HUNTLEY — As residents may already be aware, at the April 28 Village Board meeting, trustees unanimously approved a $47,000 one-year contract with a retail recruitment firm called The Retail Coach.
The Retail Coach states that they are “the nation’s premier retail recruitment, market analysis, and development firm that will assist in creating a retail recruitment and development strategy that will help drive new business to Huntley.”
Having met with village staff in early May, The Retail Coach team’s first step in the business recruiting process will be to determine “Huntley’s Retail Area,” which is the boundary from which the village draws 80-85% of its primary consumers.
The firm will use cell phone analysis technology that will determine where consumers are coming from to eat and shop in Huntley.
Using this information, The Retail Coach team will then create retail market profile reports and other marketing materials to best represent the community to retailers, restaurants, and developers.
In addition, a “Retail Demand Outlook Analysis” will be developed to determine which dominant retail categories have the highest prospect for success in Huntley.
The Retail Coach will implement a retailer matching methodology to identify what retail brands best fit the community and then reach out to those prospects on Huntley’s behalf.
“We are thrilled to begin our partnership with The Retail Coach as we continue to build on the positive development momentum the Village of Huntley is experiencing,” said Mayor Tim Hoeft in a press release statement. “We look forward to their team introducing the Village to new retailers, restaurants, and developers that are a good fit for the Village. We are also excited for The Retail Coach to share insights and tools with our existing small businesses to support their continued success in the community.”
As part of the development and redevelopment strategy to recruit national and regional retailers to the community, The Retail Coach team also plans to work with existing property owners, brokers, and developers to identify sites and potential areas of opportunity.
“We’ll be paying close attention to that mix that coincides with and blends and melds well with your existing local businesses. We’re not trying to put anybody out of business,” Kelly Cofer, founder and CEO of The Retail Coach, told trustees at the April 28 Village Board meeting.
The Retail Coach is no stranger to assisting local communities, with the nearby Village of Carpentersville being a newer client of theirs. The firm has been in the process of helping several restaurants and retailers to locate within that community.
