and then take a moment to visit CoolTown Studios' brief summary of the study from which it was taken. The Urban Conservancy and Civic Economics joined forces to look at two models of New Orleans redevelopment-- one concentrating on local merchants in an urban setting and the other a suburban plan largely devoted to chain stores.
Regular NAC readers can presumably predict the results but more relevant information is always a good thing.
Check out this zinger:
Another conclusion of the study: If New Orleans consumers were to shift 10% of all retail activity from chains to locals, the result would be the equivalent of injecting an additional $60 million annually into the local economy in the form of recirculated dollars that would otherwise have left the area, and $235 million regionally.
It's reminiscent of the number crunching we published previously when looking at local food and grocery distribution.
4 comments:
Brad Alstrom, of the Lost River Market, told the gathered crowd at the grocery co-op forum that studies have shown about .67 cents of every spent dollar in a local co-op stays in the community. The number for chains? .11 cents on the dollar. More than .50 cents extra by just supporting local business. It seems like a no brainer...
THANK YOU! As the title offers, I'm stealing...
bayernfan - thank you for the numbers. I am going to quote you.
But here's my question - isn't everyone getting bored with the generic big box offerings? Is no one tired of not only the lack of personable customer service, but the downright rudeness of a good number big box clerks/associates?
Also, the restoration or adaptive reuse of an existing building keeps more construction dollars in the local economy.
For new construction, approximately 50% of the costs are for local labor and materials while the difference is for materials purchased and/or manufactured outside of the area.
When restoring an existing building, fewer dollars are spent on materials, whether they be 2x4s from Georgia or drywall from Mexico. Between 60-70% of restoration cost is local labor. The plumber, the electrician and the mason are almost always local.
I'm surprised that Daniel S hasn't been here yet to explain why all this talk of spending locally is hogwash.
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