Independents Week: Becoming an American Tradition

As the number of independent business alliances springing up around the country grows, so too does Independents Week, an annual celebration of the value of shopping at local, independent businesses. Now in its third year, the weeklong event, centered on the Fourth of July, is fast becoming a staple of retailing in many American communities.

This year's event, which was held in most regions from Saturday, July 1, through Friday, July 7, "went very well," said Jennifer Rockne, director of the American Independent Business Alliance (AMIBA), a national outreach networking hub and resource center for independent business alliances (IBAs) and independent businesses. "[Independence Week] is kind of taking off on its own. Different groups are grabbing it and running with it, which is the best possible dilemma."

This July, more trade associations, alliances, and businesses participated than ever before, noted Rockne, who added that many of the celebrations "had a little more sophistication going in. There is nothing to prevent anyone doing something simple, but those groups that have been doing it for several years held involved events, which is delightful to see."

One group that falls into this category is the Austin Independent Business Alliance (AIBA). To kick off the week, on July 1, the alliance held an event at BookPeople to introduce an oval-shaped sticker with the slogan "I Bought Local," designed to evoke the well-known "I Voted" stickers, said Steve Bercu, the bookstore's owner and president of AIBA. The alliance invited Mayor Will Winn to the event and that, in turn, attracted tremendous media attention.

This began the day before, when the event was featured in an article in the Austin American Statesman. The day of the event, "every [local] TV station was here filming and interviewing the mayor, asking about why it's good to shop locally," Bercu said. "It was on every local channel that evening." Also covering the mayor's appearance was the Austin Business Journal.

"We handed out 5,000 of the ["I Bought Local"] stickers over the next few days," Bercu stated. "The point was to talk to people.... These events are an opportunity to keep the conversation alive, to make sure consumers remember the value in shopping locally."

Independents Week celebrations also spur people to buy more. "Sales increase incrementally over time," noted Bercu. "The idea is not to have an event and just increase sales [for that day], it's to continue to drive home the message. That's the big value: education and making people remember."

In Salt Lake City, Utah, the statewide independent business alliance, Local First Utah, which has 600 members (mostly in Salt Lake City and surrounding areas) held its Independents Week event a week later, from July 8 through July 15, because "too many people are out of town over the Fourth of July," said Betsy Burton of The King's English.

To promote the celebration, Local First held a press conference on Thursday, July 6, which featured Salt Lake County Mayor Peter Corroon and LaVelle Edwards, a popular former BYU football coach, whose appearance attracted significant media attention, Burton said. "Three of the four TV stations were there; the papers were there; and the local public radio station."

A key element of Local First's celebration was having a significant presence at the well-known Salt Lake International Jazz Festival, which was held July 7 though July 9. The group co-branded the event and had a booth at the Jazz Festival's market, and next year, Burton noted, Local First will organize all the food purveyors at the market, ensuring an all-local presence.

On July 8, Local First had a booth at a farmer's market, where it handed out an over-sized postcard promoting the group; on July 12, the alliance held a film screening of the documentary Independent America and a panel discussion at the Salt Lake City Public Library, which was cosponsored by Salt Lake City Film Center; and on July 15, the group held an "IndepenDance and Fundraiser" at the Utah Pickle Company.

During Utah's Independents Week, The King's English held a 15 percent off sale, but with a catch. The only way customers received the discount was by "engaging us in conversation on local first," said Burton, adding that, to make it easier on customers, staff was instructed to start up conversations on buying locally and overall "people were very receptive." Better yet, the promotion increased sales.

The Independents Week concept began in 2001 in Tampa, Florida, when Inkwood Books' Carla Jimenez created a special promotion featuring that month's Book Sense titles on sale for the July 4th week. The response to the event was so strong that by 2003 about 20 local businesses were participating in the promotion, which urged community members to "celebrate our nation's independence [by] celebrating your independents -- for all your shopping, dining, and entertainment needs." A couple of months after the 2003 event, those 20 businesses formed the Tampa Independent Business Alliance (TIBA).

Some five years later, Inkwood manager Steven Hamill told BTW, "Every year, [Independents Week] just gets bigger."

This year, Inkwood discounted the Book Sense bestsellers at 20 percent off for the week. In addition, TIBA created a sweepstakes and consumers were invited to enter at any participating retail outlet for a chance to win various prizes, including a grand prize worth $1,500. TIBA also held a fundraiser at Hyde Park Village, complete with a "beer truck and live music," Hamill said.

Overall, Hamill said, the week, "definitely raises awareness" about the value of supporting local businesses. Of course, like anything, driving the message home does take time. "We see people who come in now starting to understand what we mean by Independents Week. People are catching on."

Several of the booksellers involved in Independents Week events noted that, in addition to being a great way to promote the idea of buying locally to consumers, it also publicizes to other businesses and communities the value of independent business alliances. "The more these things build all over the place," Bercu said, "the better it seems to get [for us]."

Burton said that if a bookstore became involved in an independent business alliance in every community, "it would change the dynamics of chains versus independents dramatically in just a couple of years. It's that important, and it's not that hard to do. Anytime a bookseller wants help, I just e-mail the materials." --David Grogan

For more information about Main Street alliances and the benefits of shopping locally, visit ABA's trade website, BookWeb.org.