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> Super Wal-Nart opens March 5th
Southsider2k12
post Feb 8 2008, 08:03 AM
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Are people excited, upset, depressed, or just indifferent?

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JHeath
post Feb 8 2008, 09:38 AM
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I'm wondering what will happen to that development. With the former Valueland store having been vacant since shortly after Meijer opened, a few other stores empty, and another one leaving soon , what's to become of it?
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MC Born & Raised
post Feb 8 2008, 10:02 AM
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QUOTE(JHeath @ Feb 8 2008, 09:38 AM) *

I'm wondering what will happen to that development. With the former Valueland store having been vacant since shortly after Meijer opened, a few other stores empty, and another one leaving soon , what's to become of it?


Well, I'm thinking Batteries Plus won't be able to carry that plaza all by its lonesome. ;-)

It's too bad, really. You'd think something could survive/thrive in that spot. I'd still like to see a Best Buy or a Circuit City come in somewhere, and that's as good a spot as any.
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Southsider2k12
post Feb 8 2008, 11:05 AM
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Those chains aren't going to move into a place like that. Part of the reason you almost always see large chains building new developments is they can claim the depreciation of a new building on their taxes.
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Dave
post Feb 8 2008, 12:52 PM
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QUOTE(southsider2k7 @ Feb 8 2008, 11:05 AM) *

Those chains aren't going to move into a place like that. Part of the reason you almost always see large chains building new developments is they can claim the depreciation of a new building on their taxes.


Thanks! I've always wondered why the chains would prefer building new to buying used.

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ChickenCityRoller
post Feb 14 2008, 10:53 AM
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I'm boycotting it.

First presidential canidate who says we have to get rid of Walwort gets my vote.


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Southsider2k12
post Feb 14 2008, 11:35 AM
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QUOTE(ChickenCityRoller @ Feb 14 2008, 10:53 AM) *

I'm boycotting it.

First presidential canidate who says we have to get rid of Walwort gets my vote.


So I take it you aren't voting for Hillary?
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Ang
post Feb 14 2008, 12:13 PM
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QUOTE(southsider2k7 @ Feb 14 2008, 10:35 AM) *

So I take it you aren't voting for Hillary?


laugh.gif

Personally, I'm not fond of Walnart either. And we have TWO super Walnarts in this town. I buy my groceries at Smith's--which is another name for Kroger. They have this discount card that you can use at affiliated gas stations to save 3 cents a gallon. Then, when you buy food there, you get another fuel discount on your receipt. It depends on how much you spend, but they have up to 15 cents off a gallon. When used with your card, you can get up to 18 cents off a gallon!
All the other stuff I need I usually buy at Family Dollar. They have all the same brands I use at a lower price than Walnart. I only shop at that place out of ABSOLUTE NECESSITY.


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ChickenCityRoller
post Feb 14 2008, 03:07 PM
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QUOTE(southsider2k7 @ Feb 14 2008, 11:35 AM) *

So I take it you aren't voting for Hillary?



Of course I am! laugh.gif Hillary for you and ME!
Turn your volume up all the way and get down with your badself!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5FvyGydc8no


that's her death rattle right there. Can we ad a puke smilie? laugh.gif


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JHeath
post Feb 14 2008, 03:22 PM
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QUOTE(ChickenCityRoller @ Feb 14 2008, 03:07 PM) *

that's her death rattle right there. Can we ad a puke smilie? laugh.gif

I second that. btw...how do you find this stuff?? laugh.gif
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Southsider2k12
post Feb 14 2008, 03:23 PM
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QUOTE(JHeath @ Feb 14 2008, 03:22 PM) *

I second that. btw...how do you find this stuff?? laugh.gif


We have a lot of that on my other sites, I'll see about exporting a packet of new smilies.
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Ang
post Feb 14 2008, 03:48 PM
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I got as far as them singing the first line and had to close out. My stomach started churning and my ears started to bleed!


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Dave
post Feb 14 2008, 04:06 PM
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My reaction was different from yours, Ang.

Felt more like having a railroad spike driven through my temple.
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Southsider2k12
post Mar 3 2008, 02:07 PM
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http://thenewsdispatch.com/main.asp?Sectio...amp;TM=54108.65

QUOTE
Updated Wal-Mart Opens Wednesday
MICHIGAN CITY - The new Michigan City Wal-Mart Supercenter will open Wednesday.

Community leaders and local dignitaries will join Wal-Mart Store Manager Shanon Thiel and associates at the 7:30 a.m. grand opening ceremony.

At the grand opening, Wal-Mart will present $18,000 in grants to local organizations.

Wal-Mart originally opened in 1990 at 5780 Franklin St. The new store is farther south and east off of County Road 400 North.

"We are pleased that Wal-Mart's belief in our community has resulted in this new Supercenter," Mayor Chuck Oberlie said. "While the economic benefits derived are mutual to Wal-Mart and the populace of Michigan City, the long-term impact of their presence should herald a new era of retail expansion and growth."

Thiel said the relocation added 72,000 square feet to the store.

"This is a great day for our store and our customers," he said.

He said the new store will have wider aisles, a grocery story, bakery, Tire & Lube Express, a vision center, a pharmacy with two drive-through lanes, an expanded lawn and garden center, a one-hour photo lab, and an expanded electronics and home entertainment department. The store will be open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Thiel said the store plans to employ 380 associates, 180 of whom are new hires as a result of the relocation.

At Wednesday's ceremony, $18,000 in grants will be distributed to the Boys & Girls Club, La Porte County Child Abuse Prevention Council, Michiana Resources, Michigan City Area Schools, Michigan City Fire Department, Michigan City High School, Michigan City Police Department and the Michigan City Zoological Society.
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lovethiscity
post Mar 8 2008, 07:27 AM
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QUOTE(southsider2k7 @ Feb 8 2008, 11:05 AM) *

Those chains aren't going to move into a place like that. Part of the reason you almost always see large chains building new developments is they can claim the depreciation of a new building on their taxes.

And with a new development at a lower Coutny tax rate being planned just up the street at 94, why would a new store go to the Wal-nart plaza?
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Southsider2k12
post Mar 8 2008, 06:08 PM
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So we went and checked it out the other day, and I didn't come away that impressed. There were no big sales at all, and the traffic patterns were a horrible, horrible mess. Its a Wal-Mart with a grocery store, and they really didn't go out of their way to try to win any new business.
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JHeath
post Mar 8 2008, 09:35 PM
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I'm glad to hear that. I have to admit...I'll continue shopping at Al's. I've no interest in Super Wal-Nart.

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Ang
post Mar 10 2008, 09:21 AM
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QUOTE(southsider2k7 @ Mar 8 2008, 06:08 PM) *

So we went and checked it out the other day, and I didn't come away that impressed. There were no big sales at all, and the traffic patterns were a horrible, horrible mess. Its a Wal-Mart with a grocery store, and they really didn't go out of their way to try to win any new business.



Why would they? Now that they've moved from across from Meijer, they don't have the competition factor. Add the fact that Meijer never has enough product to support their sales, Wal-Nart doesn't feel they need to do anything special. You should WANT to go there just because they now sell meat and dairy and are in a new fancy store. You should WANT to go there because it's a New & Improved Wal-Nart.


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edgeywood
post Mar 10 2008, 01:12 PM
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QUOTE(Ang @ Mar 10 2008, 09:21 AM) *

Why would they? Now that they've moved from across from Meijer, they don't have the competition factor. Add the fact that Meijer never has enough product to support their sales, Wal-Nart doesn't feel they need to do anything special. You should WANT to go there just because they now sell meat and dairy and are in a new fancy store. You should WANT to go there because it's a New & Improved Wal-Nart.



I can't even deal with Jewel, must less Wal-Nart. I can go to Al's, buy groceries and be back home in less than 30 minutes. When I really want to put on the dog, I go to Fancy Al's on Karwick!
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Southsider2k12
post Mar 11 2008, 07:48 AM
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http://thenewsdispatch.com/main.asp?Sectio...amp;TM=35340.29

QUOTE
Super' Economic Shift
Local grocers could be concerned about Supercenter opening

Deborah Sederberg
The News-Dispatch

MICHIGAN CITY - When the new Wal-Mart Supercenter opened Wednesday, it marked a major shift in the retail economy in Michigan City. Not only does Wal-Mart have its traditional discount store, but it has added a grocery store and an expanded pharmacy to the local market.

Mayor Chuck Oberlie took part in the grand opening. "Wal-Mart has raised the bar of competition in the city. You always worry about competition like this; we can't get involved in protecting one class of business from another."

Still, Oberlie said he was pleased the store was built with local labor and that Wal-Mart has recommitted itself to supporting local organizations. At the opening, store officials passed out $18,000 in checks to eight organizations.

Oberlie said one of his concerns is what Wal-Mart will do with its 114,000-square-foot building on Franklin Street. Now that it is vacant, only a handful of stores remain in the shopping center that opened in 1990.

"Wal-Mart has promised us they are marketing the building," said Oberlie. "In fact, we have had inquiries from potential users. And to my understanding, at least one of the companies is a retailer."

But for all the optimism about the new store, the Wal-Mart Supercenter is being eyed warily by Michigan City grocery store owners.

While Gil Pontius, president and chief executive officer of Lakeshore Foods Corp., declined to comment on the Wal-Mart Supercenter, he is well aware of the impact of stores like that. In 1998 when Meijer opened on Franklin Street, Pontius closed Lakeshore's 50,000-square-foot store in the Wal-Mart plaza.

Back in 1998, Pontius talked about the competition. "We have always competed well against competition, but it's no secret that our competition has a store five times the size of ours."

Lakeshore Foods, the parent company of Al's Valueland, has two stores in Michigan City, Al's Supermarket, 2600 Franklin St., and one in Karwick Plaza. Both have been remodeled since 2003. The company also operates two stores in La Porte, one in South Haven, Ind., and one in New Buffalo, Mich.

Al Tokoly, manager of K&M Foods in Eastgate Plaza on Michigan Boulevard, said he isn't overly concerned, but acknowledged that the new store "will slice the pie a little thinner."

K&M, a small 13,200-square-foot grocery with 30 employees, has been a fixture on the East Side since 1955. Tokoly has worked there since 1960.

"Frankly, I'd like to see some more neighbors around here," said Tokoly of the dearth of retailers near his store.

"I'm guardedly optimistic. I think we will survive and I think all the others will survive, too," Tokoly said.

Even though the profit margin for a grocery store is 1 percent or less, Tokoly said, K&M works hard to hold down its prices. He said the disadvantage he and other grocers have against Wal-Mart is that when prices rise for milk or eggs, he either has to absorb it or pass it along to customers. "Wal-Mart can give away groceries because they can make it up on the other items they carry," Tokoly said.

Shannon Thiel, manager of the Wal-Mart Supercenter, worked his way up from gathering shopping carts in the parking lot to manager. He said he's proud of the amenities in the Supercenter.

In the produce section, fruits are displayed in containers that appear to be old-time fruit crates. "They give the department a homey feel, kind of a country atmosphere," he said.

He said the Michigan City store is the first to offer a brand of meat known as Genuine Steakhouse Brand. And in the frozen food aisle, Thiel demonstrated how the cold cabinets light up only as a customer approaches.

The store's ceiling lights also function only as needed. A daylight harvesting system uses 76 skylights throughout the store and light sensors monitor the natural light available. Electric lights turn on as needed. The brown concrete floor is made of recyclable material.

Ready-to-go food, both hot and cold, is available from the store's deli and bakery as well as from an in-store Subway restaurant. Thiel said the bakery will sell everything from fresh rolls every morning to special-order birthday and wedding cakes.

Thiel said that in response to customer demand, display shelves are lower and easier to reach. And, he said, "Customers tell us they do not like self check-out. They like someone to be here to check them out, to take care of them."

Amanda Haverstick and Rick Richards contributed to this story.

Contact Deborah Sederberg at dsederberg@thenewsdispatch.com.

By The Numbers
Wal-Mart Supercenter - 186,000 square feet.

Employees: 380

Average wage: $10.80 an hour

Wal-Mart in Indiana: 124 facilities with 39,105 employees. (81 Supercenters, 17 discount stores, four Neighborhood Markets, 16 Sam's Clubs, six distribution centers)
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