Nuance in retail development

When I first started working in commercial district revitalization as a committed active resident, I have to admit, I was pretty green and in fact, I still learn every day. Back then, I was all about independently owned stores, now, I understand and appreciate the value of selective inclusion of specific types of nationally known chain stores into comprehensive plans for the revitalization of traditional (neighborhood and downtown) commercial districts.

My criticism of DC's focus on the attraction primarily of retail chain stores over the past 10 years or so was over the fact that it hasn't been all that nuanced and there hasn't been a lot of support simultaneously for independent stores, despite all the talk, even the creation of the Main Streets program, and all the blather from Councilmember Kwame Brown.

And in fact, this is the area where my own consulting activities are moving towards, the creation of specific and focused retail entrepreneurship development programs for traditional commercial districts.

But in doing the assessment reports for commercial districts, to set the stage for the entrepreneurship development programs, it's not uncommon for us to recommend the development of retail attraction programs for specific chain stores in specific niches, as part of the overall retail development strategy, to strengthen certain destination qualities.

Why chains?

1. National brands serve as anchors, have national advertising programs (which can include catalog, other direct mail, and Internet operations) which both drive customers to a commercial district and provide a kind of sanction/positive imprimatur for your commercial district.

2. People need choice and depth in retail to support their choosing one retail district over another.

The Reilly Law of Retail Gravitation is a mathematical formula about this, but it can be summarized pretty simply: transportation costs being equal, people choose to shop in the place with more and better stores.

This entry is in response to the Washington Business Journal story "On U Street, a national chain creates a firestorm," which discusses opposition to the opening of a Room & Board furniture store in the 14th and U Street area.

I think attracting such a brand to that area is a good thing, although there are some negative potential impacts on rents, etc., but it does help anchor a commercial district, and that area needs more anchors to generate more frequent shopper visits. (Disclosure: there is a commercial district where I specifically mentioned Room & Board as an ideal target for their retail attraction program, to complement a parallel program on developing independent businesses.)