, President and CEO Doug McMillon pledged that “Walmart’s commitment to Chicago remains strong . We’re not going anywhere.”
That promise was shattered last week when the retailer, which says Walmart stores in Chicago have been underperforming since the mega-retailer fought to gain a foothold in the city, announced the unexpected , almost immediately closing four stores in Chatham, Kenwood, Little Village and Lake View .
If shopping options are close, people in more affluent neighborhoods may be able to weather the storm. But the closings in lower-income Black and Latino neighborhoods are hurting, as the exodus of other grocery stores, pharmacies and job deserts on the South and West sides has shown in the past. Residents are rightly upset, and they showed up to protest the closing of the Chatham Walmart on Thursday and the closing of Little Village on Friday.
Neighborhoods that are better off today have locally owned, independent, small businesses that really have it in for the long haul but are at risk of being pushed out of a market by big-box stores with energy.
Shortly after Whole Foods announced last year it would close its Englewood store, the City Council OK’d a plan to give Ohio-based Yellow Banana company millions in subsidies to reopen the closed Sav A Lot stores in Black. neighborhood. Chatham, Kenwood and Little Village could probably use a similar plan here. And the city as a whole could use some new ideas on how to help neighborhood mom-and-pop businesses thrive where they’re needed most.
For that, consider the impact of a joint project by Stanford University, the University of Texas, Penn State and the World Bank in 2017-2018 that aims to help hundreds of small businesses in Mexico City called “tienditas,” neighborhood stores that are a major part of the city’s retail economy.
Like mom-and-pop businesses elsewhere, tienditas face stiff competition from big-box stores and e-commerce. But intensive marketing and management help made a big difference. Businesses that received assistance increased their sales from 15% to 19% compared to the control group that did not receive assistance.
What is relevant here is that, according to the researchers, at least some of the findings and practices may benefit small businesses in more developed economies such as the US
Chicago is a neighborhood. If we want our neighborhood small businesses to thrive, the intensive help from the experts here is worth a try.
A heads-up, or not?
When stores are at risk of closing due to poor sales and lack of profitability, communities with the fewest options deserve priority. Walmart said its continued attempts to resolve the challenges, with the help of the city and community, have not been successful.
Since the first Walmart opened in Chicago nearly 20 years ago, the stores have lost “tens of millions of dollars a year, and their annual losses have nearly doubled in the last five years, ” the company said in a statement.
But there is a disconnect here that helps make the case for strengthening local businesses that have a vested interest in serving our city.
Nedra Sims Fears, executive director of the Greater Chatham Initiative, said she’s not sure who Walmart told in her neighborhood — but she hasn’t been contacted by friends or acquaintances.
“I don’t know anyone who knows anything,” he told us.
Many shoppers at the Chatham Walmart were also unaware of the store’s potential closing until being alerted by reporters Tuesday.
“It’s like they don’t think about the people in these communities,” 38-year-old Regina Dickey told the Sun-Times during a visit to the Walmart Health center, part of the Chatham supercenter.
Pledging $100 million to address systemic racism, as McMillon did in 2021, is noble. But food, pharmacy and job deserts are a big part of systemic injustice. Walmart is uniquely positioned to attack the problem by providing access to food, medicine and jobs in neighborhoods that desperately need all three.
That promise certainly doesn’t resonate with the people of Chatham, Kenwood and Little Village today.
Meanwhile, the remaining four Chicago Walmarts — in Belmont Cragin, Austin, Pullman and Gresham — are still open but continue to face the same “business difficulties,” the company said in its statement.
Let’s just hope they don’t suffer the same fate.
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