Study shows retail gaps in Hays
By GAYLE WEBER
A second study of the retail market in Ellis County shows some changes to the potential retail matches available for the area.
ROIC Analytics, an Idaho-based consulting firm, completed the first study in October 2008 and the second last month.
The latest report gives more details area developers can use to attract new businesses, according to Mike Michaelis, director of the Ellis County Coalition for Economic Development.
"The core of what we're doing this for is to say who should be here and who shouldn't be," Michaelis said.
According to the report, a retail gap exists in areas such as department, grocery and clothing stores. However, the county has a surplus of fuel and convenience stores, furniture stores, and lawn and garden distributors.
"General merchandise, drug stores, grocery stores and department stores are in particular high demand," Michaelis said. "People are spending their money somewhere else to get what they need out of those."
Potential retail matches to fill those gaps include Schweser's, women's clothing store located in many small markets; Herberger's, a department store that appeared on the last report; and Ray's Apple Market, a regional chain of grocery stores.
The report also says Dillons, which has two locations in Hays, could expand to meet the apparent needs of the community.
"If Dillons wants to expand, that's great," Michaelis said. "To bring in a Hy-Vee or an Aldi's, that's a tough sell."
The report, available on the coalition's Web site, www.haysamerica.net, also says the Ellis County market area has plenty of full-service restaurants.
"The public will argue (that)," Michaelis said. "I also don't think that actually takes into consideration the pull factor of interstate traffic, the events that go on in town, the university. Those things may be impossible to factor in."
Restaurants listed as retail matches in the report include Perkins, Sirloin Stockade and Western Sizzlin.
At this point, Michaelis said he is not going to be actively recruiting the businesses listed as matches in the report.
"My board has decided that this year they don't really want me to recruit retail as much, unless I've already got an established relationship with somebody that we were working on before," Michaelis said.
Instead, he'll be trying to help developers understand the report so they can try to attract those businesses to use available buildings and land in the county.
"There's not a lot of stores expanding," Michaelis said. "It makes it that much more difficult for a landlord."
Michaelis said there's not much retail interest in Ellis County right now, and that could be the case for a few more years.
"It's much better if somebody fills a niche by expanding than trying to get somebody new in, but that doesn't excite everyone," Michaelis said.