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Target Corp.'s Ulrich Criticizes Anti-Growth Lobbies

MINNEAPOLIS-The retail giant's chief executive says one man's urban sprawl is another's convenience. He's calling on members of the National Retail Federation to urge local governments to work with retailers, not against them.

By Jim McCartney | Updated on January 22, 2001

MINNEAPOLIS-”Bananas” is one of the biggest problems shopping center developers and big-box merchants face these days, says Robert Ulrich chief executive of Target Corp., the huge Minneapolis-based retail chain. “People used to say, we want you to build it but ‘not in my backyard’ — we called them NIMBYs,” said Ulrich, who was speaking to the National Retail Federation in New York late last week. “Now we’ve got BANANAs: ban anything new anywhere near anything.”

Ulrich said the anti-growth lobby “won’t be happy until they make it impossible for big-box stores to get new building permits.” Ulrich argues retailers are simply following the population, and won’t want to build in areas in a location if residents aren’t there to support it. But lately, he says, when people move to the second-tier suburbs and business goes there to serve them, critics–including some planning commissions–call it urban sprawl. These residents are being deprived of the convenience of one-stop shopping and competitive pricing, Ulrich argues.

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