Our Programs: Livability


		We can plainly see the country’s biggest retailer becoming, in so many places, the only retailer in town (or several towns). Bill Quinn

A. People B. Streets C. Big Box D. Tourism • CHG LIVABILITY SERVICES •

	A broad selection of stores that provide personalized service and lend character to downtown,

	or a few Big Boxes that control most of the shopping choices.

Big Box Blues

CHG is not anti-business or anti-jobs, nor do we argue your town shouldn’t have any Big Boxes. But a livable approach, one that favors local entrepreneurs over multinational chains, can result in better jobs and a healthier economy. Almost 90% of businesses are small ones. Encourage and celebrate that; it provides diversity and it’s more sustainable – economically and environmentally.
When a Big Box sets up shop on the edge of town, on average other businesses will see sales decline 25% within five years, and many will close. Most likely, these stores paid employees more and provided better benefits – and they were often downtown. Remember, better-paid employees circulate their salaries in town, dining out and shopping – something that’s not as likely when workers barely make minimum wage.
Big Boxes say they provide jobs, but for every job created even more positions are lost elsewhere – many in smaller shops that enhance a place’s character. People often work in locally-owned businesses for years; they know their products and their customers – not so in Big Boxes, where more than 40% of employees turn over annually.
Locally-owned stores donate significantly more to schools and charities.
If you’re trying to build community identity and livability, is there anything more unappealing than a windowless hunk of unadorned stucco wrapped in a sea of asphalt? Smaller businesses, on the other hand, often set up shop in historic buildings. Bottom line: too many Big Boxes hampers livability.