Concluding Opinions... Reader comments below follow the original Dispatch, Wal-Mart: Tyrant or Servant? (Mar 2), and last week's Wal-Mart's Split Decision (Mar 11). Now it's time to move on to a less controversial topic -- like outsourcing!

Alan Billingsley with RREEF in San Francisco: "Most studies I have seen attribute most of the lower costs between Wal-Mart and the grocers to labor costs, with the distribution system contributing much less. Non-grocer retail wages are pretty uniformly low, even at department stores, with the exception of commissions. However, the disparity between privileged employees at grocers and at Wal-Mart supercenters is huge."

Tony Roubik with Sperry Van Ness in Houston: "Ahh ... free enterprise. The ONLY way to stop the spread of Wal-Martization is to exercise the only truly powerful vote one has ... one's pocketbook! If they build 'em and no one comes, they'll stop building 'em pretty quick!"

Tom Gille with REAL Systems in San Francisco: "Trying to stop Wal-Mart or any other 'Big Box' retailer from delivering a massive selection of merchandise at low prices is like betting against the natural evolution of retail. ... In the 1950's supermarkets were big at 10,000 sq. ft. By the mid -1960's Safeway wasn't building anything less than 25 to 30,000 sq. ft. In the 70's (except for a few niche operators) local supermarkets were becoming history and their sites being converted into some other kind of retail. Now it's Safeway's turn to feel the heat."

Ron Giles with ACS: "I think we vote every day on this issue. ... If we do not like a store, we should refuse to shop there, and tell the management why we chose to cast our votes elsewhere. Our free-enterprise system is the most powerful voting opportunity available to every person. Money talks; lack of money shouts."

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--Peter Pike