Number of Small Retail Firms per 1 Million Population, 1982-2007
See Major Flaws Uncovered in Study Claiming Wal-Mart Has Not Harmed Small Businesses for additional graphs.
Wal-Mart Wants to Colonize New York City: Our Response
An overflow crowd of hundreds turned out yesterday at a New York City Council hearing on the impact Wal-Mart would have if allowed to expand into the city. ILSR’s New Rules Project was invited by the Council to testify as part of the first panel of speakers. Here’s what we said about the impact Wal-Mart would have on New York. … Read More
Survey Finds “Buy Local” Message Benefitting Independent Businesses
For the fourth year in a row, a national survey of independent businesses has found that those in communities with an active "buy local" campaign have experienced markedly stronger revenue growth compared to those located in areas without such a campaign. … Read More
New Study Ranks Metro Areas on the Vitality of Their Independent Retail
A groundbreaking new study, the Indie City Index, ranks all 363 metropolitan areas in the U. S. according to the vitality of their independent retail sectors.… Read More
What New Census Data Show about the State of Independent Retail
The good news is that overall sales at independent retailers grew by about 4 percent. The bad news is that chains grew faster and independents still lost market share, falling from 31 to 28 percent of retail spending. That decline in market share, however, was considerably slower in this five-year period than the preceding 20 years. Digging deeper into the new data, we found a number of interesting trends.… Read More
Market Share: Independent vs. Chain Retailers (Graphs)
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.… Read More
Will the Real Voice of Small Business Please Stand Up?
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. … Read More
Misrepresenting Small Business
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.
Federal Policy Threatens Local Banks, a Top Fed Official Says
A top Federal Reserve official says that locally owned banks do a better job of serving communities and small businesses, but they are threatened by federal policies that favor their big competitors. … Read More