Wal-Mart Is Good for Small Business

NY Times:

Right or wrong, it has somehow become conventional wisdom: Wal-Mart is bad for small businesses, outspending, outmaneuvering and outgrowing lesser rivals until they change their strategy or close their doors.

But for Sparky Electronics, a family-owned store in California that sells hard-to-find watch batteries and record-player needles, Wal-Mart is more ally than enemy, more lifeline than threat.

The 43-year-old store, which has a loyal customer base of handymen and contractors, wanted a Web site to reach consumers beyond its home in Fresno. But the big technology companies wanted up to $1,000 for a simple site, far more than the owner, Cheryl Cook, was willing to pay.

Then there was Wal-Mart. For $100, the retailer helped create sparkyelectronics.com, complete with the icon that sits above its store, an oversize electrified cartoon character. “The nice thing was that it did not cost us an arm and a leg,” Ms. Cook said

For thousands of independently owned convenience stores, restaurants and hair salons, the nation’s largest — and most feared — retailer also happens to be a business partner.

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