Comment 74819

By jackson (anonymous) | Posted February 28, 2012 at 09:50:16

seems to me there is a fundamental problem with walmarts business plan. McDonalds has managed to rebrand themselves into something closer to urban, recognizing that the urban demographic - young families and old people - is suited for a brand that can cross the age divide. But Walmart depends on being high volume and lowest price. They are one tiny step away from Costco. So two problems: I can't see how they could do without parking, and I can't see how they could create a new aesthetic that isn't Klieg lights and exposed steel beams.

Moreover, who would ever buy a condo above a walmart? Groceries are one thing, but even then it has to be a Loblaws or Longos - not a No Frills.

Personally I don't have a problem with Walmart per se. They are a feature of out collective economic and political choices. But good urban living is a totally different mode of making those choices, and I can't see how to cross that divide. The best I think you'll get is some fake walls, new colour scheme, soft white bulbs, maybe a new uniform - but no change of location or product.

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