MG was retained by Wal-Mart to develop a Professional Opinion on a report entitled The Impact of an Urban Wal-Mart Store on Area Businesses: An interim-evaluation of one Chicago neighborhood’s experience by authors Julie L. Davis, David F. Merriman, Lucia Samayoa, Brian Flanagan, Ron Baiman, and Joe Persky of the Center for Urban Research and Learning of Loyola University Chicago. The version available for this review was marked “last revised April 15, 2008.” The original forty-four page MG opinion of the 2008 Loyola report is available by scrolling down on our Projects section.

Loyola recently provided an update to their 2008 report with a similar title and the date of December 2009. MG was retained again by Wal-Mart to provide a brief summarized update of our Opinion of this second 2009 Loyola report (this document).

We emphasize that we are neither “pro” nor “anti” Wal-Mart but, rather, a neutral third-party research firm. We do not conduct advocacy or any type of political work.