Minutes - Economic Development Authority - 11/09/2017

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Acting Chairperson Skaff confirmed the consensus of the EDA to authorize the Bolton & Menk Work Order, not to exceed $25,384 to complete concept designs and feasibility reports for all remaining public infrastructure needed in The COR. 4.04: Buxton Group, Review Available Services Economic Dev. Mgr/Assistant City Administrator Brama presented the staff report. Cody Gundstenson stated that he met with staff about one month ago and had some discussion with the City's challenges for retail development. He stated that he would like to highlight some of the new products and benefits that Buxton has gained since the group last crossed paths with the City ten years ago. He stated that Buxton comes from the retail world and has partnered with over 5,000 concepts, helping those companies grow their brand by adding new locations. He stated that within the private sector Buxton helps to create a data consumer driven story. He noted that Buxton has also partnered with 800 municipalities and provided examples of municipalities that have recently partnered with Buxton in the past five years that received a beneficial return on investment. He provided details on the retail recruitment and business retention element of the Buxton plan. He noted that they would not want to bring in new business that would harm the existing businesses. He stated that the first step in recruiting retail is to get beyond the demographics. He explained that Buxton provides a consumer driven approach, which is what a retailer wants to see, as demographics are only a small portion of the pie. He stated that retailers want to know where their core customers are working and living and that is why Buxton leads with a consumer driven story. He provided details on where Buxton gathers their.data on consumers, noting that they have a very unique partnership with the largest credit card provider in the world. He stated that he can then look at the household data to determine which brands the household members are purchasing. He stated that Buxton looks beyond the political boundaries and looks instead at a drive-time trade area. He stated that typically you would look at a ten to 15-minute trade area and provided a map of this area. He stated that Buxton can quantify the demographics and then take it several steps forward with the consumer driven story. He stated that Buxton would use the consumer profile added with the drive-time trade area and the retail market conditions to identify the strongest retail matches. He stated that in the past Buxton provided a much larger list of possible retailers, but has found instead that it benefits to focus on a smaller list of about 20 retailers that would be the best fit the community, fit the long-term strategy, and also fit the checklist for the individual retailer. He stated that a huge difference from the past partnership is that Buxton now has an implementation piece of the partnership. He stated that once the list of retailers is developed, Buxton would send out targeted information to the retailer, written in the retailer format. He stated that the Buxton names goes a long way in the retail world and with Buxton starting the outreach process, that shows the retailer that the City is retail friendly. He stated that this information helps retailers see similar markets where the retailer has been successful and that they can be successful in the Ramsey market. He stated that Ramsey would receive an outreach team of four to five individuals that would do the upfront data collection work and then begin the initial outreach process. He stated that the outreach team would then facilitate conversations and in-person site Economic Development Authority/November 9, 2017 • Page 4 of 8