Anthem Book Blog

Bookselling This Week has an interview with Stacy Mitchell from the Institute for Local Self-Reliance. Mitchell "has traveled the country to educate citizens and policy makers on the economic and social importance of local businesses and to help level the playing field for independents and entrepreneurs."

I first came across her work when she published Hometown Advantage, a look at towns and cities across America that have implented changes to stop the proliferation of big box retailers and encourage citizens to support and open local businesses.

The interview by BTW's Dave Grogan gives background on Mitchell's past work, her current work with independent business alliances, and four things people can do now.

My favorite quote:

"New chain store development generally reduces the number and quality of jobs available in your community. For years now, developers have been building far more retail than communities can actually support. When new chain stores -- especially the big boxes and category killers -- come in, they do not create new economic activity. All they do is drain sales from existing retailers. You can see this across the country, not only in disappearing small businesses, but also in the rising number of vacancies -- both in traditional business districts and increasingly, in malls and strip shopping centers as well. As these established businesses downsize and close, communities end up losing as many -- sometimes even more -- retail jobs as they gain at the new mega-retail development. This has been demonstrated in numerous studies.

Perhaps even more significant are the jobs indirectly supported by independent retailers. Local stores purchase many goods and services from other local businesses. They bank locally, hire local accountants, get their printing done locally, and so on. In contrast, much of the revenue taken in by a chain leaves the community immediately. So when chains come in and displace independent businesses, it actually reduces the volume of local economic activity and thus jobs. It also renders your local economy far more dependent on outside forces and the whims of distant decision-makers."

and this quote echoes Richard Florida's work with creative communities:

"...communities that succumb to sprawling cookie-cutter development -- and everything that entails in terms of traffic congestion and loss of open space -- diminish their prospects of attracting and nurturing creative entrepreneurs and higher quality jobs. Communities should view vibrant independent business districts as assets that can help generate other kinds of economic activity."

I'm learning more about the efforts to bolster local businesses and main street shopping districts. You'll probably see more posts on the topic here.