the end of mom & pop stores? (plain-speak version)

i'm often conflicted by my personal preference for patronizing mom & pop stores that have a neighborhood feel and my business inclination to build highly scalable, customer-centric stores that use technology to deliver convenient services in a highly efficient way. whew, that's what two years of business school will do. i sound like a complete corporate robot.

in light of that conflict, i just completed a four month study of first-generation American-Indians in the dry cleaning industry. it was by far one of the most interesting things i've done at school. while i confirmed a few hypotheses, the experience also opened my eyes to the challenges immigrants face in starting their own business here. Along the way, some great people helped me:

• the seven Indian families who made up my sample set
• todd krasnow, hbs alumnus, venture capitalist, co-founder of staples, and co-founder of Zoots, Inc, a very innovative dry cleaning chain
• john davis, a harvard university professor who focuses on family business research (he was my faculty advisor for the project)

the long and short of it is that enormous opportunity exists in the dry cleaning industry. there are no big players and most of the mom & pop shops stick to the basics. their approach works well when they have one store, not so well when they have multiple stores. as a result, results vary widely. maybe someone with solid operating experience and capital could enhance these stores and still keep it "in the community" (as opposed to a national chain).

as professional investors look for new businesses to fund, i thought that immigrant-run companies could be a viable avenue. the explosion in women-run businesses (106% growth over the last decade, roughly) suggests that maybe white dudes don't have all the answers. additionally, a lot of second and third generation indians have realized the benefits of studying and working in America, and are now looking to invest in their community.

at the end of the day, i found it difficult to generalize a strategy for making this happen. i also confronted a more vexing question: are we bound to have cities full of chains that diminish local flavor and continue building homogeneity? if well-funded corporations take over mom & pop chains, where will immigrants work?

obviously the trend towards homogeneity (wal-mart, starbucks, etc) is here. consumers like dependability, predictability, and low prices. however, when i venture to the atlanta suburbs, the endless chains of strips malls amid bumper to bumper traffic disgusts me. some questions this phenomenon presents:

• will anything combat this trend of homogeneity, or is it inevitable?
• what role should community and municipal level government take in shaping development?
• if consumers really want dependable, consistent goods & services, is having rows of strip malls really such a bad thing?