In an effort to better recruit businesses to the area, the Enterprise City Council approved a motion to hire a group to analyze the current market.
Retail Strategies of Birmingham will spend six weeks collecting and analyzing the city’s market, Mayor Kenneth Boswell said. The analysis will cost $4,500.
“We need to recruit new retail into the city. This identifies areas that need (attention),” he said.
The study is called a “gap analysis” because it identifies “gaps” in the retail market, Boswell said.
“It allows us to specifically call on the (businesses) we need … to fill the gaps the citizens need,” he said.
Phil Thomas with the Enterprise Chamber of Commerce said analyses like these often identify “retail leakage,” a term used to describe where area residents’ dollars may be being spent, both by business type and town.
“We’ll look at the market and identify where we have additional needs, where the area’s being underserved and where people are spending their dollars out of town,” said Frank Thompson, Enterprise Coffee Geneva Economic Development Corporation executive director.
In addition to identifying weak areas, the study may spotlight areas where there may be a surplus of dollars being spent, Thomas said.
Studies like these are very important in business recruiting, Thomas said.
“The more information we have, the better. We have a lot of tools to recruit businesses, and this is one of them. It’s an important one,” he said.
Thompson said conducting an analysis allows economic leaders to take an objective, statistical approach to recruiting business.
“We all have our opinion on what we need, but it’s usually based on personal preferences or personal likes. A study like this brings into play the attitudes of the general population and the history of how money is spent,” he said. “Are there enough people of the same opinion (as you)?”
When businesses look at locating to an area, Thomas said they weigh several different factors before determining what area fits their industry best.
Sometimes businesses use the analysis to determine not to locate to the area, but Thomas does not fear that will happen often with Enterprise.
“The No.1 thing we’re able to show them is population growth. We had a 25.4 percent population growth – that’s a big plus,” he said.
In addition to placing statistical value on the market, the analysis measures demographics from a 25- to 30-mile area surrounding the city, Boswell said.
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