Superstore
For the past month Mark King had been receiving flyers in the mail about a new superstore that was opening up in his neighborhood. The flyers confused him. He had never heard the term superstore before. Later on, he found out that a superstore is a large retail store that sells a variety of products, usually at discount prices. Sometimes superstores are also called big box stores. Many times they are chain stores owned by one company.
The flyers all had different messages about the superstore opening. One set of flyers invited him and others to apply for jobs at the store. The jobs paid well and even offered some benefits. Mark thought this was a good thing since he knew many people were looking for work. Another set of flyers included coupons to be used on opening day. The store had many bargains for common items like paper towels, but also for big screen televisions. Mark thought this too was a good thing. It seemed like a good idea to be able to get a variety of things in one place instead of going from one store to another. It would save time and money. Superstores could sell groceries and clothes under one roof.
Another set of flyers contradicted the positive messages about the superstore though. Some local residents were organizing a protest of the superstore. The flyers said that the superstore was bad for the community because it threatened the business of smaller stores in the area. Mark thought about Mr. Hernandez who owned a small grocery store down the block. That was where Mark bought staple food items like eggs and milk. He didn’t want Mr. Hernandez’s store to be closed, but he also wanted to save money.
