Walmart U.S. sales still declining

In the vein of picking the wrong horse for DC development desires, Reuters reports that Walmart same store sales have continued their decline, now for nine straight quarters. International sales, cost reductions, and increased sales at Sam Clubs stores led to an overall profit increase however.

Today's Examiner reports, in "Residents vow to stop Wal-Mart on Georgia Ave.," that Ward 4 residents continue to fight against the development of a Walmart store on Georgia Avenue.

From the article:

City residents who are opposed to a Wal-Mart on Georgia Avenue Northwest say they believe they can halt the store planned there even as the retailer makes progress with its preliminary plans.
Of the four sites Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said it planned to develop in D.C., the one proposed for the intersection of Georgia and Missouri avenues has generated the loudest outcry from residents -- and they're prepared to fight it to the end, including filing a lawsuit against the world's largest retailer.

"We had over 1,000 petitions sent to the mayor, we've had rallies, passed out fliers and as result of all those things ... it looks like we're well on our way to preventing Wal-Mart from building in that location," said Baruti Jahi, a Ward 4 resident and D.C. Council candidate.

Despite the protests, the Ward 4 site is one of the two that are farthest along in the development process.

And because of the way zoning works, I don't see how a suit against the project could win, because the project fits within current zoning requirements for the site. It's not like Walmart didn't take that into consideration when choosing the site.