New York shoppers: 'we want Wal-Mart'.

A recent consumer survey that measured the opinions of New Yorkers about the opening of Wal-Mart stores within the city's five boroughs revealed that a majority (62%) would welcome the discount retailer to the city.

Nearly two-thirds said they would likely shop at New York City Wal-Mart stores, and the store and its low prices are known to most New Yorkers. Sixty-seven percent have already shopped at a Wal-Mart store in other markets.

Currently, 56% percent of New Yorkers say they travel outside of the city to shop, with Wal-Mart as the number one destination for out-of-town shopping. In fact, Wal-Mart estimates that New Yorkers have spent almost $98 million at area Wal-Mart stores outside of the five boroughs in 2004.

The survey research was conducted by Fabrizio McLaughlin & Associates among 800 New York City residents. The respondents were asked questions that were intended to gauge the attitudes, opinions and perceptions about Wal-Mart.

"This survey demonstrates that New Yorkers appreciate the value Wal-Mart could bring to New York City," said Mia Masten, Wal-Mart's director of corporate affairs for the East Region. "Contrary to what a vocal minority led by special interest groups implies, these results clearly show that a majority of New Yorkers are interested in what Wal-Mart can offer in terms of jobs, increased tax revenue, and especially, everyday low prices on a variety of merchandise. And in fact, New Yorkers are already taking advantage of what Wal-Mart has to offer by shopping in area stores."

Other key findings of the survey include:

78% said that when large retailers open stores in any borough, they create jobs.

69% believe that if allowed to come to New York City, Wal-Mart would create jobs, while only 13% of those surveyed said it would cost jobs.

75% thought getting paid $10.38 an hour (Wal-Mart's average wage in metropolitan areas such as New York City) to work in a Wal-Mart store is a fair and decent wage.

Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. operates Wal-Mart Stores, Supercenters, Neighborhood Markets and Sam's Club locations in the United States. Internationally, the company operates in Argentina, Brazil, Canada, China, Germany, Japan, Mexico, Puerto Rico, South Korea and the United Kingdom.

In New York State, there are a total of 96 Supercenters and Sam's Clubs, as well as four distribution centers that employ over 33,000 associates when combined. During the past year, Wal-Mart spent more than $9 billion for merchandise and services with 2,841 suppliers in New York state. As a result of Wal-Mart's relationship with these suppliers, Wal-Mart supports 172,629 supplier jobs in New York.

Last year, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. contributed more than $170 million to support communities and local organizations.