Retail Incubator Models and Downtown Revitalization: Understanding the Options
Many corridors across the country struggle to retain and attract viable retailers. In the same way, establishing a retail business in a downtown corridor is a capital and knowledge intensive endeavor. This post introduces different retail incubator models and explores how they can bridge the gap between empty storefronts and aspiring entrepreneurs.
In fact,this type of retail incubator has been often established by property owners and developers to fill vacancies with innovative and creative retailers and generate interest in these properties and even in the neighborhoods they are located. For example, Shops @ MoDiv, a collection of tiny spaces housed in a historical building in downtown Grand Rapids was created Rockford Construction with the intent to incubate businesses that once established in the downtown facility will want to stay in the area and generate additional demand for other retail spaces downtown.
Rockford Construction decided to experiment with the retail incubator concept when the developer could not attract tenants to fill the first floor of a historic downtown building during the 2008 recession. Modeled after successful retail incubators in Ann Arbor and Portland, the developed created Shops @ MoDiv to be an innovative and flexible space mixing both start-ups and established retailers in an open and integrated floor-plan. The incubator contains ten retail spaces ranging from 100 to 1,000 square feet and leases range from six-months to five years. Tenants include boutiques, an apothecary that sells remedies and spices, artists selling their work, a bakery, and even a brewery.
- Eighteen months of subsidized rent, incrementally reduced from a maximum of 50% or up to $830 monthly
- Training in Merchandise Managements, Marketing, Human Resources, Financial Management and Customer Service
- Mentoring from a successful downtown business
- Attend all the training sessions
- Hire a bookkeeper or CPA approved by the program
- Provide sales, inventory and expense information to allow tracking of success
- Keep the business open for 6 days a week or 50 hours a week
Regardless of the model, a retail incubator can never completely eliminate the challenges of operating a business. Many stores open and many will close. There is not a single blueprint for downtown revitalization. But for corridors struggling to attract established retailers like national chains, the retail incubator model might be an option to bring vibrancy and economic activity to the area while providing opportunity for local entrepreneurs who already understand the characteristics and demand of the local market. As with any downtown revitalization initiative, having an organization with the capacity and commitment to lead the effort is a priority.
For further information and resources on business and retail incubators, check out the National Business Incubation Association (NBIA) website.
References:
National Business Incubation Association, Tips for Developers, www.2.nbia.org/resource_library/tips_dev.index.php
University of North Carolina Community and Economic Development Program Blog, Retail Incubators and Main Street Revitalization, ced.sog.unc.edu/retail-incubators-and-main-street-revitalization, August 2016
Downtown Idea Exchange, First store opens under retail incubation program enabled by state legislation, www.DowntownDevelopment.com, 2013
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