Citizens vote 'no' on Wal-Mart referendum

DSN Retailing Today, April 19, 2004

INGLEWOOD, CALIF. -- Voters in the Los Angeles suburb of Inglewood on April 6 rejected Wal-Mart's proposal to build a supercenter there by a nearly 2 to 1 margin. Wal-Mart took the unusual step of submitting its supercenter proposal as a ballot measure after a two-year battle with city officials who opposed construction of the 225,000-square-foot Wal-Mart in their town.

The opposition was supported by California's grocery worker's union, which has lobbied against Wal-Mart's plan to build up to 40 supercenters in the state over the next five years. The Inglewood supercenter would have been the first in Los Angeles County. Wal-Mart opened its first supercenter in California March 3 in La Quinta, Calif., near Palm Springs.