Walmart Blues

There is a very timely article in the April 2006 issue of Harrowsmith. It's called Main Street Blues It talks about the plights of small town Main Streets and what the "big box" stores are doing, or not doing to them. There is obviously truth to the fact that everyone wants to buy things cheaper and our small stores just can't compete on price. And once an area is perceived as declining, more small businesses are reluctant to rent there, preferring the malls.

If you've ever read Naomi Klien's book No Logo, and whether you agree with her totally or not, you'll understand all the implications that having those huge stores has. Whatever your personal view on whether Lindsay should have a Walmart or not, perhaps it is time to think laterally about our town and come up with better ways to improve it and the downtown situation.

When you can't compete on price, you can compete on service, quality of goods and originality. Perhaps being more creative in other ways would also help. By promoting every other business in the area, they help promote themselves. In the summer while the Farmers' Market is on, put up a small flyer for the market to encourage people to attend. That in turn, brings more people into town on a Saturday morning. Advertise The Lindsay Gallery and their monthly exhibits, (it's on the second floor of the library in case you didn't know) this also brings people down to our main street. The local BIA works hard to make the area attractive and the midnight madness sales are a great idea. Like the area encouraging doctors to live in our area, we need to encourage a more eclectic mix of stores in our downtown. We could use a really good art supply store, and I don't mean another Michaels.. Rather than courting the Walmarts, we need more industrial businesses. This would ensure employment in our area with fair wages (we would hope) and keep our population in our own town, working, living and shopping. Our council also needs to get off their collective butts and add more places for boats to hook up. We could then attract the boating crowd that currently passes us by on their way to other local towns. This would encourage more business in our restaurants, entice businesses to set up on Kent St., and rejuvinate our town. What are they thinking?

The article in Harrowsmith mentions four towns in Ontario that are thriving. They are Perth, Port Hope, Stratford and Cobourg. Perhaps we can study what they are doing right.

Mother Goose & Grimm

sorry, I couldn't resist this recent Mother Goose and Grimm cartoon.

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Walmart Blues