`BIG-BOX' RETAILERS TRY TO FIT IN; SMALL-STORE OWNERS STAY WARY.

Byline: Sylvia L. Oliande Staff Writer

Nearly a year after the ``big-box'' retail stores came to town, it's still too soon to tell if the promised windfall of sales taxes has materialized or whether the competition has hurt small-business owners, city officials say.

But in the short time since they opened their doors, the stores that anchor the new Simi at the Plaza - Wal-Mart, Office Depot and Home Depot - are doing what they can to become part of the community.

Recently, each of the stores has taken advantage of the start of school to reach out to Simi Valley families.

Office Depot, which in December was the first of the big-box stores to open in Simi Valley, invited teachers to breakfast and gave them the opportunity to shop for supplies at a discount.

``You have to support the people of the community,'' said Amy King, Office Depot store manager.

Since Home Depot opened in April, the hardware store has donated construction materials and $1,500 to the Boys & Girls Club of Simi Valley, offered workshops for children and participated in the United Way Day of Caring.

Store employees also helped landscape Wood Ranch Elementary School and helped rebuild a shower at the Habitat for Humanity Samaritan Center. They also helped Kiwanis Club members rebuild a fence for a disabled man.

``A lot of times we can make a better contribution with our time and with our associates' knowledge than we can do just by writing a check,'' said Amy Friend, spokeswoman for Home Depot. ``Labor is always more expensive than actual products you use to do the project. By having the knowledgeable associates who can fill the void in the labor area, we can make a bigger contribution than just by donating the money alone.''

Wal-Mart donated more than $4,600 to local charities on its opening day April 21 and soon became the scene of community fund-raisers, such as a carwash and bake sales. The company has sometimes matched the take at a fund-raising event, as with a $1,000 donation to the Simi Valley High School baseball team and $900 for Lutheran Social Services after a bake sale.

Next week, the store will serve complimentary breakfast to teachers, and there will be safety fairs and other special events at the store during National Safety Month in October.

Debbie Dobbins, Wal-Mart's community service committee chairwoman, said chain officials want each store to be a positive part of the community.

``Wal-Mart has a very big family feeling. Everyone who works here feels like it's an extension of our family,'' she said. ``Because we feel that way, we want everyone who comes to the store to feel that way too.''

Consultant to come

Tim Shannon, president of the Simi Valley Chamber of Commerce, said it is unclear at this point how the new, large stores have affected smaller businesses in the area.

``Individual responses vary from it's hurting me to I don't feel any impact,'' Shannon said. ``As long as everyone plans properly and has a business plan in effect, I think everyone can compete at this level.''

To stave off problems and help smaller businesses compete in the big leagues, the chamber will bring in a business consultant in November.

On Nov. 16-19, Kent Burns will visit businesses for an hour at a time, evaluate their inventory and counsel the owners.

``I think we'll see, if anything, him not making the big boxes a negative but making everyone a positive,'' said Leigh Engdahl, executive director of the chamber. ``Obviously they are a business here, too, and they're going to stay here.''

Revenue yet to come

City officials said they do not yet have sales tax revenue estimates from the new stores in town because there is a six-month lag from the time the stores file their returns and the city gets its share from the state.

Still, officials at the big-box stores say they are providing not only a new shopping experience for area residents, but also sales tax dollars that will be used by the city in the community.

``Our stores bring tax revenues in that people in the city need. And it gives them more choices locally,'' King said. ``We have choices for people to come look at instead of having to travel out of the community to Thousand Oaks. It gives them an opportunity to stay in the community and keep their tax dollars in the community.''

But Mark Tusher, owner of three Alamo Video stores in Simi Valley, said it's only a matter of time until small businesses feel the sting.

His own stores competed well with Blockbuster for six years after the chain moved to town. But in 1996, when the chain began offering customer incentives, his stores began to falter.

Then, last December, another chain moved in and the competition became even more intense.

``(People) better than myself are crying the blues,'' Tusher said. ``It's not a good environment, not a healthy environment. I object to everything in the big box. . . . That seems to be where we're headed.''

Representatives of the larger retailers said they are not out to destroy small businesses and in some ways may help them.

``Most of the smaller store are specialty items, and I don't see them as competition,'' Dobbins said. ``But we're friendly competitors. We're not here to put them out of business. I think that the valley has become big enough to support them shopping at all the stores.''

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Photo: Shoppers leave with their purchases from the Wal-Mart store in the new Simi at the Plaza center. Small-store owners and city officials are still assessing the effect of new ``big-box'' stores.

Lilly Barrett/Special to the Daily News