Lowe's

[clip joint]

Abingdon may not be getting a Wal Mart, but the Lowes is filling in nicely

[cindy]

clip joint wrote:

Abingdon may not be getting a Wal Mart, but the Lowes is filling in nicely

What else is going in beside Lowes?

[matt]

think it is great that they are getting lowes

[just sayin]

I think it's a shame that after there was so much opposition to WalMart in Abingdon, hardly anything was said about Lowes. Lowes will probably hurt far more businesses in Abingdon than Walmart would have. Take all of the independent garden centers, and also places like Builders Supermarket, Berrys, and Abingdon Wholesale. I think it's too bad that people welcome these chains in with open arms, when really they take more money and good paying jobs out of the community than what they bring in.

[lowes]

I'm kinda sick of Abingdon's only retail stores being the overpriced K-mart, a slummy Roses, and a lackluster Magic Mart. Forget the Lowes, we need a Wal-mart, or even a Target.

[Karen]

We just need jobs to be able to get this economy going again. The so called leaders call for us to get confidence in buying, well heck oh, I would if I had the job I use to have and the money I was making. I have gone from 43,000 to 17,000 and don't think I wouldn't love to go out and support the economy. Until our LEADERS realize that JOBS are the solution, I don't know how long this vicious cycle will last. Walmart or whatever business we can get in our area, we should be grateful. I do agree that Lowes will probably hurt the little mom and pop hardware stores in Abingdon. These people know what work is all about and know how to treat customers when they come in the door. That is one aspect of small older businesses that is lacking in the new ones.

[my turn]

There is a Lowe's already at Exit 10. We have 84 Lumber, Berry's and Builders in Abingdon why do we need another lumber store. Don't say jobs because when it puts these others out of business the jobs it creates will not make up for the ones lost.

[CindyLuHu]

I think Wal Mart should build at exit 19, out of the town limits. Therefore Abingdon's historic (cough) image wouldn't be hurt and their tax revenue wouldn't increase. Also, prevent Abingdon from annexing the exit 19 area where Lowe's is and Wal-Mart should be.

[VT Fan]

my turn wrote:

There is a Lowe's already at Exit 10. We have 84 Lumber, Berry's and Builders in Abingdon why do we need another lumber store. Don't say jobs because when it puts these others out of business the jobs it creates will not make up for the ones lost.

This is true, but have you ever stopped at 84 Lumber....what a joke!! They have very little in inventory. And Berry's-ha!...they are in business (Abingdon store) strictly for contractors. As a homeowner, they could care less whether your business is earned. I think the new Lowe's store is great and no one I have spoken with has said differently.

[Modernize Abingdon]

my turn wrote:

There is a Lowe's already at Exit 10. We have 84 Lumber, Berry's and Builders in Abingdon why do we need another lumber store. Don't say jobs because when it puts these others out of business the jobs it creates will not make up for the ones lost.

First off, this Lowes isn't going to have a lumber section as does the one at exit 7.
Second, places like Berry's and 84 Lumber offer things to contractors the Lowes does not. They offer contractors discounts up to like 20% and they give contruction packages to them also. Even the Lowes at exit 7 doesn't offer that.
So, 84 Lumber and Berry's will be just fine. Only thing it will do is help drive Berry's and 84's prices down a little more.
Abingdon needs to break out of the 1800's and join todays society. The town could lower tax rates on the citizens if Wal-Mart came in because the tax Abingdon would recieve from the sells would far out weigh what it makes from the citizens.

[THE REAL SAWA]

my turn wrote:

There is a Lowe's already at Exit 10. We have 84 Lumber, Berry's and Builders in Abingdon why do we need another lumber store. Don't say jobs because when it puts these others out of business the jobs it creates will not make up for the ones lost.

Uh, the folks that live out this way would BEG to differ. Most of us live out here to get away from the cookie-cutter shopping malls, big box stores, awful traffic, noise, etc. that this is going to bring to our end of the county. ABINGDON DOES NOT NEED A WAL-MART...LOWES IS BAD ENOUGH.

If you want Abingdon to look like nothern Virginia, then move!

[THE REAL SAWA]

whoops...i was replying to CindyLuHu! not My Turn!(apologies all around...)

[green is good]

SAWA, I totally agree with you. I lived in a big city for the majority of my life and I moved to Abingdon to get away from all of the Wal-Marts, Lowe's, etc. It's a joke to think that these companies will offer Abingdon folks a decent wage. They'll bring their own managers and supervisors with them and then hire locals for all the crap jobs at crap pay! AND they're going to force the small family owned businesses out of business. If all these folks who support this kind of garbage coming in would move to a more urban area then we'd ALL be happy!

[Modernize Abingdon]

At this point in time, I know plenty of people that will take crap pay over no pay at all. And you all were crazy to think that Abingdon wouldn't grow. The historical crap is wearing off. The Highlands Festival is getting smaller by the year. What else does Abingdon do to show off the history of the town? When the Highlands Festival dies, so does historical Abingdon. Get ready for it cause Wal-Mart and Chain restaurants are coming.

[Bill]

For the rest of us who live in this county, we don't differentiate the new from the old in Abingdon. Exit 7 may have a Bristol address, but it is considered to be in Abingdon. Abingdon has always been a place that won't support its own local businesses. If not for the tourists who come to see the "historic crap" Abingdon would only consist of a couple of grocery stores and a Wal-Mart with a bunch of rich people and a bunch of poor people. Good luck the rest of the area is watching and ready to laugh.

[Meadowview Resident]

I've been here 47 years, and I have never thought about exit 7 being in Abingdon. As a kid I can remember you had to drive to Bristol to bowl. If the exit 19 area is planned right (and I know it won't be), it could be a good central hub for the community but... Since the new hospital is up the road a couple of miles you might as well get ready for a strip of stores, restaurants, offices and traffic lights 2 miles long. Abingdon will love to annex that!

[gate city]

Seems all the businesses coming in here are for food and shopping, food and shopping. Why don't we get different types of businesses - like a recycling center, so we can put back what we use and create jobs while doing so?
We only recycle certain plastics and paper, why not GLASS and other plastics, too? And we'd create jobs to manage that process.

[Bill]

It's not about what we need it's about what we want. We want food, big fat cheap food and a place to go buy cheap stuff.

[supine]

Bill wrote:

It's not about what we need it's about what we want. We want food, big fat cheap food and a place to go buy cheap stuff.

you already have it. 3 flea-markets and 3 stores...

[RNEMTI]

just sayin wrote:

I think it's a shame that after there was so much opposition to WalMart in Abingdon, hardly anything was said about Lowes. Lowes will probably hurt far more businesses in Abingdon than Walmart would have. Take all of the independent garden centers, and also places like Builders Supermarket, Berrys, and Abingdon Wholesale. I think it's too bad that people welcome these chains in with open arms, when really they take more money and good paying jobs out of the community than what they bring in.

I don't think people would be opposed to the Walmart if they were talking about putting it in a better place. But they are wanting it off exit 14 which will be even more of a death trap to get off the interstate than it is already. That is the worst exit in Southwest Virginia to get off of. If they were to tear down some more buildings and build the Walmart near the Lowe's then I don't think people would have an issue with it. If they are going to build a Walmart off exit 14 then no I DON'T want a Walmart in Abingdon. Move it up to Exit 19 then I might agree. I'm sure Lowe's will hurt some of the smaller mom and pop stores but I don't think it will hurt Berry's or Builder's supermarket. I live near builder's and if I am working on something at the house and need something, I'm not going to drive all the way out to exit 19 to get it from Lowe's to save $.50 when I can drive 2 minutes and get it from builders.