Soon after ISU students return to campus after Winter Break, they will find a new addition to their one-stop-shopping options.

Wal-Mart plans to open one of its Supercenter stores at Duff Avenue and Fifth Street, just south of Target. The 203,000-square-foot store will be the largest Wal-Mart in the area and will employ more than 400.

“I think it’s going to have a strong impact on our community,” said Lavar Miller, store manager for Ames’ existing Wal-Mart, 3015 Grand Ave.

Some people in and around Ames have begun to wonder just what that impact will be. In addition to the existing Wal-Mart, which will remain open when the Supercenter opens, Ames is also home to big-box retailers Target, 320 S. Duff Ave., and Kmart, 1405 Buckeye Ave.

Despite a retail market that seems to serve the city sufficiently, there has not been much concern that the new Wal-Mart will cause other stores in Ames to suffer.

“There wasn’t particularly a lot of reaction to this development,” said Susan Gwiasda, public relations officer for the city of Ames.

Eve Doi, vice president of chamber operations and communication for the Ames Chamber of Commerce, anticipates the new store will do more good than harm for Ames. One of the benefits she sees is that Ames residents will have a closer option for grocery shopping – something that part of town lacks.

The new Wal-Mart will also likely draw business from residents of smaller towns near Ames with limited shopping options.

“Right now, we know that Huxley residents are going to Ankeny [for groceries],” Doi said.

Although the store may initially draw shoppers away from the places where they typically spend theirmoney, Doi expects smaller towns to see the effect level off after the novelty of shopping at a new store goes away.

“Any time there’s a new business in town, people are excited about it,” Doi said. “They will check it out, but they will eventually go back to what they’re used to.”

Liesl Eathington, assistant scientist in economics, has studied retail trade levels in several small towns.

She noted that big-box retailers such as Wal-Mart are becoming increasingly popular and that residents of smaller towns will gravitate to larger towns, such as Ames, where these retail options can be found.

“We tend to look at stores like Wal-Mart as more of a symptom of this trend, rather than a cause,” she said.

Because small towns in the area are already accustomed to losing shoppers to Ames, stores such as Hy-Vee and Fareway may have the most noticeable losses in business.

“Whatever business the new Wal-Mart is going to attract is most likely going to come from existing stores,” Eathington said.

Miller said because of the relationship his store has built with its shoppers, he has little concern about the ability of the existing Wal-Mart store to sustain itself in the long term.

“The customer base we have is very loyal,” he said.

Management at the Ames Target were unable to comment in person.

In an e-mail statement, Target spokesperson Anna Goeppinger wrote, “Target competes head-to-head with direct competitors in most communities where we have stores.

“It is not uncommon for a Target to exist within 5 miles of another Target or another competitor.”