Redefining the landscape
I just got back from a vacation trip to France and Italy. One thing that struck me was the extent to which, in the United States, the landscape has been altered by oligopolies, and how that hasn't (yet) occurred in Europe.
What I mean is this: in the US, the streets and highways are defined by the presence of large, national or international companies in all the key locations. The cityscape of any American downtown is a series of Starbucks, McDonalds, CVSs, major banks, Gaps, and so on, with other smaller, local companies on the margin. In the suburbs the same; Safeways, major gas stations, Wal-Marts, Marriotts, Home Depots, Dunkin Donutses and their like define all the critical points in the landscape.
None of this is a surprise. The largest chains are served by active real estate departments that are determined to gain for themselves all the key locations, the ones likely to draw traffic. These companies have imposed a uniform landscape across the country, so that the suburbs of Dallas look almost exactly like those of Buffalo, and where the uniqueness of even a New York or a San Francisco is challenged by the all too familiar sequence of national chain stores.
In Europe, however, this process is at a much earlier stage. Yes, there are Total gas stations, Carrefour hypermarkets, Mercedes dealers, and BNP Paribas bank branches throughout France, but they are far more likely to share prime space with a local café, a pastry shop, a local bookstore, or an independent clothes store. True, the hypermarkets and their ilk are growing in importance, but they are countered by the continued thriving of open markets with lots of local vendors selling almost anything.
The point is not so much to celebrate the diversity of European small business (agreeable as it is for the tourist), but to note the way in which the American landscape is being determined by the decisions of the largest companies (which also get tax and zoning exceptions in many cases). Local businesses do exist in the US, but they are ever more hidden, more peripheral.
As national oligopolies get bigger, they impose a sameness that is overwhelming. Anyone who has done a lot of business travel knows how all the airports, all the hotels, all the restaurants tend to blend together. I've spent lots of time in Miami, San Francisco, Boston, and Las Vegas, my experience in all those places tends to merge despite the seeming uniqueness of the locations.
Will the same thing happen worldwide? Even in Europe, you can see it starting. The top tourism districts are starting to show this trend. In one example, I've encountered Haagen-Dazs ice cream stores in Nice, Bruges, and Paris. This brand was originated in the US, and given the pseudo -Scandinavian name to "convey an aura of the old-world traditions and craftsmanship to which he [the founder] remained dedicated" (according to the Haagen-Dazs Web site). The brand is owned by Nestle in the US, by Diageo in Europe.
There are now 700 Haagen-Dazs "cafes" in 54 countries. These cafes are found in the centre of the tourist district of all the cities where they exist, often a short way away form the local McDonalds. The concept is growing like crazy through massive franchising, and these shops seem to be very busy where I've seen them. Is this geographically challenged brand (the made-up name is an impossibility in any real Scandinavian language) a forerunner of the thorough carving up of the urban landscape even in Europe?
Update 10/18: My daugher, who is living in Italy, notes:
I would add to that the fact that the main streets in all towns, including the small ones like Perugia, which used to house only independent clothing stores, shoe repair workshops, etc, are now virtually indistinguishable. They all have a STEPHANEL, a Bennetton, a Sisley, a Pimkie, and these days usually an H and M and a CONTIGO. Granted, these are all European chains, but they are chains nonetheless...
