If you haven’t heard, IKEA (that Swedish mega-store that sells cheap furniture that you struggle to assemble let-alone pronounce the name of) is in the news with the recent opening of a store in Winnipeg off of Kenaston, which has become a conversational piece for Winnipeggers as the opening of a retail store is seemingly the only interesting thing going on in the city! Far from it I say, but the average ‘Pegger will talk about Jets, where they last ate, and poor road conditions/ latest traffic tickets. So that’s not saying much.
Sadly though, when IKEA opened in Winnipeg it was brought in with much love and excitement by the city. Ranging from politicians saying how it will boost the local economy and provide much needed jobs, to teenagers excited to go shopping with their parents for new linens? Yes, they exist.
This response is sad for one reason, it’s not appropriate. It’s based on misconceptions, and assumptions. For one, local economies are stimulated by local business, not multi-national companies that set up 1,000 square feet warehouses as retail stores. With that said, treatment of employees is another issue that isn’t raised enough.
Now I’m not trying to portray IKEA as an evil awful corporation thats hell-bent on destroying society as we know it, I’m simply providing criticism that will most likely go unnoticed by the company itself, considering it brings in over 27 billion dollars in revenue yearly. This isn’t even a mosquito bite to them. And they wouldn’t be so large and powerful if they didn’t provide a needed service or product, they are top-tier capitalists, thats for sure. But so is Wal-Mart, Target, Kroger’s, Zeller’s, Tesco, all are large national or multinational stores.
How many of these business do we need? They provide inferior quality products with the pitch of it being convenient and cheaper than going to your locally-owned, and more likely locally sourced store.
These companies (like IKEA) mandate minimum wage, little incentive to contribute more than minimum effort, little benefits. The jobs they provide are equivalent in quality to that of sweatshop jobs in Indonesia, the only exception is we have labour laws to protect us. The comparison I’m trying to make is that these large companies are all about profit, and they will do the minimum for the individual to provide it. Whether it be follow the labour laws in a 3rd world country, or the laws in a 1st world country.
But truth-be-told, these companies due provide only the minimum they have to, as they don’t have to compete with anybody locally. A local Wal-Mart isn’t going to close because the community grocer down the street is doing such great business. That grocer most likely provides benefits, discounts, potential pay increase (if not already above-minimum) and incentive to improve with promotions.
By purchasing from one of these box-stores or retail giants you are giving your money to a corporation that will take that money out of the country and invest it into more globalization efforts, and most anything they are selling is not only not produced in the community, but not even in the same country. Every purchase made at these stores contributes to furthering this globalization.
Purchasing from the local equivalent puts money into the local economy, whether it be just to retail (the store purchased from) or also the producer (if they’re local themselves). Keeping money within the community produces a healthier community, especially for a place like Winnipeg where we have little exports as costs are too high to compete on the national or international stage with anything we produce.
We have covered that large corporations don’t provide the same quality jobs as the local counterpart, and they don’t stimulate the local economy. Why do politicians make these claims? It’s money and connections, as the politicians will be involved in some form with these businesses being brought in, and as humans we look out for number one first (ourselves), they are looking at furthering their careers. And also the claims they make are simple, easily believed and popular.
The only way to build up our economy is too make it ours! These large corporations can still exist in society without destroying it, but not in this form or capacity. To change this, the cultural perception needs to change, less-profit means less incentive to maintain the business here, look at the disappearance of many Zellers in Canada, it is possible. With this change in perception might even bring in a change of law, boosting small business and encouraging local growth.
I won’t be shopping at the new IKEA, and I hope after reading this you choose to do the same, or at least minimize the amount you purchase realizing that small actions make large impacts. Like handing over your all-mighty-dollar as Homer Simpson once put it.
Thoughts, Musings, and Essays from the poet.
Sunday, March 3, 2013
Thursday, February 28, 2013
Saturday, February 23, 2013
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
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