Tampa to Celebrate America Unchained and the Hometown Advantage

On Wednesday, November 17, Stacy Mitchell -- author of The Hometown Advantage: How to Defend Your Main Street Against Chain Stores and Why It Matters (Institute for Local Self-Reliance) -- will speak at the University of Tampa in a fundraising event sponsored by the Tampa Independent Business Alliance (TIBA). The event seeks to draw attention to America Unchained, a national version of an event held last year in Austin, Texas, that asked people to shop only at locally owned retailers in their community for an entire day. America Unchained 2004, which is being organized by the American Independent Business Alliance (AMIBA), will be held on Saturday, November 20.

The centerpiece of the America Unchained event will be the findings of Civic Economics' recently released Andersonville Study and its 2002 "Economic Impact Analysis -- A Case Study: Local Merchants vs. Chain Retailers," both of which clearly illustrate that local retailers return more economic value to the community than do chain retailers. As such, America Unchained is primarily a "media" event, with the ultimate goal of helping community members comprehend the economic benefit that local businesses provide the community.

For that reason, Carla Jimenez, co-owner of Tampa's Inkwood Books, a founding member of TIBA, told BTW she was extremely pleased that Mitchell was available to help kick off Tampa's America Unchained. "Ever since TIBA was founded, we've wanted to get Stacy [to come and speak], and it's fortuitous that it worked out at this time," Jimenez said.

For the event, Mitchell noted that her presentation would focus first on "current trends and why there should be concern about the consolidation of [retail sales in] a small number of chains." She explained that, as of 2003, the top 20 chains account for a quarter of everything Americans purchase; six years before, it was 15 percent. She added she will discuss the ways in which chains undermine the local economy, as well as their community impact, environmental issues, and the tax implications of retail sprawl. The second part of her presentation will focus on the ways residents and local businesses can try to counter the onslaught of big box retailers and support locally owned businesses. "One way is to get rid of policies that tilt the playing field to chains. Tax codes [often] favor the Big Box stores," she explained.

Jimenez noted that the November 17 event with Mitchell and the subsequent America Unchained Day would have special relevance for the Tampa community. Currently, many of Tampa's outlying communities -- including her own -- have some kind of development plans in the works or on the drawing board. Both events will be an effective way to call attention to the economic and social impact of choosing to develop with independents rather than national chains. Bringing in an outside expert like Mitchell brings added impact to the argument, she said, and will help draw media attention, which is crucial for ensuring that both residents and city officials hear the message.

"To have [Mitchell] come here to speak brings recognition to the fact that, frankly, this is a national movement," Jimenez explained. "Independents make the local community unique and contribute more to the local economy in ways that chains do not."

Similarly, economic studies, such as the Andersonville Study, emphasize this point in ways that should make both town politicians and developers take note. "The Andersonville study had no surprises for me, it was just one more confirmation of what [independent businesses] have been saying anecdotally," Jimenez said. "We've known for years that the economic impact was there."

To learn more about America Unchained, visit www.amiba.net/Unchained.html. To read about Unchain Austin, click here. --David Grogan