LOCAL GROUP

Why we are, Locals 4 Locals

The following is a Press Release from November 2012, including a photo of the original members. Much has changed in Locals 4 Locals, but our core values and why we exist remains the same.

Locals 4 Locals

Have you noticed and been concerned by recent shop closures or job cuts in the Armidale area? You can make a difference by supporting businesses which display the Locals 4 Locals logo or poster. They are encouraging consumers, businesses and organisations to think twice about how and where they choose to spend their money.

Businesses are doing it tough. Their struggle with the current economic climate has brought a group of like-minded business owners and managers together, in a new organisation called Locals 4 Locals. There are 38 members to date. Their campaign promotes the positive impact that member businesses have in the community, through grassroots support of charities, sports and a broad range of groups or events.

Locals 4 Locals was founded by current President, Greg Jackson of Jackson’s Quality Meats.”Our motto is ‘Show support for local community, by supporting your local businesses. Locals 4 Locals’! The branding of businesses that are Locals 4 Locals with a clear logo makes it clear that in choosing them, you’re supporting a local who is there for locals – simple as that,” he said.

Mr Jackson explained what prompted Locals 4 Locals. “In recent years, I’ve been watching how businesses were really being affected by online trading, with the popularity of online stores and the eBay phenomenon. Then, you’ve got itinerant traders, markets and the local operations sourcing goods direct from the big cities. It all drags money out of the area. It does not simply affect individual local businesses, it diminishes the economy as a whole.”

Locals 4 Locals is about increasing the percentage of dollars that stay in the economy of the Armidale area. “We estimate that if you spend $100 in town, you would probably have about a 70 percent chance that the money would circulate through the town and support the community. If you spend the same dollar in, say, Tamworth, you may have about a 20 percent chance of it coming back to the Armidale community. If you spend your money in Sydney or Brisbane, you can probably work on a 1 or 2 percent chance and if you buy overseas, the money has not only gone from Armidale, it has gone from the country altogether,” Mr Jackson said.

“The challenges businesses face have increased but the level of requests from the community for our (charitable) support has not,” he said. “In the past 18 months, my business alone has handed out over 48 separate sponsorships.”

“The owners, managers and staff in this area are proud of the role that their business plays in their community. It is rewarding for us to help get jerseys on kids in a sporting team or contribute to charities that benefit locals in times of need, like the Westpac Rescue Helicopter Service. Locals 4 Locals is saying to the community ‘think about supporting the businesses that support you’,” Mr Jackson said.

“Of course, we understand that the consumer has the right to spend their money how and where they see fit. We just want to keep the message out there about the flow-on benefits of giving a local a go.”

“When you shop at a multinational, do you ask for a discount? Do you get the personal service and attention you should? What if you are in need of some support for your sporting club or school fete? Are they able to help?”

“I’ve heard so many stories: of people trying on clothes in a unique, home-grown store just so they get the size right when they buy online, of local butchers who have been called on in a pinch when a regular out-of-town supplier fails to deliver, of retailers giving their time to educate a customer about the technical specifications of a product only to be asked to match an online price, of local businesses asked to service often inferior or ill-fitting things bought online or elsewhere – and they go on. You can imagine how these kinds of practices make the local business people feel, when they do so much for their community,” Mr Jackson said.

Join now and be amount the Locals 4 Locals

If any local business people would like to join the Locals 4  Locals team, they can head over to the How can I join? page on our website: http://www.locals4locals.com.au/how-can-i-join/

Membership entails an annual fee, which covers Locals 4 Locals marketing and promotions. Currently, a Christmas ‘Shop and Win’ promotion is underway. Stamps, stickers and educational materials for schools or community groups are also produced by the team.

Andrew Korsch from MyCar Sound and Communications joined Locals 4 Locals. “We joined because we had a lot of people coming in and asking for sponsorships. We’ve supported a lot of things like Ronald McDonald House, APEX and Rotary. A lot more people are buying online these days. Internet sellers can sell products a lot cheaper than a shop, which has rent, electricity, wages and other costs to account for. We think it is important to highlight the flow-on benefits of shopping locally, such as what we put back in the community,” he said.

Mr Korsch reiterated that the Locals 4 Locals message is aimed at businesses and organisations, not just private shoppers. “If all the businesses in town can source the goods and services that they need locally, wherever possible, then that will make a difference,” he said. “More businesses involved in Locals 4 Locals will help to get the message out, through their staff and regulars.”

Locals 4 Locals has produced an unexpected spin-off. It has strengthened and demonstrated the unity, akin to team spirit that exists in the Armidale business sector. “It shows that a lot of businesses are aware of what’s happening, that they are supportive of each other, as they all try to do the right thing for the community,” Mr Korsch said.

Locals 4 Locals is raising public awareness of the benefits of shopping locally, including those positives that might not be as obvious as others.”It’s not just the internet that concerns us. The guy who comes into town, sets up a bargain shop for a week or two, sells their gear and splits; they are not here for the sporting clubs, the Relay for Life, the CanAssist, all those requests for sponsorship faced by businesses that are in town for 365 days of the year,” Mr Korsch said.

“Many young people get their first job in retail. It’s very important for the community to have these jobs available. If people keep putting the bottom line first, above all, then those jobs will keep declining and might not exist for our kids and grandchildren. Beyond the wages, the work experience from a local business can mean so much more, in terms of the insights, the one-on-one training and the sense of community.”

“There is a broad cross-section of businesses involved in Locals 4 Locals. I hope to see even more sign up. The more we have on board, the better we can support and educate each other and the community. In many cases, people don’t even know that a local supplier exists or that their prices are competitive. The fact that dealing with a local will involve superior service and convenience should be clear to anyone,” he said.

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