Bartlett leaders will vote at their Nov. 25 meeting whether to hire a high-powered consulting team to rev up the city’s retail growth over the next three years.
Lacey Beasley, vice president of business development for Birmingham-based Retail Strategies, presented how the process works at the Oct. 14 board work session.
Mayor Keith McDonald and Mark Brown, Bartlett’s chief administrative officer, have discussed over the past couple of years how to increase the city’s revenues without increasing property taxes, particularly to sustain and grow the new city school district.
The city’s funding for the school district comes from sales tax revenue. By law, the school funding amount drawn from sales taxes must equal at least 15 cents per $100 of properties’ assessed values.
Recruiting more retail businesses to Bartlett seemed like an obvious solution to raising more money, although it requires an upfront investment.
McDonald, Brown and board members considered consultants ranging in price from $94,000 to $170,000, and Beasley’s company stood head and shoulders above the rest with both local recommendations and feedback from members of the International Council of Shopping Centers.
Retail Strategies has proposed a three-year renewable program for a total of $94,000, Brown said.
If approved on Nov. 25, the company will do research, craft a strategic plan, and then work with the city to implement it.
The process takes about three months, including gathering local information, identifying comparable cities in the region and what businesses have flourished there, analyzing long-range trends in retail, and doing a boots-on-the-ground tour of Bartlett.
The outcomes include developing a commercial property catalog, generating a retail map showing zones of development and redevelopment, studying where retail dollars are leaving Bartlett, recommending the types of businesses to pursue, and generating a prospects list of retailers who are poised to enter the right markets.
The industry knowledge is key, Beasley said.
“These retailers are opening and closing on a quarterly basis. You really have to stay on top of these trends.”
She gave Family Dollar as an example of dramatic change just over a nine-month period, citing its January’s plans to open 500 new stores, April’s plans to close 370, July’s offer by Dollar Tree to buy the chain out, August’s similar offer by Dollar General, and Family Dollar’s subsequent rejection of the offers.
Retail Strategies could also advise existing property owners on maximizing their profits through development, attracting new retailers, and/or selling the properties, Beasley said.
Retail Strategies will provide marketing materials and an online central base to store reports and detailed notes.
The team also will use its contacts and put the word out about Bartlett at national and regional trade shows.
Editor’s note: The Bartlett mayor and board of aldermen also held the October business meeting on Oct. 14.
Written by Carolyn Bahm, Express editor. Contact her at (901) 433-9138 or via email to bartlett.editor@journalinc.com.
