Importance of Independents

by David Grogan



Over the past few years, a number of economic studies -- including two conducted by Civic Economics, a leader in the field of progressive economic development -- have consistently calculated that locally owned businesses contribute more than three times as much economic value to a community than do chain retailers. So when the San Francisco Locally Owned Merchants Alliance (SFLOMA) asked Civic Economics to conduct a similar economic study of San Francisco, the firm's partners told SFLOMA that they weren't interested.


They wanted to do something more.


Matt Cunningham, who founded Civic Economics with business partner Dan Houston, told BTW, "We wanted to advance the research. We thought it would be interesting to see something else out there."


The new economic study, which got underway about three weeks ago, will analyze a number of factors.


First, the study will seek to determine locally owned merchants' total market share in San Francisco. Second, incorporating data from Civic Economics' previous studies, "Economic Impact Analysis -- A Case Study: Local Merchants vs. Chain Retailers" and "The Andersonville Study of Retail Economics," the new report will analyze the impact of an "x-percent" increase in local shopping and then determine what exactly happens to the extra money going back to the community.


"We don't think [a study like this] has been done," Cunningham said.


Significantly, a large portion of the money that was raised to fund the study is from the bookselling community, said Hut Landon, executive director for the Northern California Independent Booksellers Association (NCIBA) and SFLOMA's project coordinator for the study. In addition to NCIBA, among the study's other supporters are the American Booksellers Association, the Great Lake Booksellers Association, the New Atlantic Independent Booksellers Association, the Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association, the Mountains & Plains Independent Booksellers Association, and individual booksellers.


"We think this study will be great for locally owned merchants. It will give us some talking points with consumers," Landon said. Noting that past research indicates that consumers who buy an average of 10 books per year buy only four of those books from their local bookstores, he added, "This will give them some other reasons to shop at their local independent bookstore. If they shift their spending habits ... look at what happens to the local economy. This report will quantify that."


In addition, since there are few municipalities that are not seeking additional revenue, independent retailers around the country will be able to take this study to their local lawmakers to show them one simple solution to their monetary woes -- supporting locally owned businesses, Landon said.


Similar to the Austin and Andersonville reports, the San Francisco economic study, which as yet does not have a projected release date, will be relevant to all communities. "This study can be used by everybody," Landon said. "We are happy to share this information."