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TweetThere’s a reason why we call it Dearbornistan. The Islamic population is growing ever closer to the majority and companies will do anything to accomodate the constant demands of Muslims: Walmart is the latest.
Fixed prices, sensitivity training, removal of pork just to name a few.
As America changes, so does the store where America shops. In Dearborn this week, the world’s largest retailer opens a store like no other among its 3,500 U.S. outlets. Walk through the front door of the 200,000-square-foot supercenter and instead of rows of checkout counters, you find a scene akin to a farmers market in Beirut. Twenty-two tables are stacked high with fresh produce like kusa and batenjan, squash and eggplant used in Middle Eastern dishes. Rimming the produce department are shelves filled with Arab favorites like mango juice from Egypt and vine leaves from Turkey used to make mehshi, or stuffed grape leaves. A walled-off section of the butcher case is devoted to Halal meats, slaughtered in accordance with Islamic law (when a Wal-Mart manager noticed the pork section was too prominent he ordered it moved, since Muslims don’t eat pork). In the freezer case, you’ll find frozen falafel. You can also pick up a CD from Lebanese pop singer Ragheb Alama or buy Muslim greeting cards.
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To fit into this bastion of ethnic tradition, Wal-Mart started two years ago to meet with imams and moms, conducting focus groups at Middle Eastern restaurants. Wal-Mart learned the community wasn’t as concerned about seeing Arabic-language signs as they were with dealing with Arabic-speaking staff. So Bartell hired about 35 Arabic speakers, including Suehaila Amen, a local middle-school teacher who is providing ethnic-sensitivity training to the 650 employees. He also learned not to bother stocking traditional Muslim clothing, like the headscarf, or hijab, Amen wears. “The community told us, ‘I would not feel comfortable coming to Wal-Mart to buy my hijab’,” says assistant store manager Jordan Berke. “We’re not here to overstep our bounds.”
Despite the sensitive sell, local shopkeepers still worry about Wal-Mart. “There is a fear factor in the business community,” says Osama Siblani, publisher of Dearborn’s Arab American News. To allay those fears, Wal-Mart is making an extraordinary promise: it will not undercut the prices of the small local merchants (though it will still go after Kroger). The insular company even agreed to be scrutinized by a “community advisory board” made up of local Arab-American leaders to ensure it isn’t harming the mom-and-pop shops. One example: Wal-Mart agreed to charge one dime more than local grocers for a six-pack of pita bread.
hattip: Debbie Schlussel
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