As customers begin to shop at the newly opened 155,000-square-foot Super Wal-Mart, local businesses are beginning to work together in a new way to compete and support their locally owned neighbors.

&uot;You can’t just say to people you have to come here, you have to be as good or better than the big boys,&uot; said Ron Kraus, who is organizing businesses, 13 so far, to offer discounts at his Korner Marts and Dairy Queens.

In return he’s offering discounts for their businesses. The cross marketing, which could be good for business even without Super Wal-Mart’s presence, is something several

businesses said they may expand if successful.

The strategy, comes as the Arkansas-based Wal-Mart has expanded into a much larger space, offering more products, and new products than it did before its move. Wal-Mart has been accused of seriously damaging local economies across America due to their ability to often offer lower prices.

Several businesses participating in the cross-marketing said they hope the plan will remind people to shop locally.

Kathy Sabinish, owner of Dave’s Phonebooth and Frames R Us, said local businesses help the local economy.

&uot;Most of their profits go to Arkansas, whereas local businesses, the owners, they live in town, and they spend their profits from their business in town,&uot; she said.

She said she doesn’t believe she competes very directly with Super Wal-Mart, but that her success is tied to the success of other businesses that do.

&uot;Basically, we’re all in this together.&uot;

Flowers by Curt owner Tina Stripe said for her, the strategy is not based on any animosity toward or fear of Super Wal-Mart. She said she believes that a community loses its character when smaller shops go under.

She said the cross-marketing is no different from how the Downtown Business Association tries to help businesses downtown.

Dan Dorman, owner of Hanson Tire, said he’ll see a lot more competition because of the Super Wal-Mart.

&uot;Competition forces you to evaluate your business,&uot; he said.

But he said he’s confident his business will survive. He said he felt relief to learn that his business beats Super Wal-Mart with some products.

He said he thinks reputations and customer loyalty will give an advantage to local businesses like his.

Alfred Marcus, professor of strategic management at the University of Minnesota, Carlson School of Management, said it will be difficult for businesses to match many of Wal-Mart’s prices.

&uot;Wal-Mart is a big threat; it forces business to change. It forces communities to change,&uot; he said. He said the size and variety of Wal-Mart makes it easy for consumers to avoid local shops.

Marcus, who has studied Wal-Mart’s strategies, said he has never heard of local businesses competing with Wal-Mart through cross-marketing, which he said was a smart move.

&uot;It’s like fighting the gorilla with a virtual gorilla,&uot; he said.

Alan Suitts, manager of Super Wal-Mart, has heard of people doing this sort of thing before. But he said it’s more common in his experience for businesses to work with Wal-Mart because it attracts consumers to town.

&uot;We’re a draw to the community, not a take-away from the community,&uot; he said.

But he said he welcomes the competition.

&uot;Competition is healthy. It makes us better merchants and makes us better for the community,&uot; Suitts said.

(Contact Tim Sturrock at tim.sturrock@albertleatribune.com or 379-3438.)