The Brownwood Economic Development Corporation (BEDC) unanimously approved their participation in a partnership with the City of Brownwood and the Brownwood Area Chamber of Commerce to hire the retail consulting firm, The Retail Coach.
Board members of the BEDC heard a short presentation from Brownwood Mayor Stephen Haynes who recounted a presentation made by The Retail Coach last week in a joint meeting between the three organizations. Haynes outlined the plan presented by The Retail Coach for retail recruitment, and stressed why he thought this was an important step in local economic development.
“I think what we lacked in the past in regard to the recruitment of retail is a lack of specific focus,” Haynes said. “We waited for the retail to come to us and then tried to meet their needs opposed to being somewhat proactive, going out and trying to recruit the retailers. Honestly, in everything I have read and looked at, and all the things the retail advisory committee has looked at, that was the way of the world 15 years ago, but the way of the world now is that retail has become a very competitive business.”
The city’s Retail Advisory Committee has been researching the benefits, costs, and success rates of hiring a retail consultant for the city in recent months. After meeting with and researching several consulting firms, the committee voted to recommend the hiring of The Retail Coach as a retail consultant for Brownwood at a cost of $45,000. The committee recommended that this cost be split three ways by the City of Brownwood, the Brownwood Economic Development Corporation, and the Brownwood Area Chamber of Commerce.
BEDC Board President Gary Butts read a memorandum from Brownwood City Attorney Pat Chesser stating that the BEDC could legally fund this portion for hiring The Retail Coach through its promotions budget based on the local government code and other similar cases.
“Obviously, if we create new retail establishments here we will be creating new jobs,” Butts said. “So, that is another aspect of what makes this very popular.”
The BEDC is the first organization to agree to pay a third of the fee for the retail consultant’s services. The Brownwood Chamber board and Brownwood City Council each meet early next week to vote whether they will participate in the partnership as recommended by the committee.
The Retail Coach offers a seven-step process to recruit new retail to the area and offer support services to existing businesses. They services will include a market analysis, community analytics, consumer analytics, community marketing, retailer matching, retail recruitment, and retail coaching.
