The corner dairy is emblematic of urban life in this country, whether the townies live in a city or a provincial town. It is both a starting point for the small capitalism that is the engine room of New Zealand’s economy, and one piece of the social jigsaw that binds communities at a neighbourhood level. Yet when the politicians are wrangling over retail issues, who speaks for these champions of individual effort? And if they are being ignored, what is the cost to the economy at large?
Based on the recently announced review of liquor legislation, there has been no strong voice for these little guys, the c-store owners who do the long hours and make the eye to eye contact with their customers. In the case of liquor sales, they are also the ones who take the greatest risk in making their sales and earning their livings.
But they have been ignored by the politicians. Either because their votes don’t count enough, or because local bodies see them as easy targets in laying the blame for social problems. Or it could be because the lobby group that purportedly represents c-stores in the spinning world of PR, the New Zealand Association of Convenience Stores (NZACS), is a creature of the industrial corporations who supply them and the big petrol companies.
A quick look at the current board shows where this group’s interests lie, with chairman Roger Bull from the CSB Group, and the other board members representing an accounting firm, Chevron, Frucor New Zealand, Imperial Tobacco, BP Oil NZ, Mobil Oil NZ, and Coca-Cola Amatil.
Going on the result of the liquor legislation decision, which punished c-stores while leaving supermarket licensing unchanged, the focus of this group’s representation would appear to be not the corner dairy c-store, but the petrol station c-store, which does not sell liquor.
It is obvious that the individual traders who are the usual owner/operators of c-stores around this country are not likely to be the sort of people who join organisations. But is it in this sector’s best interests to be represented by a body that is their major competitor (franchise service stations) and supplier (drinks and tobacco). More to the point, is it in the economy’s best interest for this important commercial community to have no representation?
The big question that needs to be answered is “what are the politicians doing”. A group without representation has every right to expect its local Members of Parliament to act in their interests, but as there are always more voters complaining about local businesses selling alcohol to their children than there are parents accepting responsibility, this is always a lose-lose situation for small business owners.
Perhaps it is time for a government organisation to accept the role of advocacy for small businesses. We have these for women, Maori, Pacific Islanders, farmers, fishing operators and many others, so why not for the corner dairies that also provide a valuable community service, usually for longer hours than any other.
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In May this year, an organisation was established to represent the interests of small, family-owned retailers. The Association of Community Retailers monitors regulatory and legislative developments that have an affect on the business of small retailers. This includes, but is not limited to, recent proposals to ban displays of tobacco products and liquor proposals that would prevent small retailers from selling wine or beer. Check out the latest ACR press statement here:
http://www.acr.org.nz/media/pr/Small-retailers-singled-out-under-new-liquor-plans.htm