News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
According to the city’s retail consultant, Livingston should see an increase in retail offerings in the near future.
Retail Coach Project Director Kyle Cofer said that Livingston has undergone changes in recent years that provide a good quality of life and make the area suitable for new businesses to join the area. Cofer said that Livingston has historically been overlooked by the national retail market.
“You’re already seeing it on the small business side, we still consider small businesses and downtowns as the heart and soul of a community,” Cofer said. “So, and we consider markets that are doing the best have a healthy mix of national, local, and regional brands, so we think we’re going to be successful in this market, we’re going to keep pushing, I think we’ve done a really good job so far.”
Cofer said there are over ten different companies his firm is working with, that are considering opening locations in Livingston. He said he refers to retail recruitment as a domino effect, meaning that when one retailer opens a location it encourages others to follow suit.
“Walmart, for example, is one that, you know, where there’s a Walmart you typically see a Sally Beauty Supply, you see other, you know, retailers as well,” Cofer said. “It’s almost like somewhat of a comfort zone for them.”
Cofer said one of the biggest things they are doing with their current prospects is working to find the space needed to generate the retail synergy brands are looking for. He said there is one shoe store that has expressed special interest in an area right off of West Main Street.
“They basically told us, ‘Look, you find us 4,500 to 7,000 square feet somewhere close to Factory Connection, we’re there,'” Cofer said. “So it kind of goes back to that point of ‘hey, where are we going to put these guys?'”
Cofer said his company has also been working with local business owners to help them improve their organizations.
“I think we’ve probably held four small business workshops over the course of this time period, and then also some individual drop-ins on some small business and had some follow-up and some specific data packages for those individual business,” Cofer said.
Cofer said he attended an International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) show in May where he spoke with many different retailers about coming to Livingston.
“I felt really good walking out, just the overall state of retail,” Cofer said. “Whether that’s restaurants, whether that’s clothing, a lot of what you hear and see online is doom and gloom, store closings. But a lot of these restaurants, a lot of these stores that are closing, they’re all – these brands are also opening stores as well.”
Cofer said the groups they are working with include two chicken concepts, two coffee concepts, a pizza concept, an auto parts dealer, a franchise-based sandwich concept, a shoe store, a 24-hour sit-down breakfast concept, a small-scale grocer, and a large-scale retailer.
