Jonathan Frieman
Did you ever underestimate a seemingly small problem in your business which then almost ran you out of business?

One of those kinds of problems is the application by Target Corporation to open a store in the empty lot next to Home Depot out near the Richmond Bridge. A big box super discount store (BBS), which is very different than chain stores like Kohl’s or Macy’s, could have dramatic deleterious effects on the local business scene in San Anselmo.

Let’s start with retail, since Target sells several products which are available in downtown San Anselmo, such as pet supplies, pharmaceuticals, children’s products and other gifts, cameras, clothing and apparel, and crafts outlets. If Target goes in, local stores could find their sales diminishing. 

In fact, many academic studies show the perils of a city’s futile chase after sales tax dollars, only to find an array of accompanying ills such as job losses, a slashing of the diversity of local business, and business closures.

All small businesses in Marin rely on the recirculated dollars. This hidden part of the economy means that small business owners merchants use the money from transactions and hire local lawyers, local accountants, local financial consultants and local banks, as well as to pay their employees who more than likely live locally.

This recirculation of dollars within a community is vital. Again, studies show that a BBS reduces such recirculation by at least half when a BBS enters the scene. But where do the dollars go which are spent at Target? To their home office, in Minnesota.

Local businesses also contribute to charity in many ways. You could probably think of several businesses which do so at the expense of their bottom line. By contrast, any large chain, if approached for a contribution, will forward the request on to their home office.

And local businesses are more likely to make decisions which benefit the environment and the community. One example is United Markets, which led the way on refusing to use plastic bags at their store.

While every city needs the sales tax dollars from the transactions, when a large competitor such as Target intrudes upon those interactions your tenuous relationship with even your most faithful customers could shift. One-stop shopping could mean that vase, or that camera, or those groceries, could be bought at Target, and not your store.

Proponents of Target maintain that bringing in Target might boost sales tax by 4%. But that 4% is calculated on the basis of new dollars, which means it’s presumed that all sales tax dollars generated from Target will be from new customers who will never shop in downtown San Rafael. Common sense alone says that there is no way to ensure that will happen.

Target supporters claim that 250 new jobs will be created. But almost all of those jobs will be part-time. High turnover is usually the result of such a policy. And the average pay is about $10 an hour. That could depress wages because your business might have to pay lower wages in response. Worse, part-time workers are not eligible for health benefits--the county will need to increase its workload.

Worst of all, when a BBS comes into an area, 1.5 jobs are lost for every job “created” by a BBS. That means that while your business might not fail because of less tax dollars, you might have to stop a specific service you’d only started offering a short time ago. It’s tough to give up a service that people liked, and studies show that could bring about an immeasurable loss of community morale.

The BBS does not have to be next door in order for a nearby community to feel its consequences.

There are things you can do. One fun project is to go to BIG BOX EVALUATOR. There, you can plug in a host of variables and see what it would be like if a BBS came to San Rafael. You’ll learn a lot and it’s easy to understand. And, you’ll find all those academic studies cited above.

After that, you’ll probably be motivated to take action. See BIG BOX TOOL KIT for what you might do.