Janet Mortenson doesn't sugarcoat it — she hates Wal-Mart.

She hates the crowded aisles, long checkout lines and stacks of merchandise at "everyday low prices."

But most of all she hates the retailer for putting her wholesale shop out of business. One by one, Rainbow Crafts' loyal customer base was sucked away as clients' rural stores closed in the shadow of Utah's retail giant: Wal-Mart.

"When a Wal-Mart goes into a small town, it affects so many people," said Mortenson, whose Salt Lake store served clients throughout the state. "The chains just seem to be getting bigger and bigger, and the independents are folding right and left."

Some see it as David vs. Goliath. Others use stronger language, pegging it as good vs. evil.

But no matter how defined, it is a battle waged in cities across Utah and across the nation: the battle of the big box.

At the core of the conundrum stands Wal-Mart with its concrete walls and sprawling parking lots. The store's reputation for crushing local shops has many Utah residents up in arms when the retail tycoon comes knocking.

But soon after, fears seem to fade. In areas where residents once rallied en masse against a new Wal-Mart, shoppers jockey for parking spaces.

Despite recent opposition by residents in Sandy, Riverton, Ogden and Centerville, Wal-Marts continue to pop up around Utah, with nine added in 2004 and at least four more set to be built soon. Low prices and convenience win over the store's staunchest opposition, said James Wood, director of the University of Utah Bureau of Economic Research.

"Even though you might be supporting exploitation in China and rotten wages, people still are moved by their own pocketbook. They know that going in," he said.

Wood is now studying that Wal-Mart paradox, trying to determine how a city changes in the wake of the big-box store.

It's a study that prompts the question: Will Wal-Mart bring traffic and blight to cities, or can the store breathe new life into struggling economies?

Paying the price

A Deseret Morning News/KSL-TV poll found 55 percent of Utahns would welcome a Wal-Mart in their city or town, even though 87 percent of respondents also said big-box retailers hurt local business. The poll, conducted Nov. 29-30, surveyed 313 residents and has a 6.5 percent margin of error.

Eric Berger, Wal-Mart regional spokesman, said the retailer has generally been well-received in Utah despite concerns about traffic and noise.