UPDATE Wednesday, July 13, 12:45pm | The Long Beach Post has been informed that the 2nd Saturday Shop & Walk is not the brainchild of the Downtown Long Beach Associates’ Shop Local Committee, but of a handful of downtown advocacy groups including the DLBA.
Eric Gray said that he, Joen Garnica and Katherine Deloroso are the masterminds behind the tours of shops and restaurants in a different downtown neighborhood each month.
“The DLBA created the ‘Get it Here’ campaign in collaboration with the Shop Local Committee, however the 2nd Saturday Shop & Walk was founded organized, and is still supported by downtown residents, part of the Downtown Residential Council, Promenade Area Residents Association and the North Pine Neighborhood Alliance, along with partnerships and support of residents from the East Village Association, Ocean Residents Community Association, Willmore City Heritage Association, West End Community Association,” Gray said. “Last but not least, our event is supported by the DLBA.”
Gray added that a number of other events have been launched by residents, including “Final Fridays” started by the PARA and “Twilight Walk and Bike” started by Gray, Elsa Diaz, Pedro Costa and the NPNA.
Tuesday, July 12, 12:45pm | This past Saturday’s monthly Downtown Long Beach Shop & Walk event doubled as the launch of a nine-week program aimed at promoting awareness of and pride for the various retail-oriented businesses located in downtown Long Beach.
The “Get it Here” campaign features a series of nine posters that hang in storefronts throughout downtown, and Saturday’s event also featured the unveiling of the latest poster, according to information provided by Downtown Long Beach Associates spokeswoman Elizabeth Leider.
The posters are styled after a modern interpretation of the U.S. Works Progress Administration posters from the late 1930s, and each highlights a different type of retail business one can find in downtown Long Beach, Leider said.
DLBA vice-president Kirstopher Larson said the new campaign has created “a lot of buzz” downtown.
“We hope this campaign, which is accompanied by several other branded tools — such as contests that reward people for shopping in downtown, reusable shopping bags and an online business directory will educate residents and visitors about the array of businesses in downtown and encourage them to shop locally,” Larson said in a statement.
The 2nd Saturday Shop & Walk event is a monthly tour of shops and restaurants in a different downtown neighborhood. The DLBA’s Shop Local Committee created the Get it Here campaign and the monthly tours in an effort to encourage shopping downtown to help curb retail leakage.
In the world of retail, leakage occurs when members of a community spend their money on goods and services outside of the community. When this occurs, the money spent is not recirculated back into the community’s economy. According to the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, for every $10 spent at a local business, $45 stays within the community. When that same amount is spent at a national chain, only $14 is recirculated into the community.
Retail leakage occurs downtown when downtown residents, visitors and employees leave the downtown area to purchase groceries, go to dinner or buy new clothes, Leider said.
According to the DLBA’s 2011 Downtown Economic Profile, the retail leakage from downtown demand sources, or retailers, in 2010 totaled about $38.5 million in food and beverage sales and $157.2 million in retail goods and services sales.
The city of Long Beach as a whole is also suffering from retail leakage. The State Board of Equalization recently completed a study that found that Long Beach loses about $389 million annually through retail leakage. A contributing factor, the study found, is that the city is sandwiched between two of the top 10 retail markets in the United States, Los Angeles and Orange County.
“The shope Local Committee has provided community members with the opportunity to get involved and help foster the success of downtown businesses,” said committee member Loara Cadavona, who also serves as co-chair of the Retail Visioning Committee, in a statement. “The community of residents and businesses has really banded together as one to promote this cause.”
To add a little fun into the mix, the DLBA is hodling contests to encourage patrons to frequent downtown establishments. One contest is held weekly and asks the public to take creative or funny photos with the poster of the week, which changes each Friday, and then add the photos to the Downtown Long Beach Facebook page or e-mail them to [email protected] and the DLBA will post them. Each week one winner will receibe a $50 downtown LOng Beach gift card accepted at more than 100 downtown businesses.
The poster component of the Get it Here campaign runs through Aug. 19, and the DLBA will host an art exhibit featuring the series of posters to celebrate its culmination on Aug. 13 at 425 E. Broadway. The exhibit will open at 6:30 p.m. in conjunction with the monthly Second Saturday Art Walk. Vayden Roi Galleries, the DLBA’s curatorial partner in its storefront gallery activation programs, will curate.