Cambridge Chronicle 4-6-2006
Cambridge economy-watcher Kelly Thompson Clark, president of the Cambridge Chamber of Commerce, wouldn’t say whether she personally believed buying at mom-and-pop stores was necessarily better for the local economy.
Bookseller lauds buying local
By Chris Helms/ Chronicle Staff
Thursday, April 6, 2006
Frank Kramer isn’t asking you to buy all your books at his store. He’ll settle for two more a year than you already buy from him.
By Chris Helms/ Chronicle Staff
Thursday, April 6, 2006
Frank Kramer isn’t asking you to buy all your books at his store. He’ll settle for two more a year than you already buy from him.
Kramer, owner of the Harvard Book Store, said
relatively small changes in buying patterns can make the difference for locally
owned shops as they compete against national chains.
"It’s not like we have to change the shopping
habits of the world," said Kramer.
His Harvard Square bookstore is one of the founding
businesses behind "Cambridge Local First." The organization, founded in October,
has about 80 members. Keen-eyed shoppers might have noticed the circular
blue-and-white decals at the front doors of independent shops such as 1369
Coffee House or Tags Hardware.
Members of "Cambridge Local First" have a message.
It’s not a finger-wagging admonishment that you should shop locally because it’s
the right thing to do. Kramer and company aim to convince shoppers that the
local economy benefits more from purchases made in locally owned businesses than
when those dollars go to a national chain.
"It’s not just ’Support us because we’re here’,"
said Kramer. "Loyalty about shopping is about value."
Similar groups have sprung up in Boulder, Colo.,
Philadelphia and San Francisco. An effort in Louisville, Ky., is called "Keep
Louisville Weird." The slogan is also used by Austin, Texas, though the
originators of the phrase "Keep Austin Weird" have, weirdly, lost control of the
copyright.
Cambridge First-ers aim to expand the idea of value
beyond price. Big-box stores will generally win when the competition is based on
price alone. But when you add the ripple effects throughout a community, local
merchants start to look like a better deal for the overall economic and social
health of the city.
For example, one study by Civic Economics, an
economic analysis firm, showed that Borders Books returned $13 out of every $100
spent to the community. Independent stores returned $45.
That return ranges from the obvious, such as
charitable donations, to indirect benefits. For instance, a Cambridge architect
might be hired when local businesses remodel. A national chain is more likely to
import designs hatched at corporate headquarters in New York.
Cambridge economy-watcher Kelly Thompson Clark, president of the Cambridge Chamber of Commerce, wouldn’t say whether she personally believed buying at mom-and-pop stores was necessarily better for the local economy.
"There are arguments on both sides of the fence,"
said Clark. "There’s no right or wrong answer. There are always going to be
people who are going to support businesses that are born and bred in Cambridge,
and support only those that are born and bred. Everybody’s choice to shop is
their own."
Clark said it takes chains and independents to keep
a local economy vibrant.
"It’s important for all of us to remember there’s a
delicate balance and a delicate mix that makes a city successful. We don’t want
to see empty storefronts out there."
Other talking points for "Cambridge Local First"
include the claim that customer service is better at local, one-of-a-kind
businesses. And there’s the argument that entrepreneurs and skilled workers want
to settle in communities that preserve their distinctive character.
Of course, in an era of globalism, deciding what’s
local and what’s not isn’t always clear-cut. "Cambridge Local First" defines
local as based in Cambridge and having no corporate or national headquarters
outside Massachusetts. Only privately held businesses qualify for membership.
And more than 50 percent of the ownership team has to live in-state.
There are other requirements as well. For more
information on the initiative, check out the group’s evolving Web site at http://www.cambridgelocalfirst.org.
Kramer said the group aims to have 400 members in five years.
"Cambridge Local First" isn’t the only campaign
urging you to spend money inside the city limits. The Chamber recently launched
"Shop Cambridge First." The initiative is only beginning, but one part of the
campaign is a gift certificate program. The gift certificates are good for shops
in Cambridge, including national chains that have stores here.
