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<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman">Last
month, Buy Local Moscow requested that member businesses respond to
an informal poll about holiday sales. We asked that businesses
compare their December 2009 sales with their December 2008
sales -- and if there was a difference in the sales amounts, to
explain why the sales totals changed.</FONT></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman">Some businesses
were not open in 2008 and so could not compare sales. Some businesses did
not improve sales and did not wish to publicize that fact. In the end, 6
member businesses responded and were willing to speak publicly about their
sales history and the impact of Buy Local Moscow on their
sales.</FONT></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman">To summarize
the message from the informal poll: </FONT><FONT color=#000000><FONT
face="Times New Roman, serif"><FONT size=3>Buy Local Moscow helped increase
holiday sales at locally-owned businesses in December of
2009.</FONT></FONT></FONT></DIV>
<P><FONT color=#000000><FONT face="Times New Roman, serif"><FONT size=3><SPAN
lang=en-US><SPAN>Those local results were in line with a nationwide survey from
the </SPAN></SPAN></FONT></FONT></FONT><FONT color=#000000><FONT
face="Times New Roman, serif"><FONT size=3><SPAN lang=en-US><SPAN
style="FONT-STYLE: normal"><SPAN>Institute for Local Self-Reliance
(</SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></FONT></FONT></FONT><FONT color=#000080><U><FONT
face="Times New Roman, serif"><FONT size=3><SPAN lang=en-US><SPAN
style="FONT-STYLE: normal"><SPAN><A
href="http://www.ilsr.org/">www.ilsr.org</A><A href="http://www.ilsr.org/">)
</A></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></FONT></FONT></U></FONT><FONT color=#000000><FONT
face="Times New Roman, serif"><FONT size=3><SPAN lang=en-US><SPAN
style="FONT-STYLE: normal"><SPAN>released January 14, 2010. Nationally,
according to that survey, l</SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></FONT></FONT></FONT><FONT
color=#000000><FONT face="Times New Roman, serif"><FONT size=3><SPAN
lang=en-US><SPAN>ocally-owned independent businesses outperformed the average
retailer in sales during 2009 holidays, with the independents gaining 2.2% in
sales, and the average retailer dropping 0.3%, in December. In addition, those
locally-owned businesses in communities with active Buy Local campaigns fared
best. </SPAN></SPAN></FONT></FONT></FONT><STRONG><FONT color=#000000><FONT
face="Times New Roman, serif"><FONT size=3><SPAN lang=en-US><SPAN>Independent
retailers in these communities reported an average increase in holiday sales of
3.0%, compared to 1.0% for those in cities without an active Buy Local
initiative.</SPAN></SPAN></FONT></FONT></FONT></STRONG></P>
<P><FONT color=#000000><FONT face="Times New Roman, serif"><FONT size=3>Here are
the responses from the poll:</FONT></FONT></FONT></P>
<P><FONT color=#000000><FONT face="Times New Roman, serif"><FONT size=3>-Marilyn
Lysohir, owner of Cowgirl Chocolates: </FONT></FONT></FONT><FONT
color=#000000><FONT face="Times New Roman, serif"><FONT size=3>“2009 was our
best year ever. Our December 2009 sales in Moscow were an amazing 31% more than
December 2008. There are several reasons for the increase, but I believe the
most significant cause of our sales growth is the impact of Buy Local Moscow.
Our customers often told me that they decided to buy locally for holiday giving.
