Local restaurant owners disappeared a few years ago to be
replaced by the likes of Applebee’s, Chile’s, and Olive
Garden. I’m happy to say local restaurant entrepreneurs
have brightened up the scene and now we have a vigorous
local dining selection in our area. Drugstores; alas, have
gone the way of the dodo bird. We now have Walgreen’s and
CVS duking it out on every street corner with hardly an
independent pharmacy to be seen. Ditto local clothing and
shoe stores.
Newspapers have been taking a big hit of late; the
Internet, radio, and TV have made serious inroads into their
raison d’être. Our major local paper, The Worcester
Telegram has been cutting local news coverage, and its
sibling The Boston Globe (both owned by The New York Times!)
has also been thrashing about trying to maintain fiscal
stability. It’s obvious the recession hasn’t helped.
Having noted this - (and also observed why consolidation
and mergers don’t always work!) I have to tell you about a
local business success story. We’ve started advertising in
a local paper called the Worcester Magazine – and as a
result received a very nice letter from the publisher, a
fellow named Gareth Charter. Never did I receive anything
remotely like this from the Worcester Telegram when we
advertised with them for years.
I’ll let Gareth’s words (abridged somewhat) speak for
themselves.
“Thank you for including us in your advertising
investment and for supporting community publishing. We are
not immune to the challenges of this economy. In recent
months we have been forced to find operational savings and
even eliminate a few jobs. What hasn’t changed is the
heart of our business – a never-ending focus on local
news, local people, and local events. … Yes, the Internet
offers free, immediate access to national headlines, sports,
weather, stocks, and a host of ‘commentary’ but we
believe quality reporting and story telling about your
community, your neighbors, your school, and your friends
will always be valued. Simply put, we believe quality
community newspapers operate with a vastly different and
sustainable business model. Our belief is that if we stand
by our communities, they’ll stand by us. That philosophy
has served us well and will for years to come.”
Isn’t that refreshing given all the doom and gloom
raining down from every side and doesn’t it ring true to
us independent optical shop operators? With our giant chain
store competitors engaging in ruthless price under-cutting,
it’s going to take a lot of local involvement for us to
navigate through the wilderness of this recession!