New York City small business owners favor bringing Walmart to the five boroughs by a count of 62% to 27%, according to a survey released Monday by the retail giant.
In an effort to strike a preemptive blow to a City Council hearing next month that is expected to be loaded with Walmart opponents, the survey was conducted by noted Democratic pollster Doug Schoen. It randomly sampled 400 New York City small businesses with 50 employees or less and asked owners or senior executives whether they wanted Walmart to come to town. Support among small retailers was weakest, with 55% in favor versus 36% against. Service-oriented businesses favored a Walmart by 65% to 25% and commercial businesses were most adamant in their endorsement, at 75% to 19%.
“People say ‘Oh God, small business will be against Walmart because Walmart will drive them out of business,'” Mr. Schoen said. “It's pretty clear that small business wants Walmart and believes it will stimulate the economy.”
In selecting a prominent Democratic pollster, the Arkansas retail giant hoped to counter opponents who would, of course, argue that any poll funded by Walmart would be biased. Mr. Schoen, who has been in the polling business for 35 years, has done work for politicians ranging from Bill Clinton to Michael Bloomberg. “What Walmart said to me was ‘do an objective assessment of what small business thinks and let the chips fall as they may,'” he said. “There's a clear sense that it will create jobs, stimulate the economy, provide lower prices to consumers and be extremely beneficial to New York City.”
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