The onset of tightened consumer spending in 2008 provided Clovis, Calif., (population 95,128) city leaders focusing on business development with a handsome challenge. To help push their development in the right direction Clovis designed a campaign to encourage area consumers to shop local.

In December of 2008 Clovis put on “Big Wins Day,” a one-day, city-wide promotion that was implemented to encourage people to spend money in the city. For every $10 spent in the Clovis area, customers received one raffle ticket for a chance to win a variety of prizes, including free gas, a computer, flat screen TVs. The goal, set by the city, was to get 100,000 shoppers to spend at least $10, pumping $1,000,000 into the local economy. The event created an enjoyable, exciting day for families and the surrounding community. Clovis recognized that consumers are more likely to shop local if there is a direct benefit to them. Record numbers for retailers and restaurateurs proved that community spirit and planning could lead to stimulation even in hard times.

The success and adaptability of Big Wins Day gained Clovis national exposure among other community leaders seeking similar results in their own towns. In October 2009, the International Economic Development Council awarded the campaign for best economic development promotion, being one of the first municipalities to use a rewards system in a city-wide promotion.

The Path To Retail

Since 2004, Buxton has worked with Clovis to help the City realize what retailers would be successful in their trade area, and to help stop retail leakage to neighboring Fresno.

“We like to call Buxton the ‘Match.com’ of retail recruitment,” said Shawn Miller, business development manager for the City of Clovis. “We view the Buxton data as our ‘jumping off’ point for our retail recruitment efforts. It really was our starting point – we got a real life view of what our community looks like to retailers.”

Trade Area Challenges

One of the biggest challenges the City of Clovis faces is its close proximity to Fresno.

“We are located 15 minutes from Fresno, so while we’ve done a good job educating retailers on our city’s trade area, we’ve seen quite a few of them end up choosing Fresno instead of Clovis,” said Miller.

Trader Joe’s continually told the City they couldn’t open a location in Clovis due to the proximity to its existing location in Fresno.

“Our citizens were extremely unhappy when they learned about the Trader Joe’s situation,” explained Miller. “In fact, they wrote the company numerous letters and eventually, Trader Joe’s listened and opened a location in Clovis. This was a huge win for our city.”

Continuing Business Development

While retail spending continues to increase slightly, the city staff continues to help its local businesses in unique ways.  Another business retention tactic the City uses are site visits.

“We conduct approximately 9 site visits per week,” said Miller. “City staff members visit with individual business operator/managers to hear the unique challenges they are facing on a day-to-day basis.”

The city staff member will ask a series of questions to benchmark how the company is faring. Questions include how business is going in general, how the businesses are doing from an operations standpoint, and from there the city staff members strategize how to better position these local businesses in the market place. They also look for statewide funding or federal funding on the business’ behalf.

The City of Clovis has successfully recruited a Kohl’s that will open in November of this year. They continue to be a great example of the way cities should partner with their local businesses to be successful.

View the January 2010 Community Matters Newsletter