Warwick Bookstore Spearheads Independent Business Alliance

The Village of Warwick, New York, may not look like the kind of town in urgent need of an independent business alliance: With a burgeoning population and tourist trade, and no chain store or mall near Main Street, the idyllic downtown looks to be the picture of economic health. However, a closer study of Warwick reveals a more foreboding picture. While the downtown may not host any big box stores or malls, the town is "encircled by them," said Michael McDermott of Warwick's The Bookstore. "In every direction you go, there's a mall, big box, or plans for a big box store."

According to McDermott, the local downtown, which has some local businesses on the verge of closing and empty retail space, is at "the tipping point." If enough people decide to support the outer chain stores and malls, the downtown will inevitably suffer the consequences. On the other hand, if enough people decide to support local businesses, Warwick's vibrant downtown will grow economically.

For that reason, McDermott joined with other local business owners to create the Warwick Independent Business Alliance (WIBA), which will "officially" launch in mid-June with a public forum, "Communities at the Tipping Point."

"Part of our role will be to articulate this point of community self-determination," McDermott said of WIBA's mission. "Value has to be more important than price."

Prior to his role in the WIBA, McDermott belonged to Warwick's Merchant's Guild, a committee of the Warwick Chamber of Commerce. For many years, the guild has been very successful, though, for the most part, its key function is conducting community events, explained McDermott. "It became evident that our landscape had changed and, consequently, local businesses needed to take a different approach," he said.

Certainly, Warwick Township is in transition. In the last several years, "there's been more tourist crowds -- we're a day trip out of New York City and just north of New Jersey," McDermott said. "But our fundamental livelihood is based in local support, and no one was talking about creating a sustainable economy in Warwick."

Furthermore, McDermott said that local businesses have to contend with the misconception among the public that, with the residential areas booming and the population growing, local businesses must be reaping the benefits, but that hasn't been the case. "There's far more places for people to spend their money," he said.

With the WIBA, he believes local businesses will have an effective way of articulating their point and educating the community about the value of independent businesses.

One of the first steps WIBA took was to join the American Independent Business Alliance (AMIBA). "By joining AMIBA, it helps us to spread the message and to raise awareness of how important it is to support the local economy," McDermott said. Jennifer Rockne, AMIBA's director, and Jeff Milchen, AMIBA outreach director, are scheduled to speak at the public forum in mid-June.

The alliance will look to use the data gathered in the Civic Economic studies conducted in Austin ["Economic Impact Analysis: A Case Study, Local Merchants vs. Chain Retailers"] and Chicago ["The Andersonville Study of Retail Economics"], which indicate that local businesses give back about three times as much to the local economy than do chains. "That's great information to put in front of people," McDermott said.

Fortunately for WIBA, it appears local politicians grasp the concept of how important a unique downtown can be to economic vitality and growth. McDermott pointed out that both the Town of Warwick supervisor and Village of Warwick mayor have signed a municipal agreement with zoning laws that look to "protect what is distinctive about Warwick -- the downtown being one of them."

Nonetheless, the challenge will be to make sure that, when local consumers want to shop, they choose to shop locally, rather than driving to the surrounding mall or the big chain stores. McDermott noted, "Education and awareness are the best tools we have."

In the long term, WIBA will be looking to establish relationships with Warwick's three weekly newspapers, by possibly writing weekly or monthly columns, as well as placing advertisements. It will also be distributing a brochure with information on the alliance and its mission and will be "using word of mouth to seed [its] message," said McDermott. --David Grogan