These graphs illustrate the shifting market share of chain and independent retailers between 1982 and 2007, as well as the growing share of spending captured by Walmart. Continue reading
Throughout most of the city, including all of San Francisco’s Neighborhood Commercial Districts, formula retail stores and restaurants are considered conditional uses. This means they must be approved by the Planning Commission on a case-by-case basis. In evaluating whether to grant a permit for a formula business, the Planning Commission considers several criteria, including the existing concentration of formula businesses within the neighborhood, whether similar goods or services are already available, and the balance of neighborhood-serving versus citywide- or regional-serving businesses. In additional, formula retail and restaurant uses are prohibited outright in several neighborhoods. Continue reading
San Diego requires retail stores over 50,000 square feet to undergo a special review. Continue reading
Stacy Mitchell is interviewed on the Craig Fahle Show on WDET in Detroit on the issues around big box retail and independent businesses. The show aired on December 1, 2010.
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The U.S. Chamber of Commerce describes itself as "the voice of business." But a growing number of small independent businesses and even local chambers are challenging that notion, arguing that the Chamber’s real allegiance is to the giant corporations that fund it. Continue reading
The two groups that have traditionally spoken for small business in Washington often push an agenda that only big business could love, writes ILSR’s Stacy Mitchell in this commentary for Business Week.
Just as CSAs have played a key role in the rebirth of small-scale farms, so too are new community-supported enterprise models helping to launch a new generation of independent grocers, bookstores, and other neighborhood businesses. Continue reading
A growing number of big corporations are using offshore tax havens to escape paying U.S. taxes. A recent estimate suggests big companies are dodging at least $37 billion a year — and, in so doing, gaining a significant competitive advantage over small businesses. Continue reading
Stacy Mitchell discusses the impact of big box stores on communities and the local business movement in response. The show is 5 minutes long and was featured on North Shore Community Radio. Continue reading
Many retail chains earn profits at stores nationwide, but have developed an accounting scheme to evade paying their full share of state corporate income taxes. Tax experts believe the practice is costing states billions of dollars in lost revenue. It has also given chains an advantage over locally owned businesses, which must pay state income tax on all of their earnings. Twenty-three states are not vulnerable to these tax-evasion schemes, because they have enacted a policy known as combined reporting. Continue reading
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