SURVEY REVEALS UNIQUE ITEMS AND COMPETITIVE PRICING HELPS SMALL RETAILERS COMPETE AGAINST
BIG BOX/CHAIN STORES

Survey Results from DollarDays.com Show the Entrepreneurial Spirit is Thriving in Small Businesses Across the Country; New Book Titled The Secrets of Retailing: Or How to Beat Wal-Mart! Provides Competitive Advice to Small Retailers

PHOENIX July 25, 2005 – Small retail owners say carrying unique items, providing personalized customer service and competitive pricing helps them to compete against big box retailers such as Wal-Mart, Target, K-Mart, Kohl’s and others, according to survey results released today by DollarDays International.

DollarDays International is a premier Internet-based product wholesaler to small businesses and local distributors. The poll was featured on www.DollarDays.com and in the company’s online newsletter.

"Small retailers need to understand when a big box retailer opens in their community it’s not a death sentence and this survey underscores that," said Marc Joseph, president of DollarDays and author of The Secrets of Retailing Or How to Beat Wal-Mart (Silverback Books). "No one can compete against creativity, solid business acumen and a drive to succeed. DollarDays and The Secrets of Retailing provide small businesses the opportunity and expertise to compete with these giants head on."

According to the survey results, 99 percent of the small businesses have big box retailers located near their stores. 72 percent opened their stores after the chain stores
arrived in town, while 26 percent were already in business. Of those already in business, 52 percent says they implemented new strategies to compete, including cutting prices (25 percent), increasing inventory (23 percent) and increasing marketing and advertising (22 percent).

The survey also shows that implementing these strategies resulted in 42 percent of the small retailers maintaining their market share, while 35 percent reported an increase in business and less then 1 percent said business decreased.

Joseph says the retailers who have been driven out by big box retailers were capitalizing on their local monopoly by selling ordinary merchandise at exalted prices. When Wal-Mart came in, these small retailers were undersold.

According to Joseph, while giant retailers such as Wal-Mart can buy in large closeout quantities, they can't buy in small quantities, which give independents the huge advantage of selling opportunistic products showing great value. In addition, because of a limited supply of unique and different items, the chains can't buy them in sufficient quantity, giving the independent a chance to really be different.

"Small retailers can control their overhead and be significantly lower because they do not need to support a whole management superstructure and it’s easier for them to offer customers personalized service and attention that always beats the impersonal feeling in a chain store," said Joseph.

Survey results also show that 30 percent of the small retailers pay the same wage as a large chain store, but don’t provide additional benefits, such as insurance and retirement plans.

In The Secrets of Retailing Or How to Beat Wal-Mart, Joseph details how small businesses can compete and even win against Wal-Mart and other giant retailers that come to their towns. In addition, Joseph provides expert advice to independent retailers of all sizes on the nuts and bolts of setting up a successful retail chain, and everything from the psychology of buying and hiring employees, to working successfully with vendors and promoters. The book can be purchased on www.amazon.com.

Joseph was inspired to write Secrets of Retailing as a result of counseling hundreds of DollarDays customers, small retailers who worried about facing increased competition when big-box retailers opened in their towns. Although many small retailers complain that big-box retailers like Wal-Mart lure customers with “loss leader” pricing on some merchandise, Joseph says small retailers can triumph in the long run.

"Every chapter in my book talks about the fundamentals of entrepreneurial retailing, whether it is hiring the right people, selecting the right location, working with the right vendors or running the right promotions," Joseph said. "This book is based on my experiences in competing against Wal-Mart and also being a supplier to Wal-Mart. When you finish this book, you will have that edge to not only survive and thrive in the shadow of Wal-Mart, but to go up against any chain store."

Joseph often speaks to retail associations about how small business owners can ensure their own success by applying the principals of entrepreneurial retailing.

DollarDays International is a Web-based virtual warehouse, where small business owners can find great deals on small business-sized orders for more than 25,000
consumer products, from toys and household décor to apparel, electronics and seasonal merchandise. Due to its innovative business model, DollarDays prices are not only often far below those which most small business are accustomed to, but the offerings include many name-brand products as well as rock-bottom pricing on overstocked and closeout items.

DollarDays’ prices are among the lowest available to small businesses. Membership is free and any small business is eligible to shop at www.dollardays.com.