The Shift to Actively Attracting Retail: How to Set Yourself Up for Success

As long as economic development has existed, it has primarily focused on attracting “industry” (manufacturing, warehousing, and corporate offices). The guiding principle was simple: bring industry to the community, and retail will follow organically. However, that’s no longer the case. Today, economic developers need to market their communities to retailers like they’ve courted industries for years.

Growing the Local Retail Sector: Case Studies

Focusing on the growth of the retail sector is a valuable strategy for improving the economic conditions of a region

There is no one approach to growing the retail sector, but most successful growth efforts share a common characteristic: focus. By focusing on retail growth as its own segment of the local economy, economic development councils, chambers of commerce, and municipalities can create measurable growth that will positively impact the quality of life for residents.

Collaboration Fuels Eastern Kentucky Retail Growth

Kentucky Power and One East Kentucky have launched a collaborative effort to boost the retail sector through a multi-county, multi-city retail recruitment project. This initiative, fueled by a $270,000 grant from Kentucky Power, aims to rejuvenate downtown areas across Eastern Kentucky. The primary goal is to create vibrant, economically resilient communities that can attract new businesses, increase local investments, and grow small businesses.

Madisonville Town Center: Driving Retail Growth in Western Kentucky

Madisonville, Kentucky, is buzzing with excitement as the $30 million Madisonville Town Center project moves into its second phase. This significant development, just off I-69 at Whittington Drive, is set to be one of Kentucky's largest retail expansions over the next two years, bringing national retailers like Aldi, Marshalls, Hobby Lobby, and others to the heart of Western Kentucky.

Retail Success Story: Columbia, SC

Retail recruitment is a very specialized sector in economic development and relies heavily on relationships within the commercial real estate community. How do city leaders and staff get involved in recruitment, and what impact does local government have on the process?

Driving Retail with Data

Pasco County, FL, on the west central Florida coast, is home to more than a half million people. Its proximity to Tampa and St. Petersburg provides local business owners and start-ups, many of them in the retail sector, with access to a thriving entrepreneurial ecosystem, an international airport, and a skilled workforce. Pasco Economic Development Council (Pasco EDC) has been at the forefront of supporting small businesses and retail establishments through various initiatives in the county, working to further expand the county’s growing economy. One of its strategies for supporting small businesses is to leverage data tools like SizeUp.

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