Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde have counterparts in the retail world. So-called big-box stores can be saviors to a job-starved city seeking to expand its tax base or they can be a curse providing unfair competition to smaller stores.
Ikea’s Dublin store won approval recently with a 4-1 City Council vote. The 317,000-square-foot store will be the biggest Ikea in the Bay Area and is expected to produce $1 million a year for the city of Dublin.
When the big-box store first announced its intentions to locate in the Tri-Valley, fears were raised about its effect on smaller retailers, traffic, the visual impact of a huge building and whether Dublin would be better served pursuing office businesses that have less of an environmental impact.
The Dublin City Council approved Ikea’s proposal only after company executives met with city and county officials and residents of Dublin and neighboring communities to address their worries. All in all, the store tried to be a good neighbor. Contrast that approach with Wal-Mart’s efforts to open its superstores in California where the world’s largest retailer has found opposition at almost every site it has sought.
Recently, the Wal-Mart juggernaut was derailed in Inglewood, where voters turned down the company’s strong-arm tactics. Wal-Mart spent more than $1 million to promote its initiative, which the retailer placed on the ballot after the City Council rejected the proposed development last year. The company wanted to have its plans excluded from traffic studies, environmental reviews and public hearings. That proved to be too much for Inglewood residents.
Sixty percent of the voters went against the measure primarily because Wal-Mart tried to circumvent local decision makers, not because of low wages or poor benefits stressed by organized labor. Opposed by unions and smaller competitors, Wal-Mart faces further battles, including Los Angeles, as it tries to move from its rural roots to urban California.
Consumers are not against big-box retailers and the bargains they can offer, but they do resist companies that shrug off neighbors’ concerns and try to circumvent local control. Ikea has shown that if it is a good citizen, goes through the planning process and complies with the law, communities will lay out a welcome mat.
– Contra Costa Times
