The Flossmoor Board of Trustees gave another 12-month contract extension to The Retail Coach at the May 5 board meeting. The annual cost is $27,500.
This will mark the village’s third year working with The Retail Coach. The company has been helping Flossmoor recruit retail businesses to the village including analyzing the village’s retail market, finding potential retail opportunities, branding and marketing.
Since the company started working with Flossmoor in 2023, the village has seen more than 50 retail leads through them along with business exposure on various retail sites and at trade shows, along with expanding online economic development with resources like Retail 360.
The Retail Coach plans to represent Flossmoor at the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) trade show in Las Vegas in late May to find interested parties for the Vollmer Road property including the lot on Crawford Avenue and Central Park next to the Meijers.
Village Manager Bridget Wachtel was joined by Aaron Farmer, president of The Retail Coach, in presenting the proposed contract renewal.
Farmer, who spoke via a Zoom link-up, said the partnership has been fruitful, and pointed to market analysis and representation in conferences with much hope for potential progress going forward.
“We realize as a team here … we need to be aggressive this year to get some of these new concepts and some new retailers and developers looking at Flossmoor,” Farmer said.
Trustee Kevin Dorsey inquired about the aggressive tactics Farmer was referring to and how it could result in return for the village.
By aggressive Farmer said they plan to be more persistent to get developers in town to see properties in Flossmoor.
“I think we’ve been aggressive this whole time, but I think just maybe taking a bit of a step forward, working to get these brokers and developers and also those “eatertainment” groups to town,” Farmer said, referring to businesses that combine dining with entertainment options.
Trustee George Lofton asked about the strategies taken to market Flossmoor and if the village lives up to The Retail Coach recruit’s business demographic.
Farmer assured that Flossmoor’s demographics stack up, and the main strategy is to get the right people to the properties. They will use their relationships with brokers and developers out of state to look at the village, while also finding the ones that fit the community.
Trustee Rosalind Mustafa wanted more details on genuine prospects, asking if developers are still prospects or just in the consideration stage.
Farmer said they are expecting to potentially receive proposals from developers in the next few months along with plans to meet several in Las Vegas in the next several weeks.
“I do feel like we’ve been able to target the right users, the right developers … to distinguish the tire kickers from the real prospects there,” Farmer said. “I think the next two months to three months will probably be very critical in this process.”
Trustee Carolyn Rodgers inquired what Farmer saw that could stop developers from committing to Flossmoor and asked what actions the village could take.
The main challenges the village runs in to are the neighboring competitions with towns 30 to 50 miles out of Flossmoor, and store spacing, Farmer said.
Daggett thanked Farmer for his efforts noting working in a commercial market takes a lot of work over extended periods. Daggett said as time progresses more concrete progress will be needed to continue the partnership with Flossmoor.
Farmer assured Daggett that all retailers and developers that have looked into Flossmoor are kept track of along with feedback. He can share with the board why the businesses did not come to Flossmoor.
