The Wal-Mart conflict

Utahns are known for their big families, active lifestyles and tendency to be, for lack of a better word, cheap.

In other words, they are the perfect customers for Wal-Mart.

A recent survey by Salt Lake-based Kagel Research Associates bears that out. When Kagel asked 300 Utahns to name their favorite stores in a variety of categories, Wal-Mart was at the top of the list for major retail stores, more than doubling the tally of second-place Target.

It's probably not surprising, with the growth of Wal-Mart's Supercenters, that the company also was the fourth-favorite grocery store. Or the fifth-favorite clothing store.

But what may be a little more unexpected is that Wal-Mart was named by at least a few respondents as a favorite in the categories of office supply store, tire store, auto parts supply store, jewelry store, music store, book store, electronics store, computer store, hardware store and home improvement store.

"The fact that Wal-Mart appeared in so many different categories as people's favorite surprised me," said Richard Kagel, owner of Kagel Research. "They just kept popping up. . . . People were saying, 'Oh, yeah, I go to Wal-Mart for everything, so Wal-Mart's my favorite for buying CDs and buying groceries and buying this and buying that.' "

And Utahns are not alone. Ten thousand executives, directors and analysts polled by Fortune magazine in late 2003 chose Wal-Mart as America's Most Admired Company for the second year in a row, according to Fortune's March 8 issue.

Wal-Mart fans say its low prices and friendly service keep them coming back, and many are effusive in their praise of the company.

But another characteristic of Utahns is their tendency to grow passionate about sometimes-contradictory issues, and just as Wal-Mart's rise to prominence has won it ardent supporters, it also has created vocal foes.

Most common of all are the folks in the middle, who fret about Wal-Mart's dominance and its effect on small business but can't always resist the siren call of its low prices.

From humble beginnings

Suzanne Haney, a spokeswoman in Wal-Mart's Arkansas headquarters, said the company didn't open its first store in Utah until 1990, when it entered the St. George market.