Don't forget, the Madville Times poll on local retail needs is open for your vote until breakfast time tomorrow. