Wal-Mart unveils big-city plans

WASHINGTON — Wal-Mart plans to build more than 50 stores in urban areas over the next two years and, sounding more governmental than corporate, said it would also create programs to support small businesses — including its competitors — in the process.

The plan, announced Tuesday by Chief Executive Lee Scott, would be a major shift in strategy for the company, which became the nation's largest retailer by opening rural and suburban stores.

Wal-Mart's arrival in big cities is often controversial, with opponents fearing that the retail giant will drive out small businesses and depress wages. Wal-Mart tacitly acknowledged those concerns Tuesday with its plans to create "jobs and opportunity zones" around 10 of its new urban stores.

In those areas, Wal-Mart will hold seminars on how to do business with the company, donate money to local chambers of commerce and feature small businesses in its in-store radio promotions, among other things.

A hotly contested Wal-Mart store under construction on Chicago's West Side will anchor the first zone. The remaining nine will be announced in coming months, the company said.

It did not disclose where the other new urban stores would be built but said it is looking at markets where it has no presence.

"We see that we can also be better for communities than we have been in the past, if we're willing to stretch ourselves and our resources a little bit," Scott said during a conference call from Chicago with reporters.

Traditionally, Wal-Mart has not been one to give its competitors a helping hand. The company built its name around its laserlike focus on low prices. Employees secretly shop at rival stores, then slash their own prices, and its post-Thanksgiving blockbuster deals are unparalleled.

But recently, as the retailer has come under assault for everything from its health-care benefits to sluggish sales, it has tried to show a softer side.

"They've got a problem to solve," said David Neumark, an economist with the Public Policy Institute of California. "For some reason, they alone among big-box retailers have sort of become evil in part of the public's eye."

At the Chicago store, for example, local officials initially rejected zoning changes that would allow Wal-Mart to build its first store within city limits, under pressure from union leaders and small businesses.

The store eventually was approved only after Wal-Mart agreed not to sell fresh produce and other groceries to prevent competition with local supermarkets.