Wal-Mart is proposing to expand its store network in Chicago with promises of attractive tax revenue and new employment opportunities during the recession, according to a report by the Chicago Tribune.
The retail group is pushing for approval of as many as five new stores, the report said, in a city which, so far, has denied the company’s expansion plans and is currently home to just one Wal-Mart outlet.
John Bisio, a Wal-Mart spokesman, said the company is assessing the political and financial viability of expanding in the city. Mr Bisio declined to say how many stores or which locations were being considered but that conversations with aldermen have focused on “food deserts” – neighbourhoods which lack grocery stores.
“The West Side store set an example as a good employer, a good merchant . . . a real economic engine,” Mr Bisio said. “`Aldermen and the community` said this is nonsense that we don't have more Wal-Mart stores in Chicago.”
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