They believed it was important to do, and important enough to tell me
about.”</FONT></FONT></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0in"><BR></P>
<P style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0in"><FONT color=#000000><FONT
face="Times New Roman, serif"><FONT size=3>-Gerard Connelly, owner of
Tri-State: </FONT></FONT></FONT><FONT color=#000000><FONT
face="Times New Roman, serif"><FONT size=3><SPAN lang=en-US><SPAN>“Our
</SPAN></SPAN></FONT></FONT></FONT><FONT color=#000000><FONT
face="Times New Roman, serif"><FONT size=3><SPAN lang=en-US><SPAN>December 2009
sales were down from last year in categories related to winter weather (we were
down $22,000 in show shovels, for example) because December weather was very
mild compared to the past 2 Decembers. However, our December 2009 sales were up
about 9% over December 2008 in categories unrelated to weather. For example, our
housewares department was up 10% over last year, which was a record for that
department. </SPAN></SPAN></FONT></FONT></FONT><FONT color=#000000><FONT
face="Times New Roman, serif"><FONT size=3>I cannot isolate the factors or
precisely quantify what Buy Local Moscow does for us, but I have no doubt that
this continual, on-going, organized effort to raise the consciousness of the
population to the benefits of spending their money with locally-owned businesses
is very beneficial to our company.”</FONT></FONT></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0in"><BR></P>
<P style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0in"><FONT color=#000000><FONT
face="Times New Roman, serif"><FONT size=3>-Heather Alexander, Licensed Massage
Practitioner: </FONT></FONT></FONT><FONT color=#000000><FONT
face="Times New Roman, serif"><FONT size=3>“Now people want to buy locally, and
when they decide to spend locally for the holidays, they turn towards the idea
of giving local services as gifts. I sold twice as many massage gift
certificates for the holidays in 2009 than in 2008.”</FONT></FONT></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0in; MARGIN-LEFT: 0.25in"><BR></P>
<P style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0in"><FONT color=#000000><FONT
face="Times New Roman, serif"><FONT size=3>-Kenna Eaton, general manager of the
Moscow Food Co-op: "</FONT></FONT></FONT><FONT color=#000000><FONT
face="Times New Roman, serif"><FONT size=3><SPAN lang=en-US><SPAN>December sales
in 2009 at the Co-op were about 7 percent better than in 2008. There are many
fa</SPAN></SPAN></FONT></FONT></FONT><FONT color=#000000><FONT
face="Times New Roman, serif"><FONT size=3><SPAN lang=en-US><SPAN>ctors that
might account for this, including Buy Local Moscow which has increased citizens'
awareness. It's really hard to know how much direct impact the Buy Local
campaign has - it's impossible to separate out the variables - but I think the
cumulative effect has helped people realize the value of supporting local
businesses and has improved our sales.” </SPAN></SPAN></FONT></FONT></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0in"><BR></P>
<P style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0in"><FONT color=#000000><FONT
face="Times New Roman, serif"><FONT size=3>-Arlene Falcon, owner of TyeDye
Everything: </FONT></FONT></FONT><FONT color=#000000><FONT
face="Times New Roman, serif"><FONT size=3>“Our store sales increased by 48%
from December of 2008 to December of 2009. One reason for that growth is that
tie-dye is becoming more popular. Another is that shopping locally is both a
national and local trend. I heard repeatedly from my customers that they were
making a conscious choice to shop locally.”</FONT></FONT></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0in"><BR></P>
<P style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0in"><FONT color=#000000><FONT
face="Times New Roman, serif"><FONT size=3>-Louise Todd, co-owner of Mikeys
Greek Gyros: "</FONT></FONT></FONT><FONT color=#000000><FONT
face="Times New Roman, serif"><FONT size=3>We saw a dramatic increase in sales
over the holidays. Our per day sales in November and December of 2009 increased
by 37% over 2008. We've been in business for 30 years and I think many of our
customers see Mikeys as a comfort spot. So they come back. In addition, there
are an increasing number of customers who want to support local retailers, and
that is due to the impact of Buy Local Moscow and the national movement it
represents.”</FONT></FONT></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0in"><BR></P>
<P style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0in"><BR></P>
<P style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0in"><FONT color=#000000><FONT
face="Times New Roman, serif"><FONT size=3><SPAN
lang=en-US><SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></FONT></FONT></FONT><FONT color=#000000><FONT
face="Times New Roman, serif"><FONT size=3><SPAN lang=en-US><SPAN>The mission of
Buy Local Moscow is to strengthen the social and economic framework of Moscow by
supporting and promoting the community's locally-owned independent businesses
and by educating the community about the vital role of locally-owned businesses.
</SPAN></SPAN></FONT></FONT></FONT><FONT color=#000000><FONT
face="Times New Roman, serif"><FONT size=3><SPAN lang=en-US><SPAN>More than 100
Moscow-based independent businesses have joined Buy Local Moscow since its
founding in 2006. More information is available on the website,
</SPAN></SPAN></FONT></FONT></FONT><FONT color=#000080><U><A
href="http://www.buylocalmoscow.com/"><FONT face="Times New Roman, serif"><FONT
size=3><SPAN
lang=en-US><SPAN>www.buylocalmoscow.com</SPAN></SPAN></FONT></FONT></A></U></FONT></P></FONT></FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>