SHOPPING LOCALLY - EDITORIAL

Investing for the future: A marketplace of small businesses is the best way to ensure innovation and low prices over the long-term.

Your community is unique, and local traders understand this.

“I go to many different shops around Buncrana for my shopping, that means I get the best prices around and it also has a great social aspect too as I see a lot of people I know.” IG Buncrana

A wide variety of small businesses, each selecting products based not on a national sales plan but on their own interests and the needs of their local customers, guarantees a much broader range of product choices




SHOP LOCALLY - MAKING YOUR COMMUNITY SUSTAINABLE

No one can tell you where to shop. You will use your head when it comes to getting the best value and best products for your family. Sometimes though the answers go a little deeper that saving 10 cent on the price of a tin of beans or getting an item for the house from miles away because they appear to have a better sale price. Often by the time transportation costs, customer support and time are taken into account we can find ourselves out of pocket.

Face value prices are just the tip of the consumer iceberg. Delve deeper and you see that shopping locally and supporting your local suppliers helps the local economy to grow. It’s not just the retail shoppers at the end of the supply chain that benefits; it is the whole community.

Significantly more money re-circulates in an area like Inishowen when purchases are made locally which helps the sustainability of the community. Money keeps flowing through the community especially if these businesses buy from other local businesses and service providers; such as accountants, solicitors, printers, insurance agents and fuel companies. This has great benefits for the local economy, which is needed in these difficult financial times.


REASONS TO SHOP LOCALLY

Environmental Sustainability

Local shops help to sustain vibrant, compact town centres, which in turn are essential to reducing urban sprawl, car use, and air and water pollution.

Small businesses provide jobs for local people, who then do not have to drive so far to get to work.

Going a shorter distance to get what you need saves your precious free time.

Small businesses generally have a much smaller environmental footprint than big shops.

Shopping locally saves precious fuel.

The quality of items sold locally tends to be better, since the shop owners realise you might be back to complain! That means less cheap junk ends up in a landfill or incinerator.

Local business may stock locally made or grown items, like honey or vegetables.


MAKING YOUR COMMUNITY SUSTAINABLE

For every euro spent at a locally owned business, 48 cent stays in the local economy. This makes a huge difference to the wealth of an area like Inishowen. A market place of small businesses like the ones found around the peninsula is the best way to ensure innovation and low prices. This will help make the area economically healthy for a long time into the future.

Product Diversity
A town full of small businesses, each selecting products based, not on a national sales plan, but on their own interests and the needs of their local customers, guarantees a much broader range of product choices. This competition and diversity leads to more choices for the customer. Our one-of-a-kind businesses are an integral part of Inishowens distinct character: This unique character is what brings people here and can keep us here. A growing body of economic research shows that in an increasingly homogenized world, entrepreneurs and skilled workers are more likely to invest and settle in communities that preserve their one-of-a-kind businesses and distinctive character.


Jobs
Locally owned businesses means more jobs in the area which is good for the community. Customers can get more friendly service whith staff that understand their needs.

Community Well-Being
Locally owned businesses build strong ties by sustaining communities, linking neighbours, and by contributing more to local causes. Our euro spent in locally-owned businesses have three times the impact for the community, then a euro spent else where. When shopping locally, you simultaneously create jobs, fund more local services through sales tax, invest in local improvement schemes and promote community development. You help to keep the euro in the local economy



Local Decision Making
Local ownership means that important decisions are made locally by people who live in the community and who will feel the impacts of those decisions. Local traders care about your community. They will donate to your school sports team and work with activists on community improvement campaigns. Not because they want to make themselves look good, but because the owners of these shops live and work next to you. Local businesses require comparatively little infrastructure investment and make more efficient use of public services. Local businesses pay council taxes, funding town services.


Local interest
Local businesses care about the community. They are closely connected to it, and thus consider their impact on it. They are more willing to invest in its future. Many owners generously donate time, money and products to efforts that benefit their neighbours. Non-profit organizations receive an average 350% greater support from local business owners. Local businesses are owned by people who live in the community, and are less likely to leave and are more invested in the community’s future.


Element of surprise
The element of surprise and discovery in a small local shop whose inventory is carefully chosen by the owner means you can find all sorts of unexpected treasures. And with food shops, you may find a wider assortment of fresher, locally originating, and organic products. In a local shop, you can build a relationship with the staff, the owners and employees get to know you as people, and the smart ones know how to make you feel special. To be greeted by name and be told that something has just come in that your spouse will just love means a lot.

BUNCRANA SHOPPERS COMMENTS

“To support local businesses, I'll sometimes pay a little more than I would in a large store in the city. But once everything is taken into consideration, travel, time, environmental impact and customer support, I think I would be better off staying within a couple of miles of my house.” – MD Buncrana

“I go to many different shops around Buncrana for my shopping, that means I get the best prices around and it also has a great social aspect too as I see a lot of people I know.” IG Buncrana


HOW LOCAL SHOPS DO THEIR BIT

Mac’s Bookstore
Eunan McLaughlin from Mac’s bookshop stocks as much as he can from local suppliers. A majority of the cards and calendars in the shop are from Irish companies “ We stock O’Brien cards that are made in Ireland, they are top quality. Our books come from Irish suppliers and closer to home we have hand crafted cards from a company in Malin Head.” Eunan sources other products locally too. “We deal with a local cash and carry supplier in Gleneely for our minerals and confectionary and deal directly with companies such as Kerry Springs, the drinks manufacturer,” he explains.

Kavanagh Supervalu
Kieran Doherty is manager of the Supervalu store in Buncrana. The company employs 85 staff locally and their motto “Local food for local people” is part of their major branding and marketing strategy. “We stock as many local products as possible,” says Kieran. “In the cooler department we have local companies such as Country Kitchens from Malin, who supply soups and salads, Crana Foods make coleslaws and fresh vegetable mixes for our customers and our eggs come from Inishowen Eggs. We source fresh seasonal vegetables from small suppliers locally as well as larger set ups like Doherty’s potatoes from Bridgend. Our distribution network is also based locally to save unnecessary transportation.”

Elaine’s Hairdressers
It’s not only food suppliers that source their products locally. There are some surprises like Elaine’s Hairdressers in Buncrana. Elaine’s hairpieces come from a local supplier. “We also have a supplier in Burt who manufactures an organic moisturiser and cosmetic range”. Elaine works in a fast moving industry and new product ranges are released almost daily. It’s very popular for customers to choose organic product and ones that are gentle to the hair. We get organic hair colourant from Letterkenny and are in the process of having and organic range made even more locally.” she tells us. “The staff are also constantly upgrading their skill with courses and I try to get these courses brought to Inishowen instead of us having to travel away.” The salon is a good example on how a business such as this has a knock on effect on the local economy as the sales of magazines and coffee increases with every customer…….