Philadelphia – Dispatches From The Front

Kimberly McGlonn knows the power of a good story.

In July, the education PhD and English teacher-turned-entrepreneur won first prize in the Small Biz Challenge, hosted by Inc. and the UPS Store. In doing so, she secured $25,000 for her company, Grant Blvd, a Philadelphia-based sustainable apparel startup that makes and sells upcycled clothing and accessories. And what set her apart in the competition was universal–deft improvisational skills and fluency with her business and its mission.

“It’s about owning your ‘why’ and using your business to align with your life and your sense of purpose,” McGlonn says. “Not only will you attract people who respect what you’re aspiring to build, but you’ll attract loyal customers as well.”

Ever notice how competitors like Target and Walmart tend to cluster together? Ken Steif has, and through a close analysis of retail location trends in NY, NJ, and CT, he examines which businesses tend to agglomerate and why.

I spend much of my free time digging for old records. Philadelphia, my home, has a rich history of soul music and its countless thrift stores and flea markets offer a fiend like me plenty of opportunity. There are times however, when I prefer the efficiency of shopping at a record store, and although there are record stores in Philly, there is no better cluster of record stores anywhere on the planet than in the Lower East Side of New York City. As it turns out – this pattern can be explained by two extremely important planning-related theories, Hotelling’s Law and Central Place Theory.

Stores like Good Records and A1 Records are approximately 2.5 hours from Philly via a combination of bus, subway and walking – but on occasion I will make the journey because the selection at these stores is nothing short of extraordinary. But why do they insist on locating so close to each other? Wouldn’t it be more advantageous for these stores to locate farther apart so that they can each enjoy their own dedicated market area?

Tag: Philadelphia

Meet the Philadelphia Sustainable Fashion Maker That Recruits From Halfway Houses and Prisons | Inc.com

Why Do Certain Retail Stores Cluster Together? | Planetizen