Will Wal-Mart squeeze out flea market?

Some Oldsmar Flea Market vendors wonder whether the new supercenter will put them out of business. Others aren't worried.

By JANEL STEPHENS

© St. Petersburg Times,
published August 27, 2001

OLDSMAR -- Is this town big enough for two self-contained retail communities that sell everything from eyeglasses to escarole?

Oldsmar will soon will find out. When the new $8-million Wal-Mart supercenter opens in mid October, it will be a few minutes' drive from the city's reigning mecca for bargain hunters, the Oldsmar Flea Market.

Opinions vary on whether the new Wal-Mart's supermarket, portrait studio, hair and nail salons, and sundry conveniences will threaten the livelihoods of folks in the booths at the flea market. Mayor Jerry Beverland, officials with the Greater Oldsmar Chamber of Commerce and some vendors don't anticipate a problem. Others, including the flea market's manager, are not as certain.

When Alice Rogers heard that the supercenter was moving 2 miles east of the flea market, the longtime vendor pinned up a sign saying, "Everything goes! See Alice now!"

Rogers, 75, said she fears the supercenter will drive her 20-year-old business out of the market.

"The minute they open that store, they're gonna bury us," Rogers said. She said her booth, with its teapots, neckties, T-shirts, toys and bathing suits, is no competition for the supercenter.

"Look at these bathing suits; I might as well throw them away," Rogers said.

But Andy Stoufer, owner of Woks-N-More, a gourmet kitchenware store at the flea market, said he is not worried.

"The only thing (Wal-Mart) will do is draw people to the area," said Stoufer, 60, who has been at the flea market for 18 years. "When you buy a product in my store, you get personal service."

Raymond Spradling of Lucky's Electronics agreed.

"There's too much here to offer," said Spradling, a vendor at the market for 17 years. "We have been here for so many years, we have a reputation and people come back."

Many say the maze of bargains, collectibles, used merchandise and just plain weird stuff -- how about a booth that specializes in horror/fantasy kitsch and runs its own haunted house? -- puts the flea market in a league of its own.

"It's a unique character by itself," said Kevin Gartland, chief executive officer and president of the Greater Oldsmar Chamber of Commerce. "A lot of people have come to know Oldsmar because of the flea market. Wal-Mart will be just another attraction to Oldsmar."

Maybe, but flea market manager Babe Wright has been leery for years of having a supercenter down the road.

Wright thinks the supercenter will not affect businesses that sell antiques and other niche merchandise but says businesses that sell similar products such as clothing, toiletries and hardware could suffer.

"They won't be able to compete with Wal-Mart and their low prices," Wright said.

To back up her point, Wright offers a videotape of a 60 Minutes television report on the impact Wal-Mart stores have had on small towns.

"You need to watch this," said Wright, placing the videotape in a reporter's hands.

Wright, a former Oldsmar City Council member, abstained from voting on the proposal for the supercenter when it was presented in 1999 because her position with the flea market created a conflict of interest. But she said she didn't think Oldsmar needed a supercenter.

"It's more important to have little businesses like your mom and pop stores than one big business," said Wright, who has managed the flea market for 22 years.

Like Wright, Teresa Seiter of Oldsmar doubts that the supercenter will help nearby merchants.

"I think the Wal-Mart superstore will hurt the small guy," said Seiter, who has lived in Oldsmar for seven years. "There's no question about it. They've done it all over the country."

Former carnival entrepreneur Richard Ferkich built the flea market on the 22 acres he owned off Tampa Road. The market opened on Nov. 13, 1980, with one building, 50 spaces and a few carnival tents. Today, it has 1,200 booths and more than 800 vendors, said Wright, the flea market manager.

"It stays pretty well-occupied," Wright said. She said the booths are rented out most of the time, except in June and July when "10 to 15 spaces are vacant."

The 208,000-square-foot supercenter will be located on 28 acres at 3801 Tampa Road. The supercenter will have the makings of a regular Wal-Mart, along with a hair salon, a McDonald's restaurant, an auto service shop, a vision center, a hearing aid center, a garden center and a one-hour photo lab.

The supercenter will employ up to 500 people, 70 percent of them full-time, said Daphne Davis, community affairs manager for Wal-Mart.

Davis said the competition that Wal-Mart brings will benefit consumers by lowering prices in the area.

"I think what's important here is that the consumer is the winner," Davis said.

Local officials simply hope the supercenter brings new business to the area.

"It's going to have a tremendous impact on the economy of the city," said Oldsmar Mayor Jerry Beverland. The longtime flea market customer buys his vegetables there every weekend. He thinks the store will bring more business to the market and the city.

"I think everybody's going to benefit from this," he said.

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