Surprise: Small Businesses Surviving Walmart

When I last posted here, a Walmart Supermercado just had opened in our neighborhood of San Jose del Cabo. I fretted about the impact that the massive emporium would have on the small grocery stores, panaderias, tortillerias, viveros and other independently owned businesses in the vicinity. That was in April. Then we returned to California and pretty much forgot about San Jose del Cabo.

Now we're back in Los Cabos. I haven't yet strolled about our entire neighborhood in San Jose del Cabo, but I have walked down and about Calle Valerio Gonzalez Canseco, the long street topped by the new Walmart. This much seems clear: Walmart has had little negative impact on businesses along the strip. Quite the contrary. I can't recall ever seeing so much industry along the street. Sure, much of it is traffic drawn by Walmart. And granted, at least one small grocery store is gone, and one cafe looks like it just closed for good. On the other hand, one grocery store is new. A couple of cafes have been added to the street. I saw three boutiques I don't recall from before, two dealing in fashions, one in furniture. A new nursery has opened just off the street. A small panaderia looks to still be flourishing, despite Walmart's close and expansive in-house bakery.

And Papeleria Maya still is open. This long has been our favored outlet for basic office supplies. I suspected it might be one of the early businesses to fold once Walmart unveiled its sprawling departments catering to school and office needs. Why is Papeleria Maya still around? Its proximity to three schools helps, but, again, Walmart isn't far removed from those schools, either. Here could be another reason: When we arrived back in San Jose del Cabo, one of our first needs was for an ink cartridge for the printer. Ordinarily, that would have meant a trip to Papeleria Maya. I had to go to the south edge of town on another matter, however, so I stopped in at OfficeMax to pick up a cartridge. It cost me 269 pesos, about $21 at the current exchange rate. Later, I discovered that Walmart charges the same price. Earlier today, I stopped in at Papeleria Maya to find out about the price of the cartridge; it's 196 pesos, or around $15. I should have stocked up; given the buying and marketing power of Walmart and OfficeMax, who knows how long Papereria Maya can hang in there.