Mark Price

Independents Losing Ground

August 16, 2010

FROM RETAILWIRE:
According to an article in USA Today, independent retailers are fairing worse in the recession than larger chains due to a litany of reasons, from buying clout to lack of management smarts. What are the major challenges independents face when going up against chain stores?      [more...]

It is absolutely true that independent retailers face significant challenges in their battle with the large national chains. Scale, clout, and brand presence all make national competitors formidable.

At the same time, what independents have to offer is personal service and customer service--treating each customer as special and then "going beyond the call of duty" to delight those customers on each and every transaction. What that means, though, is for independents to survive, they have to change their business from a cost + model to a high-value add model, with staff training and owner support to add value to customers in ways that cannot be easily matched by the national competitors.

Same day delivery, free installation, opening the store off-hours for specific customers, limited run items and proactive PERSONAL contact to customers are all things that the large national chains struggle with. Independents, with their flexibility, must capitalize on that aspect and lock in their customers with unmatched service and convenience.