Lowe’s questions
Glenn and Dorothy Boyce, Emporia
Monday, March 9, 2009
AGAIN, we would like to address the proposed Lowe’s business coming to Emporia.
In the news lately, we have heard of due to economic times, some of the Lowe’s in other states are closing. Is this what we can see happen in our town?
How sad it would be for Emporia to redo streets, plus all of the many extras that will need to be done for them to locate here for us to be stuck with a lot of expense plus another empty building. This would, of course, be placed on the taxpayers again.
Another question we have is the size of the store. Will it be like people see in Topeka and other surrounding towns or will it be a smaller store?
These are all questions that so many people wonder about and have not received any answers. As taxpayers, we should know the answers to these questions.
Comments
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momus (anonymous) says...
If the stock market would have stabilized, Lowe's could have prevented some store closings and continued with their expansion plans (as stated in your cited November 2008 article), but many publicly traded chain retailers (including Lowe's) had to adapt their market strategies after our economic circumstances became more clear.
http://land-of-confusion.com/2009-sto...
I too am concerned about this proposed development.
March 9, 2009 at 6:36 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
momus (anonymous) says...
I hate double posting, but I should state that the link I posted above includes information that is posted by non-mainstream media sources. I cannot vouch for the credibility of the posted information, but I can say that most publicly traded retailers are obviously struggling. Those struggles, along with the jobless rate, should make expansion plans for big boxes in marginal markets extreamly difficult. Sorry, I should have qualified my post in my first response.
March 9, 2009 at 6:47 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
MisterO (anonymous) says...
I think those are valid questions, especially considering the low sales tax revenues http://www.emporiagazette.com/news/20...
I'm sure the city/county budget is based in part on sales tax revenue, so who is going to make up the difference?
There is already evidence of a downturn in retail sales. We can expect that unless economic conditions improve, including an increase in disposable income, retail sales (and associated sales tax revenues) will continue to be poor. Are there any contingency plans just in case the Lowes fails? Who is going to get stuck paying for all the improvements?
Optimism is nice, but we shouldn't we at least discuss what will happen if the Lowes project is not successful?
March 9, 2009 at 8:35 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
methusla (anonymous) says...
I don't know what you would expect a company paid spokesperson to say. Did FANNIE MAE mortgage company come right out and say publicly that the company was in financial trouble ? Just how many Corporations, Banks, etc. actually give advanced warning that they are in serious fininacial trouble or need billions in taxpayer money to stay solvent ? I would guess very few ! If you really want to know the heartbeat of a company feel the pulse of the Board of Directors. Most times even the stockholders have no advanced warning of a companies troubles, until it is too late.
March 9, 2009 at 9:30 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
methusla (anonymous) says...
Does anyone listen to or heed the wisdom of Warren Buffet ?
He did an almost 3 hr. interview on CNBC about the current economic crisis. It was a very informative and intrigueing interview. I can see why he has become the worlds richest man.
March 9, 2009 at 9:37 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )