STANWOOD – Roger McSteen might seem an unlikely Wal-Mart supporter.
As a business owner, he’s seen first-hand how a new Wal-Mart can cut into a small-town store’s profits.
But the idea of a Wal-Mart in Stanwood doesn’t faze him.
“It’s the best thing in the world,” McSteen said. “It keeps people right here in this community.”
McSteen has owned the Home Center furniture store in the old brick-street section on the west end of downtown Stanwood since 1970.
The only thing about the proposal he doesn’t like is the location – it’s too close to children walking and driving to and from the high school, he said. Actually, McSteen said he would prefer Wal-Mart to build even closer to his store.
“I can beat their prices day and night,” McSteen said. “Wal-Mart’s not going to keep me down. Tell them to bring their lunch; I’m ready.”
He bases that on experience with two newer stores he opened in Eastern Washington. One, in Moses Lake, suffered a 20-percent drop in business when Wal-Mart opened a store a few miles away in Ephrata, he said. In response, McSteen opened a store in Ephrata two years ago. Competing head to head, McSteen said he has more than recovered his losses.
A key advantage is personalized service, he said.
“If I’m doing my job right, here, they’ll keep coming back,” McSteen said.
A consultant’s economic impact study recommended local businesses adopt a similar service-based strategy if Wal-Mart comes in.
Wal-Mart proponents also cite figures from the study that show the city’s tax revenues would get a $187,000 net annual boost. That equals 5 percent of the city’s sales tax base, the study found.
“Even a 5-percent boost in our revenue is a pretty good-sized item,” said Mayor Herb Kuhnly, who speaks favorably of Wal-Mart.
The money would be welcome as Stanwood struggles to pay for the increased services and infrastructure of a fast-growing town.
Having a commercial sector on the east edge of town could help pay for the downtown revitalization that a local group called Design Stanwood has been pushing, Kuhnly said.
“Design Stanwood has some great ideas for downtown, but they all cost money,” Kuhnly said.
The economic study showed Stanwood businesses do well at drawing people to town, but that there’s a shortage of general merchandisers, clothing stores and car dealers.
The study also said a large merchandiser such as Wal-Mart could add 200 jobs, or about 3 percent of the city’s employment base.
“None of them will be the best paying jobs in the world, but we need them,” Kuhnly said.
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