A Tale of Two Wal-Marts

The Waltons who used to visit us every week on TV were the nicest of people struggling through the toughest of times. The Depression was almost a character itself, right along with John Boy and Grandpa and the rest. America loved the Waltons, until the charm wore off.

Today’s most prominent Waltons are neither fictional nor struggling. The heirs of the late Sam Walton, founder of Wal-Mart, are the billionaires of Bentonville, Ark. The bottom line suggests that America is happy with these Waltons, too, though their faces are not familiar. The image Wal-Mart projects on TV commercials is that of the store’s cheerful, just-plain-folks staff. This neighborliness sells coast-to-coast.

Well, not all America finds Wal-Mart so friendly. Scattered across the country--in places like East Aurora, Ill., Branford, Conn., and Lincoln, Maine--are ailing small-town Main Streets that curse the new Wal-Mart out on the Interstate that sells everything from pet food to prescription lenses. Interesting how a company that symbolizes Middle American values stands accused of undermining those same values.

Small merchants in the Santa Clarita Valley expressed the usual fears upon the opening of a new Wal-Mart a year ago this month. But as for the Wal-Mart coming to Panorama City, discouraging words are seldom heard.

This, then, is a tale of two Wal-Marts.

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Someday, it might be said that Panorama City has the best of Wal-Marts, one whose success goes far beyond its bottom line. Certainly that is the hope of civic leaders who persuaded Wal-Mart to move into a space in the Panorama Mall that had been vacated by The Broadway department store.

Wal-Mart opened its first California store in Lancaster in 1990; now the state has 97 Wal-Marts, but the Panorama City store will be the first within L.A. city limits.

“In addition to looking at smaller towns, we’re also looking at metro markets like Los Angeles,” said Cynthia Lin, a Wal-Mart spokeswoman. “It has a huge customer base we’re not yet serving.”

This Wal-Mart will be the chain’s first multistory store. But what most excites residents and nearby merchants is the prospect that this one, expected to open next spring, will help revitalize an old retail district that has been struggling for many years.

The Panorama Mall, the San Fernando Valley’s oldest, wasn’t the chain’s first choice of locations. Councilman Richard Alarcon, whose district includes the community, says Wal-Mart had been eyeing “The Plant,” a new retail and industrial complex being developed on the old site of the General Motors plant. “I felt if they went into the GM site,” Alarcon said, “it would damage the Panorama Mall.”

Wal-Mart, he said, was also interested in the Van Nuys Drive-In property, but community opposition ultimately persuaded the company to reconsider the Panorama Mall.

“It turns out to be a very good thing. Compared to The Broadway, the wages at Wal-Mart are better,” the councilman says. “It will generate more traffic and benefit more vendors. One of their supporters was [the nearby] Montgomery Ward.”

Local groceries that feared the new retailer would eat into their business, Alarcon says, were thrilled that Wal-Mart agreed to limit its supply of food choices.

“The larger message,” Alarcon says, “is the incredible turnaround in Panorama City.”

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The larger message in the Santa Clarita Valley isn’t so clear. Certainly the big store slightly west of the Golden State Freeway just outside Santa Clarita city limits isn’t the worst of Wal-Marts. This growing suburb seven miles north of the Los Angeles city limit had been steadily losing some of its small-town charm. But Wal-Mart made many merchants fear the worst.

“The whole concept of those big chains--Wal-Mart, Toys R Us, Circuit City--they seem to cluster together and draw the traffic away from the small mom-and-pops,” says Jerry Caston, owner of Caston TV and Appliance, now in its 30th year of business on Lyons Avenue.

It seems unfair, Caston says, to square off against giants after investing so many years into a business. Caston says he’s doing fine against Circuit City and Good Guys on sales of high-end merchandise, but Wal-Mart has eaten into his low-end “carry out” electronics business, such as cheaper VCRs, microwaves and portable stereos. And meanwhile, he adds, business at his wife’s beauty supplies shop has dropped 30% since Wal-Mart opened.

Jan Heidt, owner of an independent bookstore called “One for the Books” and a member of the City Council, has nothing good to say about Wal-Mart. Publisher’s Weekly recently reported that Wal-Mart was planning to expand its book departments. Small bookstores already have a mighty struggle against large chains such as SuperCrown.

Heidt feels “a lot of anger. Because you know what? I don’t know how much longer I can last,” she says. “ . . . I want us to matter.”

Early on, she warned about Wal-Mart’s potential to damage small business and thus the community’s character. Wal-Mart, she suggests, won’t be sponsoring any Little League teams.

“It’s all working to a more generic America,” Heidt laments.

Making matters worse, she says, is the fact that taxes generated by Wal-Mart go to county coffers, not the city’s.

Tim Burkhart, chief of operations at Six Flags Magic Mountain and president of the Santa Clarita Valley Chamber of Commerce, says Wal-Mart is unfairly “demonized” and that the store has stimulated competition and provided jobs. But Burkhart says he doesn’t doubt the store put some small merchants out of business.

Something else about Wal-Mart, however, annoys Burkhart. The retailer sought the chamber’s help in researching the area, and the Chamber of Commerce threw a party to celebrate Wal-Mart’s opening.

So why isn’t Wal-Mart an upstanding, dues-paying member of the Chamber of Commerce?

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The ballyhooed Panorama City Wal-Mart won’t be open for months. But if you walk into the Santa Clarita store, you may see its “Commitment to Our Communities” banners, something the store touts in its warm and fuzzy TV ads. One banner promises corporate matching funds for United Way contributions by its “associates”--Wal-Martese for employees. Another declares that Wal-Mart’s environmental goal is “to leave each community a little greener than we found it. Our store’s green coordinator is . . . “

Nonexistent? Nameless? A bit shy?

At any rate, no name appeared on the banner. I asked to speak to the manager, and after I identified myself as a reporter, two efficient young men told me to call 1-800-WALMART.

So I called the toll-free number and was passed from one associate to another and another and another.

Finally, Les Copeland, Wal-Mart’s director of public relations, called from Bentonville to defend the chain’s honor.

He had a little more trouble defending the Santa Clarita store, however. In fact, he could not find the words “Santa Clarita” in his records; the store is apparently listed under another name.

Copeland said he was surprised to learn that the Santa Clarita store was not involved in the local chamber. He pointed out that Wal-Mart has contributed $3.1 million to California charities and offered to send me testimonials from other chambers of commerce as to Wal-Mart’s contributions in their respective communities.

“I’d love to sit down at the computer and pull up just what this Wal-Mart has done for the community,” Copeland said, promising to do more research as my deadline neared.

I never did find out who the green coordinator is . . . but wait, this just in: Wal-Mart officials left a message on my answering machine to explain that the “Valencia” store has made numerous contributions to aid schools, abused children and other local causes.

And the green coordinator is . . . .

Scott Harris’ column appears Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays. Readers may write to him at The Times’ Valley Edition, 20000 Prairie St. , Chatsworth, CA 91311, or via e-mail at scott.harris@latimes.com Please include a phone number.