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More than ever before, those of us owning small retail businesses must take action to preserve, protect, and promote our local economies.
Many communities across the country are beginning to notice that their lifestyles are being affected by the way retail is conducted today. With large superstores, chains and e-commerce sharing the retail arena, our small independent stores are at risk of losing their hometown advantage.
It appears that our economy is growing towards "bigger is better" rather than "good things come in small packages." That is not to say that getting bigger is bad; however, it certainly affects our lives.
Naturally these larger stores are able to buy in volume (enabling lower pricing) along with offering a much larger variety of products (one-stop shopping). From a competitive standpoint it is logical that what they have to offer is alluring to all of us. Take, for example, the discount-shopping clubs. I find them hard to resist ... and frankly -- why should I?
There is no exception for responsible growth. I am not for strip malls and replacing green space with blacktop, though there are appropriate areas for this type of development.
Chain operations are often built on large tracts of land on the outskirts of villages and towns, causing movement away from our town centers -- putting at risk the shops that we have patronized for, in many cases, generations. Shopping in town slows pressure to build malls on farmland and in natural areas.
Lifestyle should be a careful consideration when making shopping decisions. Do we want to support, primarily, the larger chain operations? And if we do, at what risk? Let's not forget the convenience and service that our "moms and pops" have offered for years. They still offer that lifestyle that most of us claim we want to hang onto.
Would we go to the local supermarket or "big box" store to ask the clerk to come to our house to remove a bat from our living room or possibly to assist a family member who has fallen? I think few of us realize how small independent business owners and managers truly are our friends and neighbors. They are the same people who support our local schools, churches, fire departments, and us when we are in need.
Money spent in town generally stays in town. Existing evidence suggests that, contrary to common perception, small businesses give more time and money to charitable causes than do big businesses.
Think twice before instantly shopping where something may be less expensive. At what cost if we are undermining the very businesses that have been wonderful community contributors? In fact, if we don't act now to support our country stores in Vermont the possibility exists that they may be replaced by absentee-owned chain stores.
There is room for most of our business neighbors, big and small. We should do our best to support them all in a thoughtful, fair, and supportive way.
In communities across the country citizens and small businesses are taking action to strengthen their local economies. They are developing strategies and adopting new policies to support locally owned enterprises.
Here in Vermont several small country storeowners have been meeting to form a group that will work together to hopefully "grow to get smaller," to merge but not to acquire.
In February of 2000, Dave Rappaport, Executive Director of Vermont Public Interest Research Group (VPIRG) initiated a meeting focusing on the issue of the fragility of our country stores, villages and rural areas. The meeting took place in Weston, Vermont, at the Vermont Country Store. Twelve store owners were invited along with Paul Bruhn, Preservation Trust of Vermont; Wayne Fawbush, Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund; Jim Harrison, Vermont Grocers Association; Rob Miller, State Department of Economic Development; Stacy Mitchell, Institute for Self Reliance; and Michael Wood-Lewis, Vermont Public Interest Research Group.
From that meeting it was agreed that we would name the organization -- The Vermont Alliance of Independent Country Stores -- and that we were eager to meet again. VPIRG organized the next meeting hosted by Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund (VSJF) in Montpelier. It became clear that we needed to secure funding to continue the process. Mr. Fawbush recommended that we write a proposal to VSJF and he would present it to his board.
Many planning meetings have been held since February of last year and through a great deal of hard work with our partner organizations, we have raised roughly $25,000.00 plus very valuable in-kind administrative support.
With our initial funding we have been fortunate to find and hire a consultant experienced in assisting groups such as ours in forming trade organizations. Mary Miller, our consultant, drafted a 9-month proposal guiding our group towards our goals and objectives.
Some of the challenges we face are labor; competition from chains, grocery stores, mini-marts, location; limited size; limited supply; e-commerce; and customer service.
Opportunities, on the other hand, are numerous. We plan to develop a "Country Stores of Vermont" code of ethics and standards; improve customer facilities; develop a customer Bill of Rights (based on The Vermont Country Store's example); tap into the tour-business trade; develop a country store map, magazine, logo, web site, brochure, and private label food line.
Part of our strategy is to fold in a method of assisting our country stores that have either closed or are at risk of closing. We will meet with local townspeople to foster support for what, in most cases, is a vital contributing business in their communities.
For example, we may suggest that the community buy the local country store and lease it back to the current owner at a lower, more manageable monthly rate, eliminating the burden of building maintenance, taxes and a stifling mortgage. Possibly a "reverse credit" plan will be established to enable the operator to raise some desperately needed capital.
Philanthropy may very well become a necessary ingredient to the future well being of our villages.
Throughout the country there are efforts similar to ours that are aggressively working towards "smallness" rather than "bigness"; preservation and restoration; hometown self-reliance. It truly appears to be working. We Vermonters can do it too.
We understand that this is not a fight to survive and we are not defending our turf. We believe that the institution of the country store is strong and very much alive. We do not have the luxury of sitting back and letting the good times roll. We must work harder at being creative and competitive. We can learn a lot from our competitors. Economies of scale work in both directions.
What large competitors can do because of their "bigness," we can compete due to our unique and alluring "smallness."
Vermont Alliance of Independent Country Stores
