Yesterday the Journal Sentinel reported the Kohl’s Corporation announced it’s closing its Menomonee Falls distribution center, effective January 2010.
Always eager to demonize Democrats as anti-business, Patrick Dorwin of Badger Blogger noted, “With Wisconsin’s business climate, this shouldn’t be a surprise, but it still is.” Bruce Redenz, another of the Badger Blogger contributors, added his two cents: “Keep voting (D) people. Pretty soon, the only commerce left in this state will revolve around “things that stupid Chicagoans love.””
Conveniently, both Patrick and Bruce ignored the fact that the explanation for Kohl’s closing the Menonomnee Falls distribution center had more to do with logistics than it did with politics, according to Vicki Shamion, vice president of public relations for Kohl’s:
Shamion said the decision to close the center was based “on the overall effectiveness of the distribution network.” The company concluded that the 530,000-square-foot Menomonee Falls center could not be reconfigured to “allow for expanded capacity,” she said.
The article in the Journal Sentinel went on on note Kohl’s the distribution currently being handled by the Menomonee Falls facility will be handled in the future by the the company’s newest distribution center in Ottawa, Illinois, which opened in 2008. The Ottawa facility, which is 328,000 square feet, has the capacity to serve 150 stores. The facility is currently underutilized, as it now serves only 81 stores.
What’s more, a quick look on Google Maps shows that Vicki Shamion might actually have been telling the truth when she said the Menomonee Falls distribution center couldn’t be reconfigured to allow for expanded capacity, as it appears to be bordered on every side by residences and businesses (be sure to zoom in for a better look):
View Larger Map
It’s good to see Patrick and Bruce aren’t letting reality get in the way of their talking points.
When I interviewed at Kohl’s for a logistics job five years ago they were already lining up a megacenter/break-bulk distribution system.
It’s a pretty simple equation to figure out where the centers have to be. Find the ports, draw an eleven hour circle, repeat as needed. Milwaukee’s geography works against it in this plan.
That BB doesn’t understand the numbers they’re looking at is hardly surprising.
I called this one (use of the move to complain about taxes). Although BB may very well have had their complaints up before my prediction.
I’m interested how much more in taxes is paid by their corporate headquarters than the one DC in the state. Someone want to do some research for me?
Zack, Zack, Zack you missed the most important part why Ottawa was chosen. Of course you would leave that out in you half cocked ramble. Please notice nothing about rail for commerce or commuter rail. ROADS. Interstates!!!!
Other sites in the Midwest, including in Wisconsin, were considered, but Ottawa was chosen because of transportation efficiencies, she said.
The City of Ottawa paid for the roads, sewer and water lines for the new distribution center, using money borrowed through its tax incremental financing district, said Boyd Palmer, executive director of the Ottawa Area Chamber of Commerce. Property tax revenue from new development in TIF districts is used to repay loans for improvements within the districts.
The city has been able to attract a number of distribution centers, including Petsmart, Tyson and Seattle Sutton, because of its location at the intersection of Interstate highways 80 and 39, Palmer said.
Jeff, Jeff, Jeff…you missed the point of my entry, which was that the closing of the Kohl’s plant had nothing to do with Wisconsin’s “anti-business” climate, as Patrick and Bruce claimed.
Zach, Zach, Zach. I always liked you. I’ve always taken a “hands-off” approach where you were concerned.
Do you really want to take me on personally? Seriously? How quickly we forget.
What’s your REAL last name again? LOL
Ah Bruce, when all else fails, start throwing mud and getting personal.
You’re a real class act.
So your rant Zack is really an attack post and the MJS article and the facts don’t matter. I get it now Zack!
Zachary Wisniewski
You cite two separate people in your post, Zach… shouldn’t your headline read Conservatives?
That’s it Bruce? Now you’re the grammar police?
How about arguing the substance of what I wrote?
Go refer to the talking points in your emailbox and get back to me if you’ve got something you’d like to say about what I wrote.
How about arguing the substance of what I wrote, Zach?
Zach, Zach, Zach. I always liked you. I’ve always taken a “hands-off” approach where you were concerned.
Do you really want to take me on personally? Seriously? How quickly we forget.
What’s your REAL last name again? LOL
Thanks for proving my point, Bruce.
As for your mention of my last name, it’s no secret what my last name is, so I’m not exactly sure what you gain from that. I’m sure you’re hoping mentioning the situation involving my last name will bother me, but that couldn’t be further from the truth.
However, the fact that you felt the need to bring it up only serves to prove how small and petty you really are, and that’s unfortunate, because I thought, based on the one conversation we had long ago, that you were a better man than that. Apparently, I was sorely mistaken, but I’ll chalk that up as a lesson learned about what kind of person you really are.
Zach…That’s all they have over there…threats…blackmail. One day they will screw with the wrong person.
Anon, there’s nothing to threaten or blackmail with. The last name crack Bruce made happens to be in reference to the fact that the last name I have now, which is my birth father’s last name, was not always my last name. I’ve had my last name legally changed to reflect who I am and who my father was. Bruce happens to know the back story from a conversation he and I had many months ago, and I can only guess that he’s subtly threatening to make that story public.
Only a POS would use something like that as a threat to stifle a person’s free speech. He could argue the merits of your post but instead he is using a personal/private issue to get you to shut up and not take him on. Like I said…one day he and his cohorts will screw with the wrong person.
“Like I said…one day he and his cohorts will screw with the wrong person.”
Says the guy posting anonymously. That’s courageous. You’re a real internet hero.
OK, Zach, let’s accept the Kohls flack’s explanation that the facility was landlocked. To keep the jobs here, near their headquarters, would have simply required Kohls to find an adequate parcel of land and construct a larger facility, or find an existing larger facility which better served their needs.
The simple fact is this: They CHOSE not to. These jobs are not being lost, they’re simply being lost by Wisconsin. Larger facility = substantially larger property tax bill. Higher energy costs. More employees = Higher overhead, greater state regulation and compliance, etc. Wisconsin is higher on the “regulation and compliance” than any other state I know, and I do business throughout the country.
Kohls made a business decision to move these jobs out of state. As a business owner, I can tell you unequivocally that Wisconsin’s anti-business climate is well-documented by numerous sources and is no secret throughout the country; in fact, liquidation business has SURGED since the combined reporting procedures became law, and I believe we’ve only begun to scratch the surface on businesses leaving this state.
I stand by my statement. Citing combined reporting as a catalyst of the recent spike in plant closings, the FACT is that you have no one other than Wisconsin Democrats to thank for this. I would encourage you and your readers to visit the DWD’s Plant Closing and Mass Layoff listing, as I do EVERY DAY, and document first-hand the number of COMPLETE FACILITY CLOSINGS – not just layoffs, but closings – that have taken place this year.
You can do so at this link:
http://worknet.wisconsin.gov/worknet/downloads.aspx?menuselection=da&pgm=pcml
Remember, a plant CLOSING, in many cases (unless the company is ceasing to exist, not the case with Kohls, or many of the other highly-publicized plant closings that have taken place in Wisconsin in 2009) the jobs are going somewhere. They’re just not going to Wisconsin.
To argue that Kohls decision had NOTHING to do with Wisconsin’s well-documented anti-business climate would be naive and juvenile.
Remember this the next time you decide to use something I wrote in an attempt to advance your own ridiculous assertions.
Oh, and “Anon,” perhaps that “wrong person” could be YOU, but if you’re hoping to build a case, you’re going to have to start using your real name first. You’re a dork. LMAO.
Very good point.
I don’t think they realize that these anti-business laws, regulations, and lack of right-to-work laws cause a real, tangible impact to the success of a business enterprise. They also don’t seem to realize that the shareholders of these companies –who receive dividend income from their profits and benefit from the capital gain of their stock–happen to be AFSCME pension funds.
They also expose their lack of critical thinking. This was the one thing missing from the story. No quote from Kohl’s, etc. My guess? It’s their first foot out the door, unless some real, tangible change happens. Which is a goddamn shame, as Montgomery and Kellogg built that from a little ma and pa operation out of their Elmbrook location to an S&P Retail powerhouse. Within 10 years (unless something changes), 2,000 high-paying corporate jobs will be lost.
WAKE UP!!!
Oh, Zach, one other thing” When you accuse ME of being a “real class act,” remember that THIS ENTIRE POST started in an attempt to tug at the pants leg of county employee, union official, and prolific, semi-professional blogger Chris Liebenthal, patriarch of that epitome of class known as “Whallah!”
That, my friends, is freakin’ HILARIOUS.