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City hires retail consultant

Retail Coach to offer data, business recruitment

Jill Schramm /MDN Mainstream Boutique co-owners Dawn Gullickson, left, and Kristie Schwan, right, touch up a display in the downtown Minot store Thursday. The City of Minot is hiring a retail consultant to analyze data that will help local retailers, particularly those downtown, in making business decisions.

A retail consultant will be analyzing local shopping metrics and helping to recruit more stores to Minot.

The Minot City Council on Monday approved a one-year contract, with two potential annual renewals, with Retail Coach for $47,500. Funding will come from economic development dollars set aside for this purpose.

“The work to be done by Retail Coach is an important analytical tool,” said Minot’s economic developer Jonathan Rosenthal. “It’s an important recruitment tool.”

He explained the consultant would look at how well retail needs are being met, how much retail leakage to other markets is occurring and retail opportunities for existing and new companies. Retail Coach also will be able to examine demographics and study customers based on their opinions, interests and activities.

According to Rosenthal, Retail Coach will identify entrepreneurs and franchisees who could start businesses. It will identify market vacancies to be filled and provide retail site profiles toward helping to get those sites filled. It will develop an online dashboard to support the program, among other activities.

Minot’s retail hubs look to benefit from the work of the consultant.

“We’re very excited about the new retail consultant position because we stay up to date on retail trends and look forward to the additional insight that will be provided,” Dakota Square Mall, owned by CBL Properties, released in a statement.

“Downtown Minot supports the City of Minot’s hire of a retail recruitment specialist,” the Downtown Business & Professional Association stated. “We know we have retail gaps and under-serviced sectors downtown and beyond; we know we as a community lose shopping dollars to Bismarck and other markets. Getting an expert in the retail arena on our team, focused initially on data gathering and analysis, is an important first step to keeping more of the dollars earned in Minot circulating in Minot.” Although Retail Coach will be serving the entire city, it will look particularly at downtown and the impact of the Air Force base, Rosenthal said.

Information provided to the city council stated Retail Coach will begin contacting potential retail recruits in October to schedule one-on-one meetings in December at a national conference for retailers.

Retail Coach has 20 years of experience, working in 650 communities.

City Manager Harold Stewart reported on having worked with Retail Coach in Warrensburg, Missouri, where he previously was city manager. Retail Coach helped recruit several businesses there. Stewart said the consultant does a good job of using its connections with developers, investors and retail companies to match retailers with communities as well as providing data to assist existing local businesses with decision making.

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