The Holts Summit Board of Aldermen heard from the first of three retail development firms during its meeting Monday night.
Robb Miller with Buxton, a Fort Worth, Texas-based consumer analytics firm, educated the board on the services it hopes to provide to the city of Holts Summit in its effort to recruit retailers and help established businesses flourish. City Administrator Brian Crane said Retail Coach will present to the board next and Retail Strategies will be showcased last. Then, the board can decide if it would like to move forward with one of the firm's services.
While retail development has been a priority initiative for the city in 2015, the task is one that's been considered for years, Crane said.
"A firm will help solicit and bring in businesses and help give more of an understanding of what we want in town, what we need and what we can bring in," Crane said.
Miller shared his preliminary findings - which were free of charge - in a retail study of the 3,400-populated city. While its size maybe on the smaller end, Miller said Holts Summit has the opportunity to attract more than 33,000 within its market trade area. Within that area, Miller's findings showed 31 percent of residents have a 401K, 22 percent are active golfers and 77 percent own three or more vehicles - all people with discretionary incomes.
In studying the Holts Summit area, Miller said the city is losing out on $157 million to places outside its political boundaries. Mainly, he said, people are looking outside of the city for food and beverage stores, and Holts Summit could benefit from additional grocery stores, a pharmacy and dining locations.
Miller listed what he said are advantages Buxton has over other retail firms. One of those is an online platform that hosts geographic retail information and reports that break down the consumer habits on a household-to-household basis. With this tool, seeing what will be successful in Holts Summit is at a person's fingertips. The service is beneficial for entrepreneurs, he said, using the example of someone wanting to open a coffee shop.
"Do more people want to drink a latte in the morning or a Diet Coke?" Miller said, adding that information can determine if a small business will succeed in a specific area.
In his presentation, Miller spoke at times in terms of threes.
He said when Buxton goes into an area, consultants ask three questions: Who are the citizens as consumers? Where are they located? What value do they have to a retailer? These questions and more will develop Holts Summit's unique thumbprint, Miller said, and will match the city with a targeted list of retailers.
"It's about keeping local dollars local," Miller said.
When mapping out Holts Summit, Miller said Buxton looks at three sites - defined as areas within a 20-minute drive of the city - and then hones in on three trade areas to determine where the firm should focus within its first year, pinpointing the retail needs of a certain location. From there, Miller said Buxton conducts the initial outreach to companies. Buxton has actively partnered with more than 2,000 retailers, including Applebee's, Trader Joe's, Fantastic Sams, FedEx and Lowe's - a company that Miller said Buxton helped establish in Moberly.