Independent Retail

A growing number of studies demonstrate that supporting independent businesses has positive benefits for a community’s economy, cultural heritage, civic engagement, and environmental well-being.

While retail is only about 7 percent of the U.S. economy, a healthy independent retail sector has an undeniably large impact on a community’s unique sense of place. Independent retailers are important, highly visible and influential partners in the movement toward local living economies.

Examples from BALLE Networks

BALLE network programs in independent retail have included:

Think Local First programs
Coupon books and buying cards
Partnering with local government to create “character only” independent retail zones
Directories and neighborhood business maps

Business Spotlights: San Francisco Locally Owned Merchants Alliance

Cole Hardware

Dave Karp bought the original Cole Hardware in 1959. He was a one-man band, open every day but Monday at 9:00 a.m. Every morning before work he would pick up merchandise at the supply houses. On Mondays, and in the evening, he would do all of his paper work. Dave ordered the merchandise, marked the merchandise, stocked the merchandise, helped the customer, rang up the sale, paid the bills, went to the bank, cleaned the bathroom . . . he did everything by himself.

Soon his business began to grow. His wife, Margie, started coming down to help out in the afternoons and to work all day on Saturday, the big day. She would cole cashier, make keys, and point out merchandise to customers while they waited for Dave. To earn extra dollars, Dave expanded into "outside work" while Margie watched the store. During quiet periods, at night, and on Sunday afternoons (the store closed at 2:00 p.m. on Sundays), Dave would fix broken windows, repair toilets and faucets, install water heaters, fix doorbells and switches . . . anything that was relatively quick, profitable, and would help him sell some of his merchandise.

Happily, Dave soon could no longer keep up with the outside work. Business, both within and outside of the store, grew large enough so that he just could not handle it by himself. He had to hire someone to help him in the store, and he began contracting handymen for the outside work. Business was growing stronger and stronger because Dave offered friendly and knowledgeable service and a complete inventory (he tried to have "one of everything made"), and he had a strong desire to succeed. He would do anything that he could to help a customer. The success of Dave's business can be summed up in the motto he posted on a large sign over the register: There Are No Strangers Here, Just Friends We Haven't Met!

Using this as the guiding principle of his business, Dave built Cole Street Hardware into one of the busiest hardware stores in San Francisco.

The Floor Sweeper

In 1963, at the age of 13, Dave's son Rick began working with his father in the family business as the official Floor Sweeper. Never in a million years would Rick have dreamed that, ten years later, he would choose hardware as his career. Yet after college graduation he became his father's partner. At that same time, the opportunity arose to expand into the business's current Cole Street location; Rick's first project as partner was to spearhead the development and move into 956 Cole Street. When the doors opened, the Cole Hardware team grew from two and a half people to seven full-time people. At the end of that first year in the 956 location, business had more than doubled and the staff continued to grow.

Ace Hardware

One year prior to the opening of the new location, Rick convinced his father that Cole should become an Ace Hardware Store. Ace was reluctant to let Cole join, as they were so small. However when they came out and watched Rick sell, they signed Cole up immediately and Cole became the smallest Ace Hardware store in the nation. Ace is a buying cooperative, so along with more than 5,000 other hardware stores nationwide, Cole purchases merchandise directly from manufacturers. This enables Cole to have competitive pricing and gives the business access to almost anything manufactured. Today Ace supplies Cole, which has added two more locations in San Francisco, with more than 75 percent of its total inventory.