In praise of shopping local

I’ve always had a soft spot for the local touch. Whether it’s flipping through pages in Unity Books, selecting the freshest produce from the local market, or discussing the finer details of tailor-made suits with my  friend Murray Crane at Crane Brothers, there’s a genuine pleasure in these experiences.

Recently, a new butcher’s shop popped up close to home. Stepping into this shop is sheer delight; they greet me by name, know exactly the kind of BBQ I own, and always offer that little extra that turns a transaction into an experience. Surprisingly, the bill at this butcher isn’t heftier than the supermarket; in fact, it’s often lighter due to less waste. On the rare occasions I find myself in a supermarket, my strategy is simple: get in, get out, and get on with life.

When I’m not hunting for the perfect eye fillet, I chair IMANZ, an organisation representing the independent media agencies of New Zealand (in addition to running my own independent agency). Leaving the butcher this past week, I couldn’t help but draw parallels between my experiences with these local businesses and the sharp contrast local professional services firms embody when placed next to their multinational counterparts. This reflection led me to see a narrative unfolding, one that goes beyond just the size of the operations.

It’s a tale of warmth, of a local shop’s inviting glow against the stark, fluorescent lights of a retail behemoth. It’s the story of how an independent business like those I represent, with roots deep in the community, relates to the personal service of a neighbourhood butcher, distinguishing us from the supermarket chains of the professional services world.

Let’s slice into this analogy and see why, in a market that’s increasingly global, there’s a burgeoning appetite for the bespoke service and local flavour that independents can deliver.

Your local butcher, the independent firm in this analogy, is the heart of the community. They know your first name, they remember your preference for a lean cut, and they’re genuinely invested in ensuring that what you take home is nothing short of perfect. This is the independent operator’s ethos: client relationships are personal, the service is tailored, and every piece of advice is like a choice cut, perfectly suited to your needs.

Contrast this with the supermarket – the multinational provider. Here, the meat is pre-packaged, stacked en masse, and the butchers, if present, are often disengaged. These aisles are less about the craft and more about the commerce, where quantity often trumps quality. Multinational providers can sometimes seem like these cold, clinical aisles, where strategies are standardised, and solutions are off-the-shelf. It’s a churn and burn mentality, where individual client needs may get lost in the drive for their own market dominance and revenue growth.

In the supermarket, everything is about the bottom line – it’s a numbers game. These places are built for volume and consistency, often at the expense of nuance and customisation. Multinational firms, with their vast resources, can seem detached, focused on their global strategies and large-scale campaigns/projects that can, at times, feel impersonal and disconnected from local market subtleties.

Your local butcher, like the independent media agencies I represent, thrives on specificity, on providing that unique blend of service that’s been lost in the scale of multinational operations. The independent is agile, able to respond to changes in the market quickly and with a creative edge that the bigger players can’t always match. They’re the craftsmen and women of the industry, offering a service where every client is treated as an individual, not just another sale.

Multinational operations may have the reach, but they can also bear a sterility, where clients might feel like one of many, and the personalised touch is sacrificed for the sake of operational efficiency. Their solutions may not always fit the local palate, reflecting global trends more than local flavours.

What’s more, their vast global footprint frequently leaves multinational professional services firms without a localised centre of moral gravity. One need only look at PWC Australia, McKinsey South Africa, or the GroupM report-faking scandal across the ditch, to see how that plays out.

Independent operators deliver professional service that’s not only about understanding the local market but being a part of it. Their strategies are not cut from a template but are crafted with the care and attention that can only come from those who eat, sleep, and breathe the intricacies of the markets they care about.

In the end, while multinationals may offer the world, independents – like the local butcher – offer a slice of home: familiar, bespoke, and most importantly a joy to work with. They remind us that in a world that’s constantly chasing the next big thing, there’s immeasurable value in the personal touch, the local knowledge, and the bespoke strategy that independents champion.