Paris and Lamar County is larger than its governmental boundaries when looking through a retailer’s eyes.
Rickey Hayes, of Retail Attractions, LLC, said, “It’s a place with hundreds of square miles of consumers. The trade area includes all of the smaller communities that are in Southeastern Oklahoma and all of Northeast Texas.
“It’s a true micropolitan regional hub of retail economy.”
Contracting with the Paris Economic Development Corp., Hayes concluded a market analysis of the area in January and has since been in “recruiting mode.”
“The market is solid,” he said. “There are millions of retail dollars leaving Paris and going to other markets. People go to Dallas to shop and we want to keep those dollars here. That’s where our focus is.”
Hayes said when retailers conduct their own analysis of potential in the area, they don’t just look at the population of Paris, they include shoppers from Hugo, Antlers and Broken Bow in Oklahoma all the way to Sulphur Springs, Commerce and Clarksville in Texas.
“The retail market is many times larger than the city limits. The market analysis is a very powerful dynamic. I think we’re in the right place to get those dynamics to the right people,” he said.
Hayes, whose business is based in Owasso, Okla., a suburb of Tulsa, grew up in Paris and still has family in the area.
“My goal, when I came to the PEDC and presented our services, is to be a really long term partner with PEDC and Paris and Lamar County to really maximize the retail market for the city for the future,” he said.
Several other firms have conducted studies of the area and resented reports and suggestions. Hayes said his company continues to provide services beyond the market analysis.
“We’re data collectors, but we also bring a recruiting process in that has a proven history of access to a lot of other markets, many of them like Paris, even cities bigger than Paris in population. We also know that even in small and rural markets there is a great deal of demand by the national retailers and restaurants to secure a spot in those markets to maximize their revenue potential in a particular location,” he said.
Hayes uses the retail expansion he brought Owasso to show how effective his recruiting can be.
“We brought in 4.5 million feet of additional retail to a town that is smaller in population to Paris. All of the national restaurants and retail businesses. We have them all,” he said.
One step he is taking in his recruiting plan is to attend one of the largest retail conferences of the year in Las Vegas. He and PEDC executive director Steve Gilbert plan to advocate Paris and Lamar County at the conference in May.
“It’s put on by the International Conference of Shopping Centers, the ICSC,” Hayes said. “Every year all the retail entities from across the country show up, development people, brokers, show up for these three days. That’s where new deals are discussed and planned. Then they go back and do follow-up in individual markets.”
Hayes said his accomplishments in attracting national retailers to Owasso tie directly back to the ICSC conference.
“I told the board, if you really want to sell Paris, go with me to Las Vegas. That’s where the market place is. So Steve is going with me and I’ve already set meetings up,” Hayes said.
In the meantime, Hayes said he knows of several restaurants, groceries and other retailers interested in the area.
“I’ve already got retailers looking at Paris today,” Hayes said. “We have a couple development companies very interested in Paris. They’ll be taking a personal look for themselves and the possibilities there.”
Retailers across the board look for the same thing in every market, Hayes said.
“They look for the bottom line — can they make a profit. Is there a market for their goods and services. They look at the overall development philosophy of the area. Is it easy to do business there? Are they going to be welcomed? Will the realtors assist them with site selection?”
Gilbert said, “Rickey continues to promote Paris and look for opportunities based on the assessment we did with him. He continues to beat the bushes and drum up opportunities where we (PEDC) follow up with proposals and work the deals.”
Retail recruiting is a specialty, Hayes said. His focus differs from the PEDC’s in that group works the manufacturing, industrial and other technical, biotechnical and cutting edge aspects essential to the area. He takes those aspects and builds the retail presence on them.
“With the Fortune 500 companies Paris has in town, the industrial guys like Campbell Soup and Kimberly-Clark, those type people, there’s always going to be a need to include a niche retail presence in the city Paris just can’t get by on Walmart ” Hayes said.
Through defining the retail market and sales potential of the area, and taking that to attract national retailers and restaurants, cities will eventually reap new retail, new revenue and a new and improved quality of life.
Hayes stated on his website, retailattractions.com, "When well planned national retail comes to a community, the quality of life in that city goes up. Just as residential growth can bring retail growth, retail growth can generate residential growth. When corporate America decides to relocate jobs from one geographic area to another, I can assure you that the retail good and services offered and the overall quality of life in the prospective cities are at the top of the list of things considered when those decisions are made."
Hayes sees Paris as a city of a hill, with the potential in the area to make it a destination of choice for both residents and retailers. With his ties to the area beyond a simple contract, he said he has a strong interest in advancing the economic wellbeing of Paris and Lamar County.
"It's a really nice hill," he said. "We're going to enjoy a long term and prosperous relationship with Paris."