Protections For Year-Round, Downtown Merchants Should Be Strengthened

To the editor: On behalf of Nantucket’s local retail community, we are writing to highlight a shift in our downtown and ask whether the protections put in place more than 20 years ago still accomplish what they were intended to do. Part of what makes Nantucket special is that there are very few signs of mainstream America here - our cobblestone streets, historic buildings, and independent shops are all part of what gives Nantucket its distinct character. In 2005, Nantucket voters adopted the Formula Business Bylaw to help protect that character and the economic vitality of downtown. But retail has changed dramatically since then.

When the bylaw was written, the number of physical stores reasonably measured a retailer's size and reach. Today, a brand may have fewer than 10 brick-and-mortar locations, or none at all, while having hundreds of thousands, or even more than a million, social media followers and a significant national e-commerce business. We have also seen that changes to a store’s name, merchandise mix, or concept can allow a national brand to comply with the existing bylaw.

We are also seeing more temporary and pop-up stores, which can have unintended consequences for local retailers. Island merchants often commit to merchandise lines months in advance and invest in those relationships over many years. When a temporary retailer arrives at the height of the season selling the same merchandise, it competes directly with a local business that carries the same line - while the local business continues to shoulder Nantucket rents, year-round payroll and employee benefits, and, increasingly, the cost of staff housing. As we ask for the Formula Business Bylaw to be reconsidered, we believe temporary and pop-up retail should also be part of that discussion.

Independent businesses have long been part of what makes downtown Nantucket distinctive. They contribute to the island’s character, reinvest in the community, and many remain open well beyond the summer season. These are also important considerations when we think about what we want the future of downtown Nantucket to look like.

Sincerely

The Shop Local Nantucket Steering Committee
Tess Anderson, The Hub & Anderson’s
Bess Clarke, Nantucket Looms
Vanessa Kagan Diserio, Erica Wilson, Inc.
Wendy Hudson, Bookworks & Mitchell’s Book Store
Nina Liddle, Birdie by Nina Liddle Design
Cara Marquis, Peachtree Kid’s
Courtney McKechnie, Core
Stephanie Sproule, Bodega
John Syliva, Sylvia’s Antiques