March 26, 20005

Rally around independents' day

Akron's locally owned retailers could benefit from joining emerging shop-locally movement

By Mary Ethridge
Beacon Journal business writer

If you're driving across the country this spring or summer, you may see bizarre billboards and fliers promoting some even stranger parties.

`Keep Austin Weird.''

``Keep Louisville Weird.''

`` Raleigh Unchained.''

`` Boulder Unchained.''

`` Arizona's Chain Reaction.''

``Think Globally; Shop Locally.''

``Celebrate your Independents.''

These slogans are fighting words in some cities where big-box retail chains have threatened smaller, local merchants.

Independent retailers in communities as different as hip Venice, Calif., and conservative Louisville, Ky., decided they were mad as hell and not going to take it anymore. They're demanding no more big boxes, no more chains and mega-shopping sites; no more tax breaks for the enormous chains.

The notion of big chains taking over small towns is at least a 25-year old story. But the idea of people forming large, unified groups to fight big-box retailers is relatively new.

The mom-and-pop group's idea is to educate consumers about the value of shopping locally. They've used methods such as festivals, marathon runs, fliers and billboards.

We need to as well. In Northeast Ohio, there's no question the invasion of big-box retailers has hurt local merchants and altered the landscape. If chains continue to dominate retail, how are we to tell if we're in Akron or Altoona? Where's the local character in cookie-cutter sameness?

Steve Bercu, owner of a bookstore in Austin, Texas, came up with the ``Keep Austin Weird'' slogan in 1998 when he and another local business battled the developers of a Borders store across the street from their long-established locations.

Borders, the country's largest bookstore chain, sells about 40 percent of all the books sold in this country, according to a recent study by the American Library Association.

Such consolidation is everywhere in retail. Wal-Mart and Target now account for more than 75 percent of all general merchandise sales in the country. The top two drugstore chains -- Walgreens and CVS -- handle more than 30 percent of the country's prescription business.

The arrival of chains in any community leads first to fear among existing retailers. And that fear can turn into anger when the small-shop owners discover the mega-retailer was given millions of dollars in tax abatements as well as waivers on certain fees.

``What galled the Austin retailers is that they were paying taxes, and the developer wasn't,'' Bercu said. ``We were a bit offended that we were paying taxes to wipe ourselves out.''

Bercu said he and others affiliated with the American Independent Business Alliance don't harp on the issue of losing local character. ``It sounds too whiny,'' he said.

Economics stressed

Although a community's flavor is important to Bercu, he believes focusing on the economic effect of chain retailers on communities is a more potent tool in encouraging residents to shop with local owners.

An independent firm studied the Austin economy and found significant differences between chain retailers and local ones.

For instance, if someone spends $100 at Borders, the total local economic impact is only $13. The same amount spent with a local merchant yields $45 locally, more than three times the Border amount.

Austin then hopped on a ``U.S Unchained Day.'' One day a year, usually in November, shoppers in cities such as Austin, Boulder, Colo., Tampa, Fla., and Raleigh, N.C., ask their neighbors to stay away from chains for that day.

``The message is, by making the choice to shop at locally owned businesses on one single day, you can add $14.4 million in the local economy,'' Bercu said. That's far more than what would go back to the communities from chain stores.

Going national

Many customers are underinformed about the value that independent businesses provide, both individually and collectively. With better information, customers might choose to patronize local businesses more often because it benefits the community. Local owners with much of their life savings invested in their businesses have a natural interest in the long-term health of the community.

Austin Unchained was so successful that the parent group decided to take the Unchained Group national this year. The organization provided posters, shopping bag stuffers, buttons, talking points, news releases, and other materials to help businesses promote the event in their communities. Participants included independent business alliances as well as local businesses.

The events, said Bercu, aimed not only to communicate directly with customers, but also to generate discussion in local and national media. In several cities, multiple news outlets picked up the story. In Tampa, for example, it was covered by the St. Petersburg Times. Members of the Tampa Independent Business Alliance were guests on a television show on the local Fox affiliate. Each media opportunity gave business owners a chance to talk about the value of strong, locally owned businesses to the local economy.

Chain stores are not inherently bad. Indeed, they deliver a consistent level of goods and services that we appreciate. But wouldn't it be a shame to live in a world where everyone wears the chain-store uniform? Homes begin to look the same. It would be Stepford Living.

I'm calling for locally owned retailers to join some of these efforts or consider starting their own.

Let's keep Akron as weird as it has always been... and I mean that with great affection.

© 2005 Beacon Journal

 

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