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Citizens and community organizations in New Zealand are beginning to take action to curb the spread of chain stores and big box retailers. "The big box phenomena has had a huge impact," says Warren Snow of Envision New Zealand, a community development company. "In the same way that Wal-Mart has decimated the main streets of America, New Zealand towns and suburbs are also buckling under the might of big box retailers." … Read More
Citizens in Eureka, California, recently attended the third in a series of public meetings aimed at drafting an ordinance that would require big box development proposals to pass a comprehensive economic impact review before being allowed to build. "We’re trying to create a livable, walkable city," said City Councilor Chris Kerrigan, who introduced the ordinance in April. "We’ve spent millions and more than a decade trying to turn our downtown around. … Read More
Two California cities have adopted ordinances that prohibit "supercenters"—massive 200,000-square-foot stores operated by Wal-Mart, Target, and Kmart that combine general merchandise with a full supermarket and numerous specialty services like florists and gas stations.
In October, the Inglewood City Council voted 4-1 to bar stores over 155,000 square feet that sell more than 20,000 nontaxable items, such as food and pharmacy products. Inglewood has a population of 113,000 and is located in Los Angeles County.… Read More
A broad coalition has coalesced in Puerto Rico to block an attempt by Wal-Mart to buy Supermercados Amigo, the island’s largest supermarket chain. The deal would give the retailer, which already has $1.16 billion in sales at 19 Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club stores, a 40 percent share of Puerto Rico’s grocery sales.… Read More
The number of businesses belonging to purchasing cooperatives has doubled in the last ten years, to about 50,000, according to Paul Hazen of the National Cooperative Business Association. In the hardware and grocery sectors, long-established co-ops like Ace Hardware, have provided an essential line of defense against large chains and made the difference between survival and failure for countless independent merchants. The co-op model is now spreading to other retail sectors. … Read More
Rising commercial rents are generally a good thing; they are an indication of the health of a business district and encourage landlords and banks to invest in building improvements. But in some communities, commercial rents are rising too far too fast. Often this sudden run-up is driven by chain retailers, which discover the appeal of an area and sweep in by the dozens, offering above-market rents for choice spots and sparking a frenzy of speculation.… Read More
In October, the Maine Department of Human Services released its third annual survey of prescription prices for fifteen common drugs at 106 independent and chain pharmacies statewide. The ten lowest priced pharmacies (based on the cost of all fifteen drugs combined) were all locally owned drugstores. National chains, including Rite Aid, CVS, and Brooks, had among the highest overall costs.… Read More
An Interview with Stacy Mitchell – a researcher with the New Rules Project in the publication, Multinational Monitor.… Read More
Posters declaring "Celebrate Independents Week!" greeted customers of local stores in Tampa, Florida, during the week of July 4th. "As we celebrate our nation’s independence, we invite you to join us in celebrating our great local independents," the posters read.
Independents Week was conceived by Carla Jimenez, co-owner of Inkwood Books. For several years, Inkwood has used Independence Day as an opportunity to remind customers of the importance of locally owned businesses to the community.… Read More
