Walmart drew Downtown protests, but why didn't Target?
Brookfield Office Properties
The City Target at Figueroa and 7th will be located across Downtown from Walmart's Neighborhood Market on Cesar Chavez.
DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES — Downtown L.A. will be welcoming smaller versions of two big-box retailers in the near future: Walmart's Neighborhood Market on Cesar Chavez and City Target on Figueroa.
In response to Walmart moving to town, both politicians and local activists have spoken out at various protests; contrastingly, Target has generated positive buzz, if anything.
The two stores are more similar than different. They have competitive price points, relatively comparable shopper demographics and both are not unionized — one of the critiques levied against Walmart. So why is Downtown so welcoming toward Target, but not necessarily toward Walmart?
Real estate agent and Downtown blogger Brigham Yen noted similarities between the stores, but said the distinction between the two comes down to marketing. Target has done a better job aligning itself with more positive attributes, he said.
These attributes have influenced Nancy Burgos' opinion on the chains. She works Downtown close to the space allocated for the new CityTarget. She admitted she didn't know too much about the politics surrounding either store. Still, she purposefully avoids Walmart, but is looking forward to stopping by the Target at 7th and Figueroa.
"Walmart has got some really bad press for the way they treat their employees," Burgos said, "Target … may have questionable political views. But from what I understand, they treat their employees pretty well."
Marisol Vlachos, an associate broker working Downtown, agreed with Burgos. Vlachos said she doesn't really shop at Walmart, but only because she believes the store is overcrowded and has different quality than Target.
Employee treatment has been a central issue in the discussion about Walmart moving Downtown. Councilwoman Jan Perry pledged to reject potential campaign contributions from Walmart in June, stating Walmart's failure to offer workers a "reasonable quality of life" as the reason.
At the same time, Perry is enthusiastic about the new City Target. "Target has a very strong civic engagement program that I see time and time again," she said, "They have a good track record."
Steven Restivo, the Senior Director of Community Affairs at Walmart, sees many similarities between Target and Walmart.
"The sizes of the stores are about the same. The merchandise is about the same. The number of people working in the stores is about the same," he said.
Restivo believes the opposition to Walmart doesn't represent the majority opinion.
"I think even our loudest critics would admit that the day the store opens Downtown, there'll be thousands of locals attending," he predicts.
Ramana Mosumpake, a software engineer, said he shops at both stores. He's heard about the protests against Walmart, and agrees with them to a certain point.
"I think [Walmart] needs to raise their standards, but they should be able to do business [Downtown]," he said.
Despite this, Mosumpake said he'll check out both stores once they open.
Target could not be reached for comment.
DTLAFamilies (@DTLAFamilies) on September 01, 2012, at 07:51AM – #1
I think part of it is a class issue. Target is inexpensive but they market themselves in the same way Ikea does: "I may not have money but I have sophisticated taste." Walmart, OTOH, is associated with the rural poor. So even though Target's labor practices aren't all that great, urban consumers think of Target as aligning with their tastes, sensibilities and values, while Walmart is where those gross people shop.
Brady Westwater (@bradywestwater) on September 01, 2012, at 01:58PM – #2
I agree class has a lot to do with it. It's hard to get the chattering classes to turn against a store that they shop at - even though both of them are equally non-union which is the supposed reason for the attacks on Walmart.
But another factor that makes Target... less of a target... is the size of a target that Walmart is. Target - as the second largest chain in the country - has 365,000 employees while Walmart has 2,200,000 employees.
DenOfLosAngeles on September 01, 2012, at 02:47PM – #3
Simply, Walmart is run by assholes.
downtown vibe on September 01, 2012, at 08:18PM – #4
Actually this article is very interesting. I think Emily is doing us all a great service by raising this issue.
The fact is that "the community" is not against WALMART. The United Food Workers Union Local 770 is against WALMART. They have been attacking the the company through City zoning issues for years in an effort to keep them from competing with unionized grocery stores in the LA area.
Target is very similar to WALMART. They provide low paying non-unionized jobs for part time workers.
