In Defense of Independent Businesses

Elaine and Bill Petrocelli, the owners of Book Passage in Corte Madera and San Francisco, most recently made the news with the announcement, on May 24 in California's Marin Independent Journal, that they plan to open a third store in Novato, California. However, since January, the Petrocellis and Book Passage have been in the news for another reason. In response to the impending move of the 10-year-old Greenbrae Barnes & Noble to the Corte Madera Town Center, a block away from Book Passage, the Petrocellis and other concerned citizens have been involved in a grassroots effort to institute municipal policies that would require a review of any proposed big box retailer to determine its potential effects on the community. On Sunday, April 30, ABA COO Oren Teicher delivered the following address at an event at Book Passage in support of their efforts.

On behalf of the American Booksellers Association, I am delighted to be here to join you in showing our support for Book Passage and for Elaine and Bill Petrocelli.

Ever since it became public knowledge that Barnes & Noble was opening in the Corte Madera Town Center, hundreds of you and your neighbors have delivered an urgent message loud and clear that you understand how important it is that your community have a vibrant, successful, locally owned, independent bookstore.

We are all here today because we recognize the unique role independent bookstores play in enriching our lives and deepening our understanding of important issues through the books we find on their shelves and through the people we meet at these stores. Independent bookstores all across America have become essential anchors to our neighborhoods -- "village squares" -- that are important destinations for us outside of work and home, where authors and great writing are nurtured, where conversations and friendships grow, and where the free flow of ideas can, and does, change people's lives. Independent bookstores like Book Passage are the glue that hold together and strengthen our communities.

For more than 25 years, Book Passage has been a place where you can come to discover what great book you should read next, where you can introduce your son or daughter or grandchild to the joys of browsing and reading, where you can hear a favorite author talk about a new novel, where you can explore thoughts and emotions through writing classes, and much, much more.

It's no accident that a special business like this is independently owned. I think that those of us who shop at locally owned businesses realize that one of the biggest reasons for their success is that they have forged a close and knowledgeable connection with their customers and their community.

At independents like Book Passage, the people who decide what books go on the shelves are your neighbors; they are not anonymous people located 3,000 miles away in a Manhattan skyscraper or in a corporate office in the Midwest. Book Passage reflects your town -- who you are, your interests, and what's important to you. And the same is true of other hardworking independent businesses in Corte Madera.

But what many of us frankly didn't appreciate until more recently is just what an important and powerful economic engine locally owned, independent businesses have become. In-depth studies have shown that local merchants contribute significantly more economic benefits to the local economy than do national chains.

In the Andersonville neighborhood of Chicago, a 2004 study found that local firms generated 70 percent greater local economic impact than the chains. Because chain stores actually siphon money out of the local economy, the study illustrated how every square foot of retail space occupied by a locally owned business delivers approximately $75 more of an economic impact than a square foot of space in a chain.

Locally owned independent businesses are the lifeblood of our economy, and no one knows this better than Bill and Elaine Petrocelli here at Book Passage. Local retailers deposit their money in local banks; use the services of local accountants, lawyers, builders, and other professionals; purchase locally when they buy supplies; and donate to local charities.

Last year alone, Book Passage paid over $130,000 to more than 50 freelance teachers, many of them writers living in Marin County, for their work at the bookstore's myriad evening classes and workshops. In addition, the store's many outstanding authors' programs and writers' conferences bring in customers and revenue from outside the region.

In many cities and towns, independent locally owned businesses have been banding together to more clearly deliver the important message that communities with a healthy small business network are better places to live and work. Not only for economic reasons, but also because together these unique and distinct businesses create a wonderful retail mosaic, a fun and vibrant alternative to the numbing sameness of rampant chain store proliferation.

Wouldn't most of us rather shop on Main Street than Chain Street? Who really wants to replace Our Town with Clone Town?

Citizens in cities and towns all over the country -- from San Francisco to Salt Lake City to St. Paul -- are banding together to tell their elected officials that they value intelligent economic development and authenticity ... smart growth and retail diversity.

Don't let anyone try to con you into believing that monolithic, big box chain retailing is inevitable. In February, the St. Paul City Council approved a neighborhood association's plan to limit new building size on a historic retail avenue so that it could preserve the neighborhood's character and identity.

In April, an amendment to the Nantucket, Massachusetts, town zoning laws to keep chain stores out of the historic downtown district was approved without challenge.

And just this month, in Hamilton, Montana, the county commissioners voted to implement a size cap on retail development. The vote followed a public hearing attended by 1,400 residents, such a large turnout that the meeting had to be moved twice ... first to the middle school auditorium and finally to the nearby middle school gym.

These are just three examples. There are many others in which outstanding bookstores like Book Passage have taken a leading role in helping educate consumers regarding the power they have in protecting their communities' identity and in convincing elected officials to ensure that there is a level playing field for all retailers ... chain and independent.

The list of towns and cities that are taking important steps to preserve their distinct character and foster the growth of independently owned businesses keeps growing. In California, it includes San Francisco, Santa Cruz, Sausalito, Calistoga, and Coronado. Nationwide, it includes Port Jefferson, New York; Sanibel, Florida; Homer, Alaska; York, Maine; Port Townsend and Bainbridge Island, Washington; Bennington, Vermont; and Bristol, Rhode Island.

By coming out here today, and by making a conscious decision about where you make your purchases, you are taking important steps to have a very real say in what your community will look like. And you are not alone.

In Salt Lake City, Utah, The King's English Bookshop and other locally owned businesses launched "Local First Utah," a campaign to encourage residents of Salt Lake to patronize locally owned businesses. They organized a statewide "Buy Local First Week" last fall, and in its first year the campaign included approximately 500 businesses.

In Tampa, Florida, Inkwood Books organized what has become a national event, "Independents Week." This national promotion, scheduled to coincide with July 4th, combines a wide range of consumer offers and fun events to help educate customers about the importance of shopping at their locally owned independent businesses. Carla Jimenez, a co-owner of Inkwood, began the program in her store in 2002. The next year, 20 businesses in Tampa took part. This year, it's estimated that hundreds of businesses nationwide will participate. Clearly, the message of just how important it is to preserve the economies and the identities of our communities is being heard.

In Bellingham, Washington, and the surrouding area, locally owned businesses have joined together to encourage customers to "Think Local, Be Local, Buy Local." In just three years, the campaign has grown to include hundreds of businesses, and participants are reporting that the public awareness campaign has been a huge success. Among those taking notice is Washington State Governor Chris Gregoire, who told the Bellingham Herald, "What a vision for the community -- to talk about how we can build a sustainable community, we should build on our small businesses."

And there are Independent Business Alliances launching all over the country -- in Phoenix, Albuquerque and Santa Fe, Austin and El Paso, Boulder and Colorado Springs, St. Louis, Louisville, Raleigh, and the list goes on.

It is clear that some Americans do prefer to shop in places that are not the size of a football stadium. And what we now know is, shopping in locally owned independent businesses is actually better for the local economy. I mentioned the Chicago study a moment ago; there are similar findings in multiple other studies undertaken across the country over the past few years. Big is not necessarily better: In fact, the evidence points the other way!

Moving forward, here in Corte Madera important issues have to be faced by government at all levels. They have to squarely address the question of just what steps they will take to not only foster independent businesses but also to protect the local economy and the very character of the community.

This will involve important issues of zoning and jurisdiction, but it will be essential for your elected officials to recognize that stakeholders throughout the county must have input in creating an appropriate vision and goals for retail development. And there are examples, such as on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, and across the state of Vermont, where this process of dialogue and cooperation has been working. Villages, towns, cities, counties, etc. can and do work together -- recognizing that all development is inter-related and that the decisions in one jurisdiction have impact in adjoining ones.

Artificial boundaries can't be the only deciding factors in planning decisions. Every citizen deserves a say in what his or her hometown should look like.

Rational planning decisions will only come about when all the salient factors are considered, and when the goal of a vibrant and diverse Corte Madera -- one that respects the town's heritage and history -- is given top priority.

It would be naive not to acknowledge that big box retailing has become a part of the fabric of many American communities, but it would be even more naive not to understand that promoting diversity is an equally important objective. Every town in America does not have to look alike, and I'd submit that most Americans value their community's uniqueness and the characteristics that set them apart from everywhere else.

Sadly, it's not Orwellian to be concerned that much of America has begun to look and be alike, but it doesn't have to be that way.

And, specifically, in the book business -- when we maintain a diverse network of outlets where the reading public can access the widest possible range of ideas -- it's about a whole lot more than simply promoting the local economy.It's about making sure that the First Amendment is not just a bunch of words, but a living, breathing, document. Yes, the Book Passages of America are good for the local economy. But, perhaps, even more importantly, the Book Passages of America are indispensable to being certain that we remain a nation where the free flow of ideas is encouraged and promoted. And that's why all of us have a stake in their survival.

Thank you.