RETAIL SALES UP IN YELM – WAL-MART OPENING CITED
“Taxable retail sales in Thurston County dropped nearly 6 percent in the second quarter compared with 2007, another blow to South Sound’s economy at a time when some local governments are considering layoffs to offset lost revenue.

Signs of a slower economy appeared in the first quarter of the year, when the county’s taxable retail sales fell 1.3 percent, according to state Department of Revenue data. It was the first decline in 13 years.

In the second quarter, taxable retail sales in the county fell 5.61 percent to $1.01 billion from $1.07 billion in the same period in 2007…

In Yelm, the site of a new Wal-Mart, retail sales generated by general merchandise stores shot up 391 percent to $9.62 million from $1.95 million, according to the second-quarter data,” quoting The Olympian.

The Olympian noted in the same story consistent growth with “retail sales in Lacey generated by “sporting goods” soared 246 percent to $16.2 million from $4.68 million. Clothing and clothing accessory retail sales also jumped more than 220 percent in the second quarter.

The outdoors store Cabela’s and department store Kohl’s opened in Lacey last fall.”

[Ed Note: This is impressive sales growth. Wise to keep in mind though that Wal-Mart opened in July 2007, so while retail sales are up overall in Yelm because of Wal-Mart’s opening, a better comparison will be when the fourth quarter sales figures are released comparing year-over-year with an open Wal-Mart here for the full quarter. In the third quarter of 2008, Yelm had no Two Friend’s Bistro or Arnold’s Country Inn, while a KFC and Japanese restaurant opened.]

THE SEPTEMBER, 2008 ECOLOGIST MAGAZINE SAID WAL-MART AFFECTS CITIES WHERE A NEW STORE IS OPENED:
“Researchers at the University of Chicago used survey and market data to assess the impact of a new Wal-mart store, built in one of the city’s neighborhoods in 2006. They found that the wal-Mart store ‘displace(d) a significant amount of sales from its home zip code’ and that ‘proximity to Wal-Mart may have increased the probability that a business closed during the first year of Wal-Mart’s operation.’
CLICK HERE to read the study.

HEAR YELM WAL-MART PICKETERS IN THEIR OWN WORDS
Andrew Wright and Lisa Fitkin of Nisqually Media interviewed the local Wal-Mart picketers.
Hear their comments in their own words. CLICK HERE.
And, the NVN’s spin on this story, CLICK HERE.
The New Rules site speaks to “The Hometown Advantage of reviving locally owned business” and lists the damage a Wal-Mart does over time to small cities and towns. CLICK HERE

MAYOR COMMENTS ON YELM WEATHERING THIS ECONOMY
Mayor Harding said in his column in the Oct. 17 NVN,
“The largest source of revenue for the city is sales taxes, collected through purchases made at local businesses…. As our tax revenue drop, so does the ability to provide those services [police, fire, maintenance for parks, streets & neighborhoods]…
We can weather a downturn in the economy and continue to provide vital city services. The City of Yelm continues down a healthy, fiscally conservative road.”

I CERTAINLY HOPE SO, HOWEVER LET’S SEE FOURTH QUARTER RETAIL SALES STATISTICS WHEN WE CAN VIEW A FULL 2007 QUARTER WITH A YELM WAL-MART OPEN COMPARED WITH 2008.

That said, KING-5 News in Seattle reports today “More Americans worried about economy”
&
MSNBC reports today in top headlines:
Planning for ‘Greater Depression’
“Special report: From hoarding food and bullets to learning how to sew, some Americans are preparing for even worse economic times.”
&
Survivalists hunker down [Excellent Video]
“While many Americans are worried about the tough economic times, Rob, an urban survivalist in Seattle says hes preparing his family for the worst-case scenario.”