<p>I try to support the local business but have given up on most of them. We live in a small rural town where the local business have not kept up. I shop a local jewelry store. I’ve tried to shop for shoes/clothes at local stores, but their selection and choice is just not up to par. Used to find the best clothes at Wal-Mart (!) but even they’ve done away with the brands I like. I do shop a local store that has excellent selection and service for appliances, but don’t need those very often. I shop Wal-Mart for staples, but another regional chain for fresh items. Target is a half hour away. There is one local grocery store that some people we know rave about for their meat. I tried it, but was not impressed.</p>
<p>Our regional grocery chain is consistently cheaper than Wal-Mart and they have MUCH better selection. So it is a no brainer for me. It is not just my perception, our local TV station does a shopping comparison every so often and the regional chain is almost always the winner in every category.</p>
<p>One foreign store that I shop at a lot is Trader Joes and it seems to be a big favorite in CC. They are actually a privately owned German company. The quality, service and selection and friendliness of staff has the feel of a local store. I understand that they pay their employees quite well too.</p>
<p>“What is shopping locally” is a good question. </p>
<p>The corporation may be in another state, but it’s likely American, i.e. Walmart, Target, Costco, Albertsons, CVS, Walgreens, etc. (Exception being Trader Joe’s which is owned by Aldi, a German company). </p>
<p>The retail staff in all these places is local. The landlord of the building being rented for retail space may be local. The people who do repairs to the electrical systems, the HVAC, etc. on the store are likely local. </p>
<p>Does it really make much difference if the corporation or partnership or individual who runs the store is local?</p>
<p>I know someone whose husband is in the restaurant biz. One of the scary comments she made related to the QA measures in restaurants. She said unbelievable things happen in restaurants, with stale and rotting food among other things, and those that are not franchises do not even have the checks and balances imposed by the parent company, and you’re completely at the mercy of the owner.</p>
<p>BC brought up a good point. Costco, TJ, Starbucks are large chains, but they pay their employees reasonable wages, provide benefits, and have low turnover. Some folks who work at the local Costco have been with the company for almost as long as we’ve been members - two decades!! That answers TatinG’s question: it matters to me how a company treats its people.
As far as landlords go, quite a lot of commercial real estate in the US is foreign-owned. For example, the appartment complex we used to live in the early 90s was owned by a Japanese group. They managed it very well.</p>
<p>I own a “locally owned” pet store! I live 7.6 miles from the shop … although I am in a different town than my store. </p>
<p>What we offer that the big boxes don’t and can’t --</p>
<p>Trained, knowledgeable sales associates. You want to know about the differences in dog food, or how to properly care for an exotic pet? Ask us. We have the education. Sometimes the box employees call <em>us</em> to ask what to sell their customers.</p>
<p>Assembled products. We don’t charge for assembly and we’ll be sure that the cage, carrier, tank <em>whatever</em> you take home is ready to go with all the pieces. You won’t have to come back because something is broken when you open the box or you can’t figure out the instructions that are written in Italian pictograph.</p>
<p>Value. Our prices are not higher. I can say that with authority because I price check the competition regularly. Their flyers may have loss leaders – those are pretty clear – but their overall pricing is not warehouse level. In many cases, their prices are substantially higher (10-20%) than the prices in my store.</p>
<p>Quality Animals. They are our pets before they are your pets. We care for all the animals in our store (which does not include puppies or kittens) as if they were our own. I have high standards for health, care, and cleanliness, and the condition and quality of my animals reflects this. I’m not buying through distribution channels in many cases – so I get younger, healthier, and higher quality (sometimes show quality) animals.</p>
<p>Made in the US. We make a special effort to have US made toys, treats, and accessories. </p>
<p>High end products. My store does not look like Petcosmartlandia. I make a special effort to have products that are not seen in every box pet store in the world. I buy from smaller manufacturers that aren’t trying to appeal to the masses. You’ll find ribbon collars from Rhode Island and leather collars from the Finger Lakes, dog beds from Washington and Florida, foods made in upstate New York, gourmet dog treats from Ohio and more! </p>
<p>In many cases I have met these vendors at trade shows and I am on a first name basis with them. In some cases, I have visited their facilities and seen them in operation. Try finding a sales associate at a big box that’s been in the hay field in Nebraska where the rabbit hay is coming from … </p>
<p>If all you care about is always low prices always – then shop there. You get what you pay for. </p>
<p>If you care about having professional advice to select the specific quality item you need … shop local.</p>
<p>We shop locally whenever possible. We are lucky enough to have small butchers and smaller stores. We drive 45 minutes once a month to visit Trader Joes and use ebay when possible to get most things used.</p>
<p>I think local is American, not my neighborhood or city. So I buy American products, primarily at American stores, except I do love Trader Joes, so I go there. </p>
<p>California wine, California produce, (not Chilean or Mexican), California poultry, etc.</p>
<p>Sometimes. </p>
<p>When possible, we often select a locally owned restaurant in favor of a chain.</p>
<p>Most of our wine comes from a local business, one store that strives to provide interesting wines under $15. The owner knows us by name (and wine preference) when we drop into the Friday night tastings. </p>
<p>Occasionally we go to the local butcher shop - a very friendly, helpful place.</p>
<p>But most of our groceries come from the nearby chain store.</p>
<p>Right on cnp55 !
