The magazine Finance and Commerce just published a story about a retail development in Mountain Iron. We still don’t know what box store is going to be in this development but it’s interesting to see a Range town get this kind of attention. Media outlets are finally remembering that the Range is an excellent barometer of the national economy. The writer Burl Gilyard refers to Mountain Iron as a “seemingly remote outpost.” If that’s true, I live 50 miles northwest of this remote outpost in an outpost so remote it lacks a definition. Dude. Mountain Iron is a “Quad City” on the Range. Remote outposts don’t form quads.
Retail economics on the Iron Range
January 2, 2009 by 4 Comments
Given that the malls everywhere have empty stores (50% too many retail shops nationwide, according to a piece on MPR) and we have empty spaces locally, what can possibly be successful in our area? What about the supposed Menards going into the spot across from the Thunderbird mall? Do you think people welcome big box stores for their low prices or for the possibility of more jobs? Did you realize that a great many of these stores have really low wages with health care benefits that must be purchased if one is to get them at all?
Oh, I do not for a second suggest that retail jobs are even remotely the solution to our problems up here. In the new year, I am trying to be less negative. 🙂
I have many doubts about the high-gloss marketing of this particular project. But, at least with retail, it’s generally “put up or shut up” — either the developer has the money or it doesn’t. But even the story itself suggests that they would be attracting existing stores from Virginia as well as new stores. This is more dancing along the margins than it is economic revitalization.
Ah yes. So often we hear candidates talk about job creation when maybe it is business stealing or business subsidizing (like with the “foreign” car companies in the south.)
Big Box Retail isn’t the answer for the area. It hurts local business owners. Provides low paying jobs. Many times the retailers are given a subsidy, free land or some sort of tax relief to come into an area. It can end up being a wash and the local municipalities don’t get anything out of it. If the retailer is putting up their own cash to build and run the store, fine, I guess. But if they are given help through any type of government they don’t deserve to open a store. At the same time, wouldn’t it be nice if we could keep local businesses in business? Wouldn’t it be nice to keep money in our area instead of sending it off to some corporate office somewhere?