The Small-Mart Revolution: How Local Businesses Are Beating the Global Competition

Defenders of globalization, free markets, and free trade insist there's no alternative to mega-stores like Wal-Mart -- Michael Shuman begs to differ. In ""The Small-Mart Revolution, Shuman makes a compelling case for his alternative business model, one in which communities reap the benefits of ""going local"" in four key spending categories: goods, services, energy, and finance. He argues that despite the endless media coverage of multinational conglomerates, local businesses give more to charity, adapt more easily to rising labor and environmental standards, and produce more wealth for a community. They also spend more locally, thereby increasing community income and creating wealth and jobs. ""The Small-Mart Revolution presents a visionary yet practical roadmap for everyone concerned with mitigating the worst of globalization.

Outlines a range of practical strategies for fighting globalization through profit- and community-minded small business practices, addressing the needs of four key spending categories that communities can meet to create local resources and job opportunities.

Defenders of massive multinational chains like Wal-Mart and Fortune 500 big business argue that, like it or not, there is no alternative. Their huge scale and international reach, they claim, make them more efficient and profitable, better able to deliver value, and an uncontested boon for the job market. According to the big boys, locally owned small businesses are simply quaint remnants of the past, unable to compete in the global economy.

But in The Small-Mart Revolution, Michael Shuman shows that the benefits these mega-stores and huge corporations supposedly deliver to communities are illusory. Crunch the numbers and you'll find that locally owned businesses turn out to be much more reliable generators of good jobs, economic growth, tax dollars, community wealth, charitable contributions, social stability, and political participation. Unlike their global competitors, they do this without massive tax breaks and subsidies that often put local economies in a permanent hole. Plus, contrary to popular belief, local businesses are competitive with the multinationals--and gaining ground every day. Shuman highlights numerous trends that are making the old "bigger is better" economies of scale argument obsolete, and he describes a variety of innovative strategies these businesses are using to successfully compete with their over-sized competitors. He also shows how consumers, investors, and policymakers can support their own communities by "going local." The Small-Mart Revolution offers a robust alternative to "go-go" globalization, one that nurtures the creative capacities of local businesses and enables communities everywhere to thrive.

Offers an alternative model to the dominant view of economic development, a model that liberates and fosters the natural capacities of local businesses to grow and prosper. This book shows readers how easy and beneficial it is to "go local" in their four key spending categories: goods, services, energy and finance.

Defenders of globalization, free markets, and free trade insist there's no alternative to mega-stores like Wal-Mart. Shuman begs to differ. In this work, the author makes a compelling case for an alternative business model, one in which communities reap the benefits of ""going local"" in four key spending categories.