Little David was small but oh, my. (small retailers face competition from department stores)

By Murray Raphel "Since 1977, newspapers have lost $3 billion of advertising revenue to television and direct mail. And most of it to direct mail."

- McCann-Erickson "Nobody has opened a new department store in the past 40 years." - Bob Zimmerman, marketing consultant

The small retailer faces two giants in his day-to-day battle for survival: and their names are department store and newspaper.

Can the small retailer take on these two giants and succeed?

Will these giants go the way of their now extinct prehistoric ancestors, the dinosaurs?

Is there a technique, idea, weapon sling shot?) the small retailer can use?

The answers to all the questions are yes, maybe and you bet. Let's take the giants one at a time.

The Department Store

The U. S. department store graveyard has been filling up lately. Look at the tombstones: B. Altman, Best and Company, Gimbels, Frost Brothers, Joskes...

And the last time we looked, Bonwit Teller was in critical condition, and running high fevers were Bloomingdale's, Saks Fifth Avenue and Marshall Field.

Admittedly some of these sick and disabled are not the result of bad merchandising as much as bad junk bonding. …

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