Wal-Mart Stores Inc. began targeting urban areas for development after the superstore saturated the rural market, but a study has shown the company’s claims of bringing jobs and retail growth don’t always ring true in cities. The 2009 report, which studied the effect of a Walmart that opened in Chicago’s west side in September 2006, found that the superstore had a negative effect on businesses closest to it.
“The bottom line is the greater loss of business closer to Walmart and jobs lost from those businesses and excess business closings pretty much balanced the number of jobs Walmart brought,” said David Merriman, an economist and one of the report authors.
The data collected for the study, published by Loyola University Chicago’s Center for Urban Research and Learning, was completed before the national recession began taking its toll.
But Steven Restivo, Wal-Mart Stores’ director of community affairs, called the study “flawed,” saying the report didn’t take into account the 22 new businesses that opened near Walmart. The company also has invested in Chicago nonprofits.
“Anyone who’s walked the neighborhood around our Chicago store … knows the positive impact in that community,” he said.
