The ethnic retail market is a reality in the United States. It’s a vibrant component of a truly diverse community. I don’t want to be stereotypical in my observations but here’s what I’ve noticed in my travels around the San Francisco Bay Area:

1. Many Chinese Americans own dry cleaning services.
2. Many Asian Indians own liquor stores or taxicab companies. I have a friend who owns 13 liquor stores in Santa Clara County and I have special cab service (whenever I need it) in San Jose (Thank you, Mr. Rimpy!).
3. Many Koreans and Filipinos own grocery stores and restaurants. I’m expanding my Pinoy Food guide into a separate category because I need easy access to a list of Filipino-owned restaurants to recommend.
4. Many Vietnamese own nail salons or beauty parlors. In fact, Lyn at Beach Beauty Salon at Fisherman’s Wharf is my colorist.
5. There are many Chinese and Thai-owned restaurants.
6. There is a huge Chinatown in San Francisco that makes my food shopping worth the shoves I get in the crowded streets.

It’s possible that family connections and strong friendly ties encourage people of the same ethnic group to concentrate their monetary success in one industry. Remember, this is not a general observation — simply strictly my own. It is a reality that minority-owned businesses are a major work force in the United States. I’m very proud when I say that I work with ethnic communities in terms of public relations and marketing.

A few months ago, in my LinkedIn.com networking site, Ryan Turner asked a question: Are “Ethnic Retailers” Still Serving A Niche Market?

There’s an assumption that “ethnic” markets, convenience stores, etc. which once thrived upon dedicated clientele and hard-to-find items face tough times, ironically, as larger ethnic and mainstream retailers adopt their product mix at cheaper prices to broader cross-cultural audiences. Noted with particular interest:

Cecilia Kang’s 9/3/07 Washington Post article:
“Ethnic Grocers Losing Their Niche”

If Kang’s article points to larger truths outside the Washington DC area, and smaller ethnic retailers in general face marketing challenges, what strategies should they consider to

(1) raise their profile/visbility within their communities
(2) adjust their perceptions against larger competitors

Or is the threat/challenge simply a matter of changing times? I know I’d hate to see some great cultural neighborhood meeting spots disappear in the Bay Area, but know the ability to effectively market, as well as compete on price and quality must count for something as well?

Thanks for sharing…

You can see the answers to Ryan’s question here.

I’m reprinting my answers to this question.

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In my one my blog entries, I talked about the joys of taking a gratitude break through squirrel-watching. Shortly after I wrote the posting, I badgered Sanny Leviste of Visual Moment.com, a friend of many talents especially in environmentally-sustainable advocacies, to find the photos that I had requested him to take of a squirrel. He took some beautiful photos while we were inside the car… He finally found “Lorna’s squirrel” in time for a New Year’s gift to me.

What a memorable outing it had been! Sanny and I were on our way home from the Palo Alto Baylands Nature Preserve after an afternoon of photographing birds (I was the urbanized observer). Sanny, who had given me some useful lessons about birds that afternoon, was driving his car toward the park’s exit. Then, I saw the squirrel — perched on top of a denuded bush, enjoying his or her moment in the sunshine. A squirrel oblivious to our presence. Jubilant about my delightful discovery, I asked Sanny to take a few photos of MY squirrel.

Do watch out for Sanny Leviste’s photo book that will be published sometime soon.

Thank you to Sanny!

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