Walmart expansion worries some local businesses

POLSON — While a portion of area residents are excited to welcome the Walmart Supercenter to Polson when it opens its doors on Oct. 23, others are nervous about the potential impact that the retail giant could exert on existing businesses in the area. Some citizens lament replacing Polson Hill’s welcoming view of Flathead Lake with a sterile parking lot and storefront, but some local entrepreneurs – and perhaps the community as a whole - have a lot more at stake than just an eyesore scarring the hillside overlooking town. They are concerned that the development could jeopardize the economic well-being of their hometown.

Proponents have touted the new jobs that the store will bring, with its staff of 210 employees – about 65% of whom are full-time workers, according to store manager Dan DeWitt. They also point to Walmart’s track record as a good corporate citizen in the community, providing money for new exercise equipment for the Polson Fire Department and recently donating $1,000 to the St. Ignatius Senior Citizen Center nutrition program, to name just two of their many acts of charity on the local level.

But others question the quality of those new positions, and fear that they could be offset by job losses elsewhere if other stores in the area cannot compete with Walmart’s prices. Critics also contend that the store’s charitable donations are simply a drop in the bucket compared to the total sum of money being leached from the community.

Polson is not the first small town to face economic pressure at the hands of a Walmart Supercenter, nor will it be the last. Teresa Van Buren moved to the area from Sandpoint, Idaho, where she says a Walmart dramatically altered the business landscape.

“It’s been tough on the smaller stores and especially the grocery stores,” Van Buren said of the changes to Sandpoint. “I don’t think that the average person that is not in retail cares or thinks about the impact on smaller stores. … They’re going to do what’s best for them as a consumer.”

Greg Hertz, Polson’s state representative and the owner of Moody’s Market, is painfully aware of the threat posed to his business by Walmart’s expansion. In an interview with the Leader last year, Hertz said he fears for the future of family-owned Super One Foods, noting that both Havre and Miles City – cities with roughly twice as many people as Polson – saw grocery stores go under after Walmart Supercenters moved into town.

Downtown business owner Susan Evans is another local who will not be rolling out the welcome mat for the new store.

“The (Walton) family that owns Walmart has four of the top ten wealthiest people in the country and they will not pay their employees a living wage. I can’t think of enough bad words to describe my feelings about that,” Evans said.

But now that the store’s grand opening has arrived, it will be up to consumers to ultimately determine the impact Walmart will have on local businesses. Evans just hopes shoppers will give locally-owned shops a try before running straight to Walmart. She shares an anecdotal story about past Christmases in which she gave her kids money to spend on gifts with one condition: they had to spend the money in downtown Polson.

“And they came home with amazing, marvelous, creative gifts,” Evans said of their finds.

It might not be election season, but in this clash of Main Street versus Wall Street, consumers will still have the power to vote with their everyday spending choices. And for many small businesses in the Mission Valley, those choices could make all the difference.