Shop till you drop dead
Today: the 24-hour Wal-Mart. Tomorrow: the moon!
JACQUES MARCOUX, VOLUNTEER STAFF
Winnipeg shoppers will soon be able to shop at Wal-Mart stores around the clock. Although the exact date has yet to be publicly announced, the retail giant, based in Bentonville, Arkansas, has decided that Canadians to should benefit from 24-hour retail shopping starting this fall.
This announcement was met with much public outcry, voiced mostly through letters to both the Winnipeg Free Press and the Winnipeg Sun. What ensued was a flurry of pointed columns, including one by Dave Angus, president and CEO of the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce, that condemned concerned Winnipeggers on the basis that the free market knows best. End of discussion.
The problem is that critics of the never-closing Wal-Mart voiced their concerns through knee-jerk reactions that are easy to rebuke. These individuals wrote emotionally charged letters expressing their concerns over issues such as reduced family time and materialism, structured by mostly groundless and unlettered arguments.
In response to the assertion that small business owners will falter under the added pressure, in the Sept. 9 issue of the Winnipeg Sun, Angus claims that citizens are undermining the true abilities of local entrepreneurs. There is ample and well-documented evidence to suggest that the presence of Wal-Mart has had a terrible impact on the retail landscape across North America. In fact, having witnessed the repercussions in their neighbouring cities, several municipalities have successfully staved off Wal-Mart from entering their neighbourhoods.
The city of Guelph is among the few cities that successfully prevented the retail giant from overrunning their community. However, within a short period of time, a newly elected city council, upon receiving what essentially amounted to a bribe from Wal-Mart, amended zoning bylaws to accommodate its penetration into the market. With the lobbying power this company has over policy-makers, one would have to be delusional to believe that local retailers are on the same playing field, and can simply rely upon their “creativity” and the “entrepreneurial spirit” to survive. It is said that the average successful entrepreneur needs to work on average of 70 hours a week to keep up with the demand of their business. How can we expect these already taxed individuals to invest even more time? This is truly a case of David versus Goliath.
Critics have also voiced their concerns over the well-being of Wal-Mart employees. Labour advocates are fearful of the effects that around-the-clock employment may have on workers. Over the past two Christmas Eves, while select Wal-Marts were open for 24 hours, more than enough employees voluntarily worked the graveyard shift. Yet what needs to be considered is the willingness of staff to work the night shift throughout the entire year rather than simply on one special occasion.
An interview with a Wal-Mart employee from Winnipeg confirmed that a large proportion of the in-store employees are comprised of either young students or elderly persons. Will Wal-Mart come to their aid when they require a stress leave? It will be interesting to see in the near future if, should the volunteer base shrink, employees will be coerced into accepting night shifts or risk losing their job. It would not be unrealistic to believe that the store might implement changes to their hour selection policies to reflect this problem.
If we are going to discuss the pros and cons of a monopolistic, retail giant opening its doors to the public around the clock, let’s at the very least not hide behind presumably incontestable arguments such as invoking the divine concept of the free market. The introduction of a 24-hour Wal-Mart will likely have next to no economic gains for the company, for it’s a zero-sum game. The high average of Canadian household debt will not help this situation either Consumers will not spend more; they will simply spread their spending over a longer period of time. The indebtedness of Canadians is the result of the consumer’s insatiable desire for unnecessary material items, which is being driven and facilitated by proponents of unregulated free market.
The Chamber of Commerce opposes government restrictions on shopping hours, describing it at regressive and archaic. The fact of the matter is most of the industrialized world regulates shopping hours on Sundays and holidays. But according to the Chamber of Commerce, the future of our communities should be left to the open-wallet consumers, as they view us.
Unfettered free market does not benefit the average business owners; it only benefits large corporations who have the lobbying power and scale to bend the rules in their favour. The true burden will once again fall squarely on the shoulders of small retailers.
As a business student, I have heard time and time again from company executives at business events that they will always migrate back to Winnipeg because there is no better place to live or raise a family. Could this be due to Winnipeg’s ardent resistance to unrestrained consumerism and economic hype that has led to the deterioration of so many communities?
Jacques Marcoux is a fourth-year commerce student.
