Picture of the day - September 1, 2007

"Exit 7"

When Sam Walton first began building the empire that we know today as Wal-Mart, he had a grand vision of a nationwide network of stores offering virtually everything a family could need or want, all under one roof. But what set this amazing man from Arkansas apart from the millions of other starry-eyed entrepreneurs of his day was an almost supernaturally-keen sense of what it takes to succeed in the business world, and the results he had achieved by the time he passed on speak for themselves. Today, Wal-Mart Corporation is a massive retail juggernaut with the power to move into pretty much any town of its choosing and transform a stark plot of ground into the area's hub for shopping and socializing virtually overnight. If you're like most people these days, you probably have a number of friends and acquaintances that you rarely see outside of Wal-Mart! Many towns across this great land have discovered that the opening of a new Wal-Mart store is both a blessing and a curse. Unlike a shopping mall where they'll typically pay a premium for the privilege of shopping at dozens of stores without ever leaving the building, at Wal-Mart they can do the vast majority of their shopping under one roof while getting most of the things they want and need at a very competitive price. And of course every new Wal-Mart brings several hundred new jobs and an enormous boost in local sales tax revenues along with it. But there are also downsides... Inevitably, when Wal-Mart opens the doors to a new store a number of previously successful local businesses end up closing theirs. Nowadays, all across America there are empty buildings where small businesses once thrived. With the ability to purchase their merchandise in such enormous quantities, Wal-Mart can often sell an item for less than a small mom-and-pop store has to pay for them, making it difficult if not impossible to compete and stay in business. It seems that most people either love Wal-Mart or hate them, but the fact of the matter is they're here to stay, and any community they move into is changed forever. A perfect example of Wal-Mart's power to literally transform the landscape of America lies just a few miles down Interstate 81 at Exit 7... Back in the early 1980's the area around Exit 7 was nothing but woods and farmland, but after the Wal-Mart Corporation purchased a hefty chunk of that land and built a "Wal-Mart Supercenter" on it, restaurants, hotels and other businesses began springing up around it like mushrooms. Today the area resembles a small city - with the choking traffic to go along with it. America has changed a great deal over the past three decades thanks to the Wal-Mart juggernaut, and I often wonder if Mr. Walton would be pleased with the direction the company has taken since his death. But his vision has certainly become a reality, and the company he started from such humble beginnings in a small Arkansas town has become the most successful retail operation the world has ever seen.   Visit the POTD Archives for previous "Pictures Of The Day"!     Submit a photo of your own!            Why I publish the "Picture of the Day"