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November 11, 2014 at 7:53 pm #816111
G RParticipantAre the merchants of WS having a Shop Local event this holiday season? If so, when?
November 12, 2014 at 6:25 am #819327
tttParticipantIf we like what we have here, we need to shop locally to keep these businesses alive. I was talking with the owner of the toy store & she said her rent recently went up $1000/month…
November 12, 2014 at 4:07 pm #819328
JoBParticipantlets not wait for an event..
November 12, 2014 at 4:43 pm #819329
wakefloodParticipantLarge chunks of the WS retail core are owned by a small handful of families. They’ve been waiting for years for this time to jack rents based on the density growth we’re seeing. And as every new tenant and lease occurs, they’re doing just that.
And most/all the leases have kickers of % of sales as well. This isn’t uncommon but it puts lots of pressure on small and growing businesses who don’t have the deep pockets nor the economies of scale that chains have to spread costs across multiple locations.
This will not abate anytime soon. Business turnover will likely track accordingly.
November 12, 2014 at 4:46 pm #819330
wakefloodParticipantKeep in mind that many of these properties have been owned free and clear for years with few significant physical upgrades.
I’ll leave you to do the math.
November 12, 2014 at 5:05 pm #819331
wakefloodParticipantThere’s nothing wrong with this scenario, save that those few families can collude to set the market rental rates in the retail core.
That’s not illegal, it’s just something to remember when you see a business close or have sticker shock on prices you find therein.
It’s just a big game of monopoly.
November 12, 2014 at 5:42 pm #819332
JanSParticipantwake, I have lived here for 40 years, and it’s (junction area) always been owned by those few families. They definitely have a lock on things…with generations to come :(
November 12, 2014 at 6:43 pm #819333
skeeterParticipantDoes shopping at Target in Westwood count as “shopping local?” I love it that part of sales go to local schools.
November 12, 2014 at 7:06 pm #819334
melissaParticipantYou know, in response to JanS and Wakeflood, it seems to me that what you’re saying is pretty dreadful if it’s true and pretty slanderous if it’s not. And it does’t seem fair to me, either. You’re making claims that some will take on face value even though the people upon whom you’re casting aspersions don’t have the opportunity to respond (unless someone brings this to their attention).
November 12, 2014 at 7:11 pm #819335
wakefloodParticipantWell Skeets, that’s probably a question only you can answer? Be interesting to know exactly how much they contribute. Might be significant?
Or it might be token, given the scheme of things. I remember reading about a similar program that a chain was hyping a few years ago and reading that after they wrote off the contributions against earnings and given the tax breaks they’d been given to locate there, it was a push at best for the municipality who had to fund the schools.
I suspect in the case if Westwood, it would be a net positive, tho’?
November 12, 2014 at 7:33 pm #819336
miwsParticipantWhen discussing this issue with others, I generally say that Target is my one “corporate guilty pleasure”.
I just realized recently, that I should add Amazon to that list, although it could be argued that they are local, albeit a large corp.
Otherwise, my general, regular, shopping consists of Thriftway, Bartell’s White Center (have regularly patronized other locations, depending on which was closest/most convenient at the time), Meat the Live Butcher, and Lee’s Produce Market.
Local restaurants I try to get to about once per month; Zippy’s, Meanders, Huang Xua (White Center, for Banh Mi for lunch, and usually a rice noodle based salad for dinner), and Toshi’s Teriyaki.
Occasional other corp visits; Bed Bath & Beyond, maybe 4 times a year on average, and Staples and Big 5 to a lesser extent.
Mike
November 12, 2014 at 7:34 pm #819337
wakefloodParticipantmelissa, I’m not slandering anyone. I didn’t name names because I just wanted to describe a situation. As JanS said, this isn’t news to anyone who’s lived here long enough. Especially if you know small business owners who’ve tried to make it in the retail ecosystem here.
They didn’t get the nickname the West Seattle Mafia for nothing.
As I said, there’s nothing illegal about it. It’s just what people do when they’ve got the power and position to do it.
November 12, 2014 at 7:37 pm #819338
MrsLMemberSmall Business Saturday is coming up on Nov 29. I saw a reminder on the Junction facebook page.
November 12, 2014 at 7:40 pm #819339
skeeterParticipantOkay Wake is sending me to the chalkboard. So here goes.
In 2013 Target had net income of $1.971 billion.
source: http://finance.yahoo.com/q/is?s=TGT+Income+Statement&annual
In 2013 Target gave $98 million to schools.
source: https://corporate.target.com/corporate-responsibility/education
So Target is voluntarily giving 4.97% of net income to schools. That’s actually very generous in my opinion.
November 12, 2014 at 7:54 pm #819340
JoBParticipantskeeter
i do like that target gives to local schools
but i don’t really count them as local
except.. the salaries they pay their local employees do go into our local economy
so.. if you are going to shop chain stores.. shopping the one closest to you does the most for your economy..
November 12, 2014 at 7:57 pm #819341
JoBParticipantmelissa..
i am hoping more than a few of my favorite stores will jump ship to the new cheaper retail space that is being created just a few blocks out..
in the meantime, i keep shopping there because i would like them to stay in business long enough to make the jump
November 12, 2014 at 8:13 pm #819342
wakefloodParticipantSkeets, are you sure that the $98M was post-tax?
And do you know how many tax breaks they got in areas that they returned school funding?
I’m talking net/net here.
I’m not saying that their contributions are a bad thing – far from it. I’m just saying that a fair amount of corporate altruism is simply a function of tax policy manipulation. Gotta’ find your write-offs somewhere and if you held the local municipality hostage via reduced B&O/property taxes, that $98M could very quickly be not so great a deal.
Again, my skepticism shouldn’t prevent anyone from doing what they think will bring the bestest to the mostest. Just asking that we do it with eyes wide open. :-)
November 12, 2014 at 8:15 pm #819343
G RParticipantThank you MrsL! Your the only one that got to the point of the post and I appreciate that.
November 12, 2014 at 9:37 pm #819344
skeeterParticipantTarget’s donation would be pre-tax. 26 U.S. Code § 170 allows a deduction. So the net cost of the donation would be about 60 or 70 percent of the donation amount. For example, a $1 donation to a charity costs Target 65 cents and costs the U.S. Treasury about 35 cents.
There is no B&O tax savings or property tax savings associated with the donation.
November 12, 2014 at 10:19 pm #819345
wakefloodParticipantThanks, Skeets. I wasn’t trying to imply that there was a direct connection to B&O or property tax with a charitable donation.
I was merely pointing out that lots of the mega chains extract tax reductions (especially in rural areas that are fighting for investment) that could be considered to sit on one side of the balance from the charitable donations on the other. Again, I’m not suggesting that Target in Westwood Village got any special deal to locate there, hence my assumption that in our case, there’s no offset to their altruism. That may not be the case in a place like Enumclaw, etc.
I’ll shut up now as I’m boring even myself! ;-)
November 12, 2014 at 11:41 pm #819346
skeeterParticipantWake I never get tired of your comments. I love your contributions to the discussion.
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