The Retail Coach congratulates our client community, Clinton, MS, upon its success in recruiting Continental Tire.
This global leader will remain in production for 100 years, ensuring economic growth in the City and region across all sectors including retail, industrial, residential, and commercial development.
So how did Clinton, Mississippi, and Hinds County land this giant?
With preparedness, patience, and teamwork.
“Always move to preparedness,” said Clinton Mayor Phil Fisher. “This means having a plan where your City needs to go, and executing the plan. A City cannot start from scratch when the business shows up. Begin now to build relationships with key stakeholders.”
Leading up to the recruitment process, the City of Clinton rebranded its image; created a new website; began restoring historic areas of the city; and added 24 new police officers.
“A unified citywide team worked together in anticipation of a bright future and that one day, someone would take notice of Clinton,” said Mayor Fisher.
The Retail Component
The City of Clinton’s preparation for growth also included launching a retail recruitment initiative in 2014.
The project enabled the City to identify its true potential by determining its Retail Trade Area population (which is typically far greater than the community population) and the retail sectors experiencing leakage to surrounding communities as citizens left Clinton to shop or dine.
The research answered the questions retailer site selectors typically ask when evaluating new locations. But, add the game-changing prospect of Continental Tire in town, and Clinton’s appeal to regional and national brands would soar. If that information could be made available.
“When dealing with international companies, non-disclosure agreements prevent talking to other potential projects, including retailers,” said Scott Emison, Director- Retail Strategy for The Retail Coach. “While the desire to hint or share tidbits of information of what was underway existed, nobody involved could breach confidentiality.”
“You must outweigh the long term benefits and goals over short term gain and forego instant gratification of landing that popular restaurant or store,” added Mayor Fisher.
Now that the news is public, interest in the retail industry has been far reaching. In fact, Mayor Fisher will represent the City and county at the International Council of Shopping Centers’ RECon Conference in Las Vegas in May. The event is the largest gathering of the retail real industry in the world.
“This is another example of how preparedness now enables us to capitalize on our position as a major hub in Mississippi for growth across all industry sectors,” said Mayor Fisher.
“We’re very excited about the additional business our existing retailers can expect, the new retailers we expect to welcome, and the expanded sales and property tax that will benefit all residents of Clinton and Hinds County.”