Retail News

Putting Wal-Mart's Green Moves in Context

smitchell — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 07:18:58 -0600

What journalists and even environmentalists so often fail to do in reporting on Wal-Mart's sustainability announcements is to provide some context.

Context is everything. Consider Wal-Mart's latest announcement: It will push some of the factories that supply its stores to cut their greenhouse gas emissions. That's a good thing in and of itself, but what happens when we measure it against Wal-Mart's overall impact on the production of goods?

Banks and Small Business Lending

smitchell — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 07:58:23 -0600

This article was originally published on Huffington Post as part of a partnership with their Move Your Money campaign.

Banking consolidation was constricting the flow of loans to small businesses long before the recession. So it's no surprise that the money taxpayers have spent over the last sixteen months shoring up big banks has done nothing to free up credit for small businesses.

To do that, we need to focus on expanding the capacity of small banks to lend to local businesses that have, as a result of the recession and through no fault of their own, become riskier investments. A key issue is whether the Senate will quickly reauthorize a critical loan-guarantee program.

Holiday Sales Increase at Independent Businesses, National Survey Finds

smitchell — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 12:49:49 -0600

MINNEAPOLIS, MN (Jan. 14, 2010) - More holiday shoppers deliberately sought out locally owned businesses this year, according to a national survey of more than 1,800 independent businesses.

The survey found that holiday sales for independent retailers were up an average of 2.2%. That contrasts with the Commerce Department figures released today, which show that overall retail sales were down 0.3% in December and up 1.8% in November.

The survey also found that independent retailers in cities with active "Buy Local" or "Think Local First" campaigns reported stronger holiday sales than those in cities without such campaigns.

Independent Retailers Would Like to Source More Goods Locally, Survey Finds

newrulesstaff — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 12:10:50 -0600

A survey of over 100 independent retailers in New England has found that almost all would like to source more of their inventory from local and regional producers, but there are barriers to doing so, including, most notably, a lack of an easy and efficient way for retailers to identify New England companies manufacturing the kinds of goods they carry.

GAO Report Confirms Need for Regulation of Credit Card Processing Fees

smitchell — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 17:44:59 -0600

Credit card processing is not only highly concentrated - MasterCard, Visa, and American Express control 93 percent of the market - but competition among the card processors tends to raise, not lower, the fees they charge merchants, according to a new report from the U.S. General Accounting Office. The report's findings point to the need for regulation to protect independent businesses from excessive card processing fees. The GAO examines several policy approaches, including a cap on rates.

Support ILSR TODAY and Multiply Your Contribution

admin — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 08:21:47 -0600

Today you have a unique opportunity to help ILSR as part of a one-day fundraising program sponsored by a group of Minnesota foundations that will provide matching funds to ILSR for all donations made online at GiveMN.org. This means if you donate $100, the foundations will make an additional contribution to ILSR - up to a dollar-for-dollar match depending on how much is donated across the spectrum of nonprofit organizations. Please help us by donating here.

Voters Reject Massive Big-Box Complex in Mendocino County, California

smitchell — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 12:29:13 -0600

Despite being outspent 12-to-1, a grassroots group campaigning against a plan to build a massive big-box complex in Mendocino County, California, won a decisive victory when voters rejected the project by a nearly 2-to-1 margin.

Developers Diversified Realty, one of the largest big-box developers in the country, spent $1.2 million trying to persuade the county's 24,000 voters to green-light an 80-acre project slated to include up to 800,000 square feet of big-box stores just north of the town of Ukiah.

Opponents of the project, organized as Save Our Local Economy, raised just $92,000, but ran a smart, creative campaign that, over the course of several months, involved more than 400 volunteers.

Local Businesses Key to Rebuilding New Orleans' Economy, Study Finds

smitchell — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 11:14:45 -0500

In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, many of New Orleans' locally owned businesses reopened within days of the floodwaters subsiding and played a pivotal role in drawing people back. National chains, meanwhile, kept their distance.

But, despite their resilience and loyalty, locally owned businesses have been largely ignored in the city's redevelopment plans. Instead, New Orleans has been lavishing massive public subsidies on big-box development.

Now a new study finds that the city's independent businesses are not only more resilient, but generate twice the economic impact of big-box retailers like Target, while consuming a fraction of the land. The Urban Conservancy, which commissioned the study and runs an initiative called Stay Local, hopes the new data will prompt the city to change its policies.

Santa Rosa Rejects Big Box and Goes Local

smitchell — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 11:13:18 -0500

In a public hearing room crowded with more than 100 people, including dozens of local business owners standing alongside environmentalists, affordable housing advocates, and labor leaders, the city council of Santa Rosa, California, soundly defeated a proposed Lowe's store on a 5-2 vote.

For a city facing a sizable budget shortfall, it was a remarkable decision. The conventional wisdom, especially in California's sales tax-dependent and financially strapped cities, is that big-box retailers are cash-cows and those cities that do not welcome them with open arms will be left behind in the regional competition for revenue.

But the Santa Rosa council rejected that argument and instead endorsed the position of the GoLocal Cooperative, a county-wide coalition of local businesses and residents working localize the region's economy.

Does the NFIB Really Represent the Interests of Independent Businesses?

smitchell — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 09:54:21 -0500

Today, in the New York Times small business blog, Robb Mandelbaum examines the National Federation of Independent Businesses (NFIB), a group that, as we point out in his post, claims to represent independent businesses, but often lobbies for policies that benefit big business at the expense of small.

Mandelbaum reports that the NFIB's membership has plummeted and takes a look at how the group has lobbied for tax loopholes that boost the profits of big chains like Wal-Mart by billions of dollars, while forcing independent businesses to pay more.