I don't think the stores that used to exist had the same or superior choice of goods and the same prices as Walmart did. I mean there might be some that did, but they persist even in the presence of Walmart - I have several Walmarts within 15 min drive of me, and still know a bunch of local grocery stores and specialized shops that still do fine. But I am not sure why "local store" is inherently superior to Walmart unless it does something better, or how it will be able to deliver on the all three.