We too own a small business and because of this , go out of my way to support local Mom and Pop’s. I avoid shopping in malls at all costs , but also really despise malls. Sometimes I order on line from chain stores for gifts , if there is a specific request.
That being said , I am also a big fan of BJ’s wholesale when it comes to groceries and supplies because of the savings and the bi-annual cash back rewards I get
I have two grocery store chains in my small town , which I do shop in ( can’t understand why anyone would do the bulk of their shopping there when it costs so much more than wholesale clubs )</p>
<p>Our store is specialized and my husband has the reputaion of going above and beyond the norm when it comes to making his customers happy…best advertising there is , IMO.</p>
<p>Also , cnp55 , I shop at a locally owned pet supply store because of the outstanding service and attention I get there…they also carry the foods my dogs eat that cannot be found in the MARTS :D…I do spend a little more , but I think it is important to support local businesses</p>
<p>I try to shop locally but in our town, finding a parking spot is always a challenge. You circle the block several times until you just give up. Many of the spots are occupied all Saturday by merchants’ employees who feed the meter (and drive away patrons). The local bagel shop is so popular that people routinely double park (and end up with a ticket, so now they’ve bought a $50 bagel).</p>
<p>I hate malls too. Give me a strip shopping center with free parking.</p>
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<p>Our local supermarkets + Trader Joes costs much less than the wholesale clubs. I always wondered why people shop at wholesale clubs.</p>
<p>@BC Eagle…I don’t have any Trader Joes within an 1.5 hour drive from my home. I save a lot of money shopping at BJ’s as compared to our grocery stores…chicken is literally half the cost , paper goods too and much more. I am crazy enough to use my calculator and the savings is significant.</p>
<p>We get a free BJs trial fairly frequently and check it out but for the vast majority of stuff, aren’t competitive with our local supermarkets. There may be local cost issues or it just may be the selection of things that we buy or that we typically don’t buy in bulk except for certain asian staples and we go to small asian grocery stores for that stuff.</p>
<p>My local TJs is five minutes from my office and has been very important in my losing almost 50 pounds this year.</p>
<p>“Our local supermarkets + Trader Joes costs much less than the wholesale clubs. I always wondered why people shop at wholesale clubs.”</p>
<p>To me, quality of produce matters as much as its price. Costco produce may be just a notch more expensive compared to TJ’s, but it is super fresh compared to what I can find at TJ’s. Compared to MM and QFC, the two local grocers known for quality produce, Costco’s prices are about 50% lower. That’s why I shop at Costco.</p>
<p>We don’t buy produce at TJs - mainly packaged items.</p>
<p>This morning I’m eating Trader Joes Wheat Bites and Trader Joes High Fiber cereal. High fiber, low or no sugar, $2.50/pound. They also carry a nice selection of soy meat substitutes. These are generally hard to find and usually cost a small fortune elsewhere but Trader Joes carries them at the lowest prices that I have seen.</p>
<p>I don’t have the storage space for many Costco things- I also find that some of the products come with more bells and whistles than I need, so while it might be a great deal, it isn’t really saving me money.</p>
<p>I still go to Costco about once a month- but since I don’t have to bring snack for school meetings anymore, no more flats of muffins.
I also rarely buy produce at TJs and only go there about every couple months.
We do 85% of our grocery shopping either at PCC or at Ballard Market( local chains)- we walk to both.
( It gives H time to check out the local construction projects- he is like a little kid)</p>
<p>BC, I do not shop middle isles. 
I rarely buy packaged stuff.</p>
<p>It’s hard to beat being able to walk to your grocery store.</p>
<p>I could walk to the TJs as it’s only a mile away but I would have to walk through a major highway interchange and a very long area of strip malls with little in the way of sidewalks where the speed limit is 40 MPH. I have tried it before and I spent more time waiting for a car to let me cross the cutouts or on-ramps and off-ramps to determine that it’s a lot safer to drive. This is also why I don’t bicycle to work. I tried it before but the roads around here aren’t friendly to bicyclists and pedestrians.</p>