We know you’ve heard the conscientious mantra “shop local,” but perhaps you haven’t given it deep thought. Often relayed dutifully, “shop local” can sound like something tantamount to peer pressure, but we are here to put to rest any feeling that this virtuous reminder is meant to guilt you or pin you down with a smug, self-righteous grin. It’s not.
In fact, paying patronage to independent businesses is an admirable choice, and in 2020 and beyond, it is as important as ever for us to take heed to the mantra and “shop local.”
Why You Should Support Local Business
Independent businesses are an integral part of a community’s distinctive character. And these business owners are more likely to be invested in the future of their community—in fact, non-profit organizations receive an average 250 percent more support from independent businesses than they do from large businesses. Whether it’s in the forms of sponsoring little league teams, adopting local highways, or organizing blood drives, small businesses have shown a penchant for giving back.
In addition, there is a multiplier effect that results from the fact that small local businesses recirculate a far greater percentage of revenue locally compared to franchises.
Based on a study by Civic Economics, on average, 48 percent of each purchase at local independent businesses was recirculated locally, compared to less than 14 percent of purchases at chain stores.
This is to say, community-sustained retailers give back, and keeping your dollar in your neighborhood furthers a constructive system that creates more jobs and hires people who have a passion for (and an intimate understanding of) the products that make your world go ’round, like reliable kitchen appliances and a large-capacity washer and dryer set. This all culminates in satisfying and personable consumer experiences.
How to Support Small, Local Businesses
The greater Seattle area is an incubator for entrepreneurship. Encompassing the Washington regions of North Sound, South Sound, Eastside, and the Kitsap Peninsula, Puget Sound is marked by its municipal support of the arts (Seattle boasts more than two dozen museums) and its esteemed status as a national center of education and economy.
Previously, we alluded that supporting smaller businesses preserves local culture. It is perhaps more immediately obvious that the opposite is also true. Local culture can propel small businesses to great success as evidenced in the following localized example.
Coffee runs through the veins of Puget Sound. Seattle’s birthplace claim on the retail giant Starbucks has instilled a communal love for specialty java, enabling hundreds of independently owned coffeehouses in the area to thrive. In return, these local businesses bring cash flow to our local economy, fueling it to be sustained—no different than our relationship to caffeine.
We’ll say it again. Mass appeal and everywhereness aside, a more concerning distinction between a big-box store and an independent business is that the latter also works to fuel the community.
When it comes to price comparisons, consumers tend to counter the “shop local” mantra with this widely held notion that shopping at big-box stores saves you more money—while this argument deserves to be fully unraveled in a separate post, for now, we’re here to tell you that is not usually the case.
This is all to say: in a world of undermined retail wages, union busting, and lack of healthcare benefits, overlooking small businesses in favor of the generic big-box allure is something we can no longer afford.
With a buzzing community offering locally sourced seafood and slurp-worthy oysters; authentic Vietnamese, Japanese, and Korean cuisines; thoughtfully curated furniture collections; passionate outdoorsmen touting snowboarding and fishing gear; and mom-and-pop treasure troves, why put yourself in a box—no matter how “big”?
Your History is Our History; You’re Our Community
Albert Lee has been in the appliance-selling industry for over 80 years. Spanning over three family generations, our business serves Puget Sound with customer service you can trust and product quality you can count on.
Despite being a fixture in the Pacific Northwest since 1939, our business remains relentlessly modern in how we service our customers. From offering cooking demonstrations hosted by professional chefs to helping you outfit your home with the latest laundry and kitchen appliance models on the scene, Albert Lee is here for you.
As Washington State’s largest independent appliance retailer, we know a thing or two about catering to our community and helping it thrive. We are proud to sponsor a number of local charitable events and organizations, including Seattle Children’s Home, the Detlef Schrempf Foundation, and the Richard Sherman Blanket Coverage Foundation.
When you choose to support small business, you amplify the power of your community. After all, it is thanks to your loyal patronage that we can give back. You can help us continue this cycle by submitting a request for community support via our online application portal. Whether a local organization requires donation of products, sponsorship funding, community events, and charity auctions, Albert Lee can lend a hand.
What Does Shopping Local Look Like?
With this being the digital age, you can “shop local” online! From using a location filter to purchase wares from niche Etsy shops to perusing a Seattle-specific online map for neighborhood goods and services, the possibilities are endless when it comes to supporting small local businesses.
In the same vein, with self-quarantine guidelines in place due to COVID-19, Albert Lee’s digital catalog and contactless delivery make shopping for brand-name home appliances online as breezy as possible.
Whether you’re narrowing your options or trying to figure out where to start, we can guide you over the phone or via chat to help you find the best appliance to meet your needs.
Our appliance experts are available for any questions you may have! You can click on the chat icon at the bottom-right side of our homepage. You can also give us a call at any of our six appliance store locations or our toll-free number at 1-866-966-2110.
Shop Beko Appliances at Albert Lee
From our online catalog, you can filter through products based on personal specifications like cost range and whether an appliance model is Energy Star certified. You may also specify your choice of appliance brand. May we interest you in Beko?
Exclusive to independent retailers, Beko appliances exude the technology, efficiency, and beauty that you have been looking for.
With dual power burners and preset cooking programs you can depend on, you can rest assured that your meals will be seared, steamed, smoked, grilled, and charred to perfection—every time.
Beko kitchen refrigerators come stocked with smart controls, with professionally sleek designs to boot. And their quiet dishwashers don’t stray too far behind—with an exclusive three-way filtering system called AquaIntense, Beko makes easy work out of post-dinner cleanup. Check out this video to see AquaIntense in action, and take a peek at the following image of Beko's red LED spotlight that lets you know whether your dishwasher is running or not.
When it comes to your laundry room, Beko washing machines and dryers will make sure large loads won’t weigh you down. For the most fast-acting dryer on the market, consider a ventless heat-pump dryer—as a bonus, these machines use about half as much electricity as a traditional dryer, providing relief to the planet and your wallet.
To scour our catalog, simply hover over to the left pane of the product results page and expand filter options by clicking on any of the “+” buttons. Under Brand, you can mark your preference for Beko appliances and successfully narrow your potential purchase to selections that fit your criteria.
Or, for the purposes of shopping our entire Beko catalog, you can navigate to our Brands page and click on the Beko logo.
Let Us Help You
Yes, we are a small business, but our appliance selection is anything but. Contact our experts at Albert Lee—we are always happy to help. Check out our appliance store hours, and call or chat with us today!
As always, thank you for choosing to shop small and support local business.
Regarding COVID-19, our appliance delivery teams are taking precautionary steps to help minimize the current public health emergency and, as such, have taken proactive steps, including disinfecting themselves between customer deliveries and wearing rubber gloves while performing deliveries at our customer's homes.
We are taking every precaution to clean and disinfect our stores throughout the day above and beyond the normal cleaning process, including professional disinfection, as well as ensuring our customers and employees can maintain a safe social distance. For more information, please visit https://www.albertlee.biz/ala-covid19.