Why the Independent Retailer?

I opened my scrapbook store 6 years ago with so much excitement and enthusiasm. The store has grown and achieved the impossible dream for me, my staff and our customers. When we won the 2011 Innovative Retailer of the Year Award, I was walking on cloud nine,  however, the realization of a continuing bleak economy and tough competition from the Big Box Stores has lessened my enthusiasm. Now 6 years later, I sit here asking myself, “Why the Independent Retailer?”

    
I have joined organizations like Crafters Home & CHA over the years and paid their monthly/yearly dues.  I receive e-mail, some relevant to the scrapbook retailer, some not.  I have been given discounts at the beginning only to have them changed. I have had many customers come in to see my new merchandise only to have them say, “I already bought it at AC Moore or Michaels”.  Enough is Enough! The small independents are closing more and more every day. Some of these stores belonged to the same organizations as you and I.  I am finally taking a stand so I am not the next one to be defeated and lose my dream.

I want to know why these organizations, buying groups and vendors are not and have not been supporting the small retailer in a very long time. I want to know why we are paying these high fees for dues and education when we are getting little or nothing in return. What is going on in this Industry?  I have paid my dues, so to speak, and when I attend a function or educational seminar, I am asked to pay more. Why did I pay the dues to begin with when now they want even more? Where does it go and how is it benefitting my store?

We are trying to help preserve old memories and create new ones.  Where is all the help and support we were promised in the “good old days”?  I for one am tired of working simply to make ends meet; of being sleep deprived from the financial worry of paying my bills; of receiving in new products just trying to keep the doors open.  Again, I ask, where is all the loyalty, the education, and the camaraderie of each and every Independent retailer across the country?

We need to stand united and take back what we need to survive:  the right to choose who we buy from, how quickly we receive our product, and which manufacturers want our business.  Last,  but not least, we   need to fight the big box stores and take back what is ours. We can’t do this individually, but we can prevail if we stand together as a group and make ourselves heard.

I do not want to lose the scrapbook war to a bigger, larger company with more financial backing than I have. I do not want to lose the friendships, the loyalty of my customers or the joy of my store. I refuse to give up - I am not a quitter, are you?

Written By:

Dee Pierce
The Crop Shop
333 Weymouth St
Rockland, MA  02370
www.thecropshop.net