• Florida Today reports on how Walmart “has almost 400 in-store leases representing thousands of in-store businesses, including McDonald’s, Subway, financial institutions, and nail and hair salons,” as it leases out space to the same small businesses it often is accused of trying to destroy.
In fact, image rehabilitation is at least part of the rationale behind the leasing strategy, the story suggests. But beyond that, the approach allows it to expand its one-stop shopping appeal to encompass even categories in which it may not be expert - like a florist, Terry Black, in Cocoa Beach with whom it contracted.
“To be sure,” the paper writes, “Black’s arrangement is not a license to print money. His flower shop is seen by tens of thousands of shoppers each week, but that has not necessarily translated to an overflowing cash register. Among other compromises, Black must meet relatively low price points for his flowers, and he must compete for business with the cut flowers Walmart continues to sell elsewhere in its store.”
In fact, image rehabilitation is at least part of the rationale behind the leasing strategy, the story suggests. But beyond that, the approach allows it to expand its one-stop shopping appeal to encompass even categories in which it may not be expert - like a florist, Terry Black, in Cocoa Beach with whom it contracted.
“To be sure,” the paper writes, “Black’s arrangement is not a license to print money. His flower shop is seen by tens of thousands of shoppers each week, but that has not necessarily translated to an overflowing cash register. Among other compromises, Black must meet relatively low price points for his flowers, and he must compete for business with the cut flowers Walmart continues to sell elsewhere in its store.”
- KC's View:
