Small Business Saturday: Local retailers say they depend on you ...

JOE PAULL/jpaull@ledger-enquirer.comJennifer Williams carries running shoes to the shelves Tuesday afternoon at Big Dog Running Co. in preparation for Small Business Saturday.

Joe Paull ? Joe Paull

Veteran Columbus retailer Rick McKnight has a simple, but blunt perspective on those who completely ignore local retailers during the holidays, instead doing every cent of their shopping at chain stores.

"My little slogan is if we don't 'buy' local, it's 'bye-bye' local," said McKnight, owner of the Kiddie Shoppe, a 78-year-old business on Rollins Way in the Bradley Park Drive shopping area.

McKnight should know. He is a survivor of the retail wars despite having relocated his store several times through the years. A women's clothing shop he once owned, McKay's, didn't make it, however, closing a few years ago.

"The only way to strengthen our community is spend money with local people. That's the fastest way to keep money in the local community," the retailer said. "Otherwise, there are all kinds of pressures, like the Internet. It can always be had cheaper somewhere."

Naturally, McKnight is a huge advocate of the national campaign, "Small Business Saturday," which is in its third holiday shopping season. The gist of the effort is to ask residents to put local shop owners, restaurants and service businesses at the top of their spending lists at least one day.

The campaign also is a counter-move to the prolific Black Friday kickoff event that large and small chains rely on each year to generate a high percentage of attention and sales.

Small Business Saturday is tucked between Black Friday and a newer shopping event dubbed Cyber Monday, which is designed to lure shoppers online for deals that often come with lower price tags than brick-and-mortar stores. Some web merchants also don't charge sales tax, which literally takes money out of the mouths of local and state governments.

An organization called "the 3/50 project" has calculated that for every dollar spent locally, 68 cents goes back into a community in the form of taxes, paychecks to employees and other expenses. It estimates that only 43 cents per dollar spent with chain stores does so, obviously with a chunk of the cash flowing back into corporate coffers.

That's why Columbus Mayor Teresa Tomlinson has her own mantra of sorts: Shop small and make a big difference. In a recent promotion for the shop-local campaign, she urged residents to visit such businesses this Saturday.

"We put a great deal of emphasis on bringing large employers to our community and that is a valid and rewarding effort," she said in a statement. "But we cannot forget the tremendous impact small businesses have on our city's employment rate and our city's economy."

A Small Business Consumer Insights survey released earlier this week by the National Federation of Independent Businesses and American Express found that 67 percent of Americans plan to shop small local businesses Saturday as part of the campaign. That compares to 44 percent expecting to do so in the same survey a year ago.

Those taking part in the Small Business Saturday survey said they plan to spend an average of $100 locally, with restaurants, bakeries, clothing stores, gift shops and book shops their top destinations.

John Teeples, co-owner of Big Dog Running Company in downtown Columbus, would love to get a piece of that holiday spending this year. This will be the third shopping season for the athletic shoe retailer, which opened its doors on Broadway in 2010.

Teeples, an avid runner who co-owns the business with Reggie Luther, said the first season for the business was very disappointing. It seemed as if nobody was downtown the Black Friday weekend. So Big Dog hopped on the Small Business Saturday wagon in 2011 and sales were a little better, he said.

The businessman is hoping the third year is a charm and that the campaign is gaining traction among those shopping public.

"That's the only way that we're going to get much of a crowd here on Thanksgiving weekend because people all flock to the bigger shopping malls and the bigger department stores," said Teeples, who also co-owns Iron Bank Coffee Co. on Broadway with Miller, having bought it in June.

Teeples pointed out that the smaller local stores are more in tune with not only delivering good customer service, but truly getting to know people and their specific needs. Big Dog also participates routinely in events around Columbus, giving away gift cards and bags and expertise, including free classes for those looking to ramp up their running program.

"I hope that people remember who we are and what we are in this community as far as doing a lot of stuff that is kind of intangible," Teeples said.

A parting note -- pointed out by McKnight -- for those who do make online purchases this year. Georgia law requires that residents report any sales tax not charged during the transaction on their annual income-tax returns. Georgia is also now phasing in legislation that will require web merchants to levy taxes and report it to the state.

Source: http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/2012/11/22/2286715/small-business-saturday-local.html

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