Price tags are funny things. They’re just a few digits with a decimal and a dollar sign, and yet they’re responsible for summing up the entire lifetime value of a product. On the surface, price tags can be handy tools for making buying decisions: this price tag is cheaper than that one.
The problem with price tags is that they don’t describe the full value of the money you’re spending. By choosing to buy based only on a price tag, you might be missing out on the money-back guarantee attached to every single purchase you make in your hometown.
Every time you #ChooseTBayFirst by shopping at a local business, you help them to pay Thunder Bay workers, support Thunder Bay charities and sports teams, and pay Thunder Bay’s taxes. On the other hand, when you order online, your money goes to help someone else’s town.
This summer the Chamber team interviewed some of the local businesses carrying items like school supplies, clothing and electronics that you’ll be shopping for right about now. Here are some of the things we learned about them:
JOBS
- The merchants and management of Intercity Shopping Centre employ over 1,200 people, including many students working towards a post-secondary education.
- Our three biggest office suppliers – Lowery’s, Staples and Thunder Bay Xerographics/The Office Supplier – employ about 150 staff between them.
- Local telecom company TBayTel employs 430 local people.
COMMUNITY GOOD DEEDS
- Local businesses like PC Medic often support dozens of local charities and events with donations of equipment, service, time and expertise.
- Lowery’s has raised over $150,000 to date for United Way of Thunder Bay.
- Staples’ local support of the City’s Summer Company program for kids has spawned partnerships between Staples and Community Economic Development offices across Ontario.
TAXES
- Without the property taxes paid by Intercity Shopping Centre your home taxes would increase by about $80 a year.
- TbayTel’s annual dividend to the city of $17.25 million supports city services and subsidizes taxes for residents and businesses – a savings of over $330 per residential household.
- Representatives of the large online retailers were strangely unavailable for comment regarding their support of Thunder Bay.