Title: The threat of chain stores to the character of an historic city's main street

Authors: Stephen W. Litvin, Cassie Smid Jaffe

Addresses: School of Business and Economics, College of Charleston, 66 George Street, Charleston, SC 29424, USA. ' School of Business and Economics, College of Charleston, 66 George Street, Charleston, SC 29424, USA

Abstract: This paper looks at the main street of an historic tourism city, King Street, Charleston, South Carolina that in recent years has seen a steady transition in its tenant mix; from one historically populated by local merchants, to one that today |boasts| of such merchants as Saks Fifth Avenue, Victoria|s Secret and Banana Republic, among many other national and international brand outlets. The issue considered herein, through a collection of interviews with local community and industry stakeholders, is the effect of downtown|s changing landscape upon the city|s residents and the tourism trade. The findings offer insight that should be helpful to city officials in any community experiencing, or concerned about, a similar metamorphous.

Keywords: urban development; tourism management; tourists; retail industry; retailing; sustainable development; destination competitiveness; main street; historic buildings; Charleston; South Carolina; USA; United States; neighbourhood character; tenant mix; local merchants; Saks Fifth Avenue; Victoria|s Secret; Banana Republic; shops; shopping; brand outlets; stakeholders; downtown; urban landscapes; chain stores; business; globalisation; multidisciplinary perspectives; sustainability.

DOI: 10.1504/IJBG.2010.031975

International Journal of Business and Globalisation, 2010 Vol.4 No.3, pp.299 - 313

Published online: 03 Mar 2010 *

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