Retail Recruitment Company Discusses Opportunities in Hermiston

The Hermiston City Council learned on Monday that five national retailers have expressed interest in locating a store in Hermiston.

That news was part of a retail opportunities update provided at Monday’s council work session by Brooke Hill and John Mark Boozer of Retail Strategies, a company specializing in national retail recruitment.

The five companies, who were not named, are in various stages in the long process of determining whether to expand. They include a grocery user that is in the market review phase, as well as an outdoor retailer, a cellular provider, and a fast, casual chicken restaurant that are currently reviewing possible sites, and a quick-service Mexican restaurant that is in the negotiation phase on a site.

Boozer said all five have “larger footprints across the nation.”

City Manager Byron Smith said the city has been working with Retail Strategies for several years. The company represents about 180 cities across 40 states. Hill and Boozer personally represent 18 clients, including Hermiston, across four states.

Retail Strategies helped recruit Sherwin-Williams when Payless Shoe Source closed in Hermiston. It also recruited Panda Express, Marshalls and Grocery Outlet to Hermiston.

Hill said she and Boozer visit Hermiston annually and look at the city’s retail assets, what retail businesses currently exist, and what opportunities for recruitment are available. The company also represents Hermiston at trade shows throughout the year and promote viable sites in Hermiston to national retailers.

But just because a company shows interest in locating in Hermiston doesn’t mean it will happen any time soon

“Retail is a slow game,” Hill said. Boozer added it typically takes up to three years from the time a company begins considering expanding to it actually opening a new store.

Among the factors retailers look at is population. The Hermiston population is 20,322, but that’s not how retailers look at it, Hill said. Retailers use radius rings among other factors. Within a 3-mile radius of Hermiston, there is a population of 24,800. Within 5 miles, the population is 31,677 and that increases to 40,243 when the radius is expanded to 10 miles.

Mayor Dave Drotzmann asked about expanding the retail radius to make Hermiston more attractive to retailers. Drotzmann owns Lifetime Vision Source and said he has patients that drive an hour to see him. Hermiston residents routinely drive out of town to shop in the Tri-Cities about 30-40 miles away.

“Rural folk are used to driving for services, especially retail services,” he said.

“Retailers know how many miles out they can go and five, 10 to 15 is the most common mileage that national retailers that we talk to look for,” said Hill. She added that the company does have local data for a larger retail radius if companies ask for it.

Hill said there is an opportunity gap in Hermiston with more people purchasing items outside the defined Hermiston trade area than inside. Nearly $1.26 million is spent outside Hermiston by local residents, she said.

“That is money leaving Hermiston that could be captured if there were other retailers in the (local) market,” Hill said.

During its partnership with the city of Hermiston, Retail Strategies has conducted outreach to more than 50 retail prospects including specialty grocers, clothing and footwear stores, sit-down restaurants, pet stores, home furnishing stores and more.

Boozer said Hermiston has assets that are attractive to retailers such as the number of jobs from data centers that are being filled along with plans for future housing developments.

Boozer said the barriers they encounter from national retailers are site specific.

“The right size is not available, or a property owner is not ready to work a deal,” he said. “It could be vehicles per day – there’s not enough traffic. Some retailers have pretty insane requirements. It could be household income or population. But these are the barriers everyone is facing across the nation.”