BIBA, which consists of local business people who have adopted the language of community values in order to ward off competition, wants to ban new chain stores from opening their doors. Big box foes want to bring similar measures to towns across the U.S., treating people as play-actors in living museums, rather than as participants in a dynamic society. It's not that chain stores are themselves entirely without sin. Also, the Competitive Enterprise Institute noted last year that Federal Trade Commission has perversely reversed its old prejudice against large discount retailers, and now sides with big boxes against specialty stores. In particular, the CD and toy businesses have been hit by antitrust decisions that bar creative arrangements between retailers and distributors.
Local governments can shoulder plenty of blame, too.
Well-meaning regulators often create webs of rules that are more easily negotiated by a legal team from the home office than by local entrepreneurs. When those barriers go up, a company with dozens of outlets can more easily afford to challenge red tape than can a local store. Small storekeepers and nostalgic city planners might pine for the days of mom and pop businesses and limited competition, but banning people from shopping at big boxes is no different than forcing tourists to settle permanently in Colonial Williamsburg. Fans of local stores can do their part by clearing away the barriers to doing business rather than expending effort on outlawing consumer choice. If you are a Free-Market.