In Santa Fe, New Mexico, independents are putting into practice the adage "There's power in numbers." Local independent retailers, community organizations, and businesses have joined together to form the Santa Fe Independent Business Community Alliance (SFIBCA) -- a nonprofit coalition that aims to improve the local economy by driving consumers to local, independent retailers.
On April 23, Borders Books & Music announced that it was pulling out of a proposed Austin, Texas, development situated across the street from two independent retailers, BookPeople and Waterloo Records. The bookstore chain's plans to open a store at Sixth and Lamar in downtown Austin had stirred up strong opposition. Liveable City, a local, nonprofit community organization, commissioned an economic study indicating that local merchants contribute significantly more money to the local economy than do retail chains.
In our ongoing coverage of the public debate regarding the retail makeup of a proposed government-subsidized development in Austin, Texas, BTW has cited an economic study commissioned by Liveable City and The Austin Independent Business Alliance (AIBA), local nonprofit groups. The study documents how local merchants contribute significantly more to the local economy than do retail chains.
On Tuesday, January 21, almost all of the approximately 200 Austin, Texas, city residents at a community forum gave a proposed development that would bring Borders Books & Music to downtown Austin a resounding thumbs down, as reported by the Austin American-Statesman.
On December 10, Austin-based Liveable City, a local nonprofit group, released an economic study claiming that local merchants contribute significantly more money to the local economy than do retail chains. Steve Bercu, owner of Austin's BookPeople, told BTW that the study proves what local retailers have known all along through anecdotal evidence. "We knew that chain stores impacted the local economy in a negative way," he said.
Independent booksellers in Austin and Chicago are protesting the fact that developers could receive multi-million dollar incentives from their respective cities to facilitate retail developments that have signed tenant agreements with national chain Borders Books & Music. The booksellers contend that using financial incentives for developments that solicit national chains is unfair to local retailers.
The following profile of independent bookselling in Chicago, and of ABAs new president, Ann Christophersen of Women & Children First, originally appeared in the Chicago Sun-Times.
By Lee Copeland
Ann Christophersen has been battling a turf war with Borders for the last two years.
The bookselling giant wants to open a 20,000-square-foot store in Uptown, about a mile from her Andersonville shop -- Women & Children First Bookstore.
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In Santa Fe, New Mexico, independents are putting into practice the adage "There's power in numbers." Local independent retailers, community organizations, and businesses have joined together to form the Santa Fe Independent Business Community Alliance (SFIBCA) -- a nonprofit coalition that aims to improve the local economy by driving consumers to local, independent retailers.
In our ongoing coverage of the public debate regarding the retail makeup of a proposed government-subsidized development in Austin, Texas, BTW has cited an economic study commissioned by Liveable City and The Austin Independent Business Alliance (AIBA), local nonprofit groups. The study documents how local merchants contribute significantly more to the local economy than do retail chains.
On December 10, Austin-based Liveable City, a local nonprofit group, released an economic study claiming that local merchants contribute significantly more money to the local economy than do retail chains. Steve Bercu, owner of Austin's BookPeople, told BTW that the study proves what local retailers have known all along through anecdotal evidence. "We knew that chain stores impacted the local economy in a negative way," he said.