COMMENT
Manifest Destiny
SINCE WE FIRST WROTE IN JULY ABOUT MEXICAN RETAILER GIGANTE’S troubles opening an Anaheim store, papers from Mexico City’s La Reforma to the Wall Street Journal have picked up on the story.
As the City Council gets set to take up the issue Aug. 20, here’s my advice: Don’t fight it.
The Hispanicization of Anaheim and most of OC is an inevitable result of geography and the county’s economic pull. Anaheim already is half Hispanic and the area around Gigante’s proposed Anaheim Plaza store is 60% so.
In Anaheim’s defense, a supermarket may not be perfect for Anaheim Plaza, an outdoor mall like the Block at Orange only smaller. But Gigante is offering to spend money fixing up a vacant store, create jobs and kick in local sales tax. Sure, the city’s take may not be what it would be if another retailer moved in. But nobody else is fighting for the space. Gigante is.
And therein lies opportunity for Anaheim. Go in any direction of Anaheim Plaza and you’ll find scores of smaller Mexican markets, none with the stature of Mexico’s largest supermarket operator. In the words of the Wall Street Journal, “the arrival of a spanking new Gigante store signals gentrification in older Latino enclaves.”
Anaheim should see Gigante’s bid for what it is: a step up.
,Michael Lyster
The New Boss
SOME OBSERVATIONS, IN LIGHT OF THE PUBLIC AND POLITICAL
backlash against Corporate America:
& #149; The corporation of the ’90s was bold. In the 2000s, it will be cautious.
& #149; Corporate strategists in the ’90s watched markets (and CNBC). In the 2000s, they’ll watch public opinion polls (and C-SPAN).
& #149; The college degree of choice in the ’90s was the MBA. In the 2000s, it will be the Juris Doctor.
& #149; The CEO of the ’90s was cocky and blas & #233; about government. In the 2000s he or she will be guarded and politically savvy.
& #149; Companies of the ’90s avoided regulators; in the 2000s they’ll solicit them.
& #149; Companies of the ’90s were driven by financial incentives. In the 2000s they’ll be ruled by oversight committees.
& #149; Corporate boards of the ’90s sought directors like Dick Cheney, George W. Bush and Vernon Jordan for their political connections. Corporations of the 2000s will feel even more need for these sorts, only they’ll have fewer perks to offer them.
& #149; The chairman of the ’90s was a founder, financier or retired CEO. The chairman of the 2000s will be an Army general, ex-Cabinet secretary or retired governor.
& #149; Goodbye, Bill Gates, hello, Donald Rumsfeld.
, Rick Reiff
