Attracting businesses that succeed

Firm offers snapshot of city to lure retailers

Tuesday, August 7, 2007

By RON JENSEN

The Register-Mail

GALESBURG - The city of Galesburg could have a detailed snapshot of its citizens' lifestyles - what they buy, what they read, hobbies, where they vacation - to help it attract retail businesses that match the people spending money.

Matthew P. Montgomery, assistant vice president with Buxton, a firm based in Forth Worth, Texas, told aldermen and the mayor how his company can take the guesswork out of choosing the retailers that will succeed in Galesburg.

"An income bracket is one thing," he said during a work session for aldermen Monday evening before the City Council meeting. "But that doesn't tell me how that income is being spent."

Buxton buys information from more than 250 data providers to gather a picture of the retail wants and desires of the buying public. From credit card and debit card usage, for example, they can determine the divergent lifestyles of two households with the same income, but different tastes.

"We buy data on the household level on everyone in this country," Montgomery said in his 30-minute presentation.

The company has worked with more than 300 cities, some as large as Atlanta and other towns as small as Watertown, S.D.

The council may consider using a company like Buxton to help the city bring retailers to the city to plug the "leakage" of purchasing dollars to other cities like Peoria and Moline. The possibility of hiring such a company may be discussed at a future meeting.

"We're losing too many tax dollars," said Karen Lafferty, Ward 5, expressing interest in Buxton's abilities.

The company works with both cities and retailers, including restaurants, to put the businesses in the areas where they most likely will prosper.

City Manager Dane Bragg said most national companies have established themselves in "top tier" cities and are now searching for "second tier" cities.

"They're starting to look at a lot of markets like Galesburg," he said.

Montgomery said retailers must open new stores to grow so they are always on the lookout for new places.

"You're not just competing against cities just in Illinois or this region," he said. "You're competing nationally."

Buxton will not do the recruitment of the businesses. Instead, it hands over the data it collects to the city and encourages the city to put it to use.

"It's information that's publicly available," he said. "We simply buy it and allow you to use it and leverage it."

He said any research will include the entire area, not just the city of Galesburg.

"I don't care about your city limits," he said. "We're going to look at your trade area."

Within 60 days, he said, Galesburg could be armed with the detailed information it needs to prove to retailers selling everything from clothing to transmissions to lasagna that Galesburg is a place for them to succeed.