If you are an independent retailer, getting up each morning to do battle against the big box stores and the online mega sites, here is a source of inspiration: over 1,500 people have signed the “Declaration of Indie Bound,” which starts with these stirring words:

“When in the course of human events it becomes necessary for individuals to denounce the corporate bands which threaten to homogenize our cities and our souls, we must celebrate the powers that make us unique and declare the causes which compel us to remain independent.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all stores are not created equal, that some are endowed by their owners, their staff, and their communities with certain incomparable heights, that among these are Personality, Purpose and Passion.

As you may know, Indie Bound is the web site of the independent booksellers of America, and was formerly known as Book Sense. The good news for those of us who are independents in the gift and home accessories field is that Indie Bound is expanding its scope beyond book stores.

In fact any independent retailer can now register for free and be part of a sophisticated search engine pinpointing  local businesses within a 10 — or 400 —  mile radius of a specified zip code on their Indie Store Finder Map.  

You can also list your store hours, link to your web site, and describe what you sell.  All you need to do to enter a store is to register as a member of the community.  This also allows you to post comments, giving you an excellent opportunity to say something nice about the other independent shops in your area.

At the moment the majority of Indie Bound members are bookstores, but this will change as more retailers get onboard — and as more consumers use thus web site to seek out the stores with “personality, purpose and passion.”  Are you Indie Bound?

 

Happy Retailing,

Carol “Orange” Schroeder