6A(2) Proposal for Professional Services

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I~u~,ton IDentifyingCustomers SOUt}1 Bend, 1N: CommunitylD Proposal 2. Evaluating South Bend's Retail Potential The purpose of the evaluation. phase is to understand what makes South Bend distinctive and valuable from a retailer's viewpoint and scrutiny. Our evaluations capitalize on Buxton's knowledge about the retail marketplace and the location requirements and expectations of retailers. Combining this knowledge with our economic development competencies allow us to evaluate and recommend proven community practices. Our evaluations do not rely on dated government research or national/state statistics, all of which fail to reflect local realities. Rather, we implement our real -world experience gained from working with municipalities that have opened more than 20 million square feet of new or expanded retail space. We know how to help South Bend sharpen your retail marketing strategy, aggressively market the city and improve your competitive performance. Retail Leakage/Supply Analysis The Retail Leakage/Supply Analysis provides an estimate of retail dol lars flowing in or out of the trade area. The two main components of this analysis are: 1) current sales (supply) by retail store type, in dollar amounts, and 2) estimated sales potential (demand) for retail store type, in dollar amounts. We first calculate a sales gap index that illustrates your ability to capture your residents' expenditures. An example of this index is shown in Figure 2. The sales gap index provides a relative comparison of leakage/surplus and an estimate of the dollars that a re being spent outside the trade area (leakage) and the amount of dollars coming in from outside the trade area (surplus). This report can be run via SCOUT at any location within the map view. 10