So why has the City come out against WALMART? Simple. The grocery workers union are PAYING your local politicians to fight their battle for them. IT HAS NOTHING to do with the community or good government. Your council people are lying through their teeth when they say they are trying to protect "historic" Chinatown from WALMART.
The irony is that it was the unionized grocery stores that put all the mom and pop markets out of business in the 1970's so the unions and their connections to organized crime could control our food supply. The WALMART location in Chinatown was built for an Albertsons Grocery that never got built. Why wasn't anybody concerned about the mom and pop markets then? In fact, the building was built with CRA money because the market was considered good for the area....
Follow the money.
John G on September 01, 2012, at 10:44PM – #5
I would have to agree more with downtown vibe than DTLAFamlies. The reason why is because the unions are heavily involved in this state and saying this is all about class is too general. Why too general? Because there is a Wal-Mart in Rosemead (San Gabriel Valley) and I see many people of all classes (asians, latinos, white, etc.) shop there and I don't see them complaining. I think it's the area and community that has more of an affect of WalMart's reputation than a "CLASS" of people.
Downtown has many districts and although marketing does play a strong role, the "behind-the scenes" politics and management carries a stronger clout, especially with a liberal democratic based government dealing with corporate businesses. Just look at Jan Perry and her poor attitude towards WalMart; that tells you alot about her and her influence among her constituents (and not all of them are necessarily against WalMart).
JCali on September 03, 2012, at 05:24PM – #6
DenOfLosAngeles put it best.
The problem with Walmart isn't necessarily that it is bad for downtown. The problem is that Walmart has been bad for the country as a whole and people, like myself, are reluctant to see Walmart's influence spread to downtown LA and see it supported.
Walmart's record of bad corporate citizenship is well documented here. The Union has every right to campaign against Walmart. Most of LA's grocery stores offer a lifetime living wage with benefits for lower skilled people, which is something Walmart actively campaigns against.
In my own personal experience growing up in rural South Carolina, when Walmart moved in to the nearest town there was a big negative impact. The drug and clothing stores on main street and a grocery store shut down. Walmart also built on the outskirts of town rather than integrating into the community, causing an area that was once forest and fields to become a Walmart mini-mall with fast food restaurants. From employee treatment to contributing to urban sprawl to the push of manufacturing jobs outside the country, it is understandable why Walmart wouldn't be welcome in a progressive city like LA.
Joel Covarrubias on September 12, 2012, at 02:19PM – #7
What a superficial piece. Obviously the two stores have lots in common. They both are large stores which sell lots of products.
But there are real differences, it is not simply a matter of how they market their images.
There are two big issues differentiating Walmart from Target. First is how the companies treat their employees. Time and time again, Walmart has had high profile lawsuits against it, alleging that it has worked to disrupt any labor organization, has not allowed employees to take their full breaks, has short-payed employees, etc. Meanwhile, from what I understand, Target pays it's employees better and treats them better.
The second issue is the community impact. I have seen, first-hand, entire Main Streets in the Midwest shuttered, because a mega-Walmart sucked up all the business. Walmart is a community absorber/destroyer. I don't see this happen with Target. Target tends to work with the community and listen to local stakeholders. I've never seen the Walmart effect come from a Target store.
(For the record, I am neither part of organized labor, nor an employee of Target.)
TODOSSOMOSPUTOS (@TODOSSOMOSPUTOS) on November 03, 2012, at 02:25PM – #8
It's now making more sense as to why some people were so opposed to Wal-mart opening at the far edge of grubby Chinatown, a neighborhood in serious need of some sprucing up and new blood. I'm not convinced that most consumers who support Target over Wal-Mart do so because of Wal-Mart's documented stranglehold over their employees. Target shoppers downtown just want to get all the stuff they think they need in one place rather than having to actually go around downtown (I prefer the word "independent" to "Mom & Pop" stores) to get it.
Convenience is a much stronger draw here than ethics, whether people are willing to admit it.
Refreshing to see this blog exploring the class angle in the ongoing experiment / development of DTLA, an epicenter of economic disparity. Hoping more stories about Downtown explore this issue, as owners vs. renters, the haves vs. the have nots, etc. will almost always be an undeniable aspect of life, here in particular.