Walmart runs into a wall in New York

Facing opposition from local unions much like protestors in India

FILE - In this Feb. 20, 2012, file photo, customers walk into and out of a Wal-Mart store in Methuen, Mass. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. reported a 5.7 percent increase in second-quarter net income and raised its outlook for the full year as the world's largest retailer continues to woo back frugal shoppers by re-emphasizing that it has the lowest prices on everything from clothes to electronics. But Wal-Mart said Thursday, Aug. 16, 2012, that its total revenue came in short of Wall Street estimates, and the discounter announced that it would delay store expansion plans in Mexico, its largest international division, as it deals with bribery charges there. Investors, who had sent the stock up 25 percent since mid-May, pushed shares down more than 3 percent on the news. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola, File)

Mighty Walmart, the world’s largest retailer, has been thwarted once again in its efforts to open a big-box store in the Big Apple in the face of opposition from local unions much like protestors in India. However, unlike India where opposition to letting in big retailers such as Walmart stems from a professed fear that they may kill small “Mom and Pop” stores, it is largely the business model that the company follows that has kept it away from the big cities.

The world’s third largest corporation, according to Fortune Global 500, considered the biggest private employer in the world with over two million employees working at 8,500 stores in 15 countries under 55 different names, earned a whopping $446.950 billion in 2012.

In the U.S. alone, it has more than 4,000 stores, but only a handful in the big cities. There is none so far in New York or within the city limits of Washington DC, but there are dozens of sprawling Walmarts within 40 km in the surrounding suburbs in Maryland and Virginia.

But, of late, Walmart has been looking for small locations, around 20,000 square feet, just a fraction of its typical 150,000 to 195,000 square feet stores in the suburbs, in urban areas, including New York City, San Francisco and Washington.

The first of the six Walmart stores in the national capital are set to open by year-end much to the delight of Washingtonians who don’t mind driving out 30-40 km to “Save Money. Live better” as the 50-year old chain known for its rock bottom prices advertises. However, in New York, Walmart last week withdrew from a project, known as Gateway II, being developed by Related Companies in Brooklyn, after local unions, some members of the City Council and community groups raised an alarm at the idea of the retailer’s gaining a foothold in the city, according to the New York Times .

“Walmart’s withdrawal from Gateway II shows that when New Yorkers join arms, even the world’s richest retailer is no match for them,” Stephanie Yazgi, a spokesperson for Walmart Free NYC, was quoted as saying.

But Walmart, in a statement, made it clear that it was still interested in opening a store in the city: “Two things remain constant: most New Yorkers want us here, and we remain interested in providing more convenient access to Walmart for local residents.”