History of Buy Local Savannah

Savannah Georgia Area Business

Do you remember... Lady Jane? Alan Barry's? Harris the Hub? M&M Supermarkets? Segal and Sons? Builderama? Town and Country? Lee Furniture? These are several businesses that lost the fight to national franchises and big business. As a result three Savannah businesspersons, Rick Culbreth of Yates-Astro, Remer Lane of Remer Lane Insurance, and Martin Sullivan of Sullivan Staffing, decided to fight back and create an association of local retailers who feel strongly about mounting a comprehensive advertising and marketing campaign encouraging Savannah shoppers to buy goods and services from local businesses. They are doing this so they too don't become a business that is forced out of our economy by franchises and non-local business.

Buy Local is a program that spotlights local businesses that contribute to our economic prosperity and encourage community activism. While local businesses do not have the same purchasing power as national chains, they do have a competitive advantage - THEY KNOW THEIR MARKET. This is done by employing local people, making decisions locally and keeping their earnings in the local community through employee compensation promotions and capital investments. A proponent of this philosophy is Archie Davis, President and CEO of The Savannah Bank - Archie says, "Our country would be a lot better off if many of our politicians had the opportunity to run a small business prior to being elected to office."

Buy Local Committee member, Jerry Rogers, owner and operator of the last locally owned broadcast station, WRHQ, Q 105.3 FM, shares the importance of banning together to create a united economic force and creating economies of scale through the Buy Local association. Jerry stresses, "Local business is very important to the health and vibrancy of a community. If we do not continue to champion local businesses we will end up with many 'WalMarts' and our community needs diversity in the products and services we buy."

You may be asking yourself, why should I join the Buy Local Committee? Do not assume that other independent locally-owned business owners will join and you do not have to; there is strength in numbers and if locally-owned businesses join together they will be able to affect economies of scale in their favor and see success for local business.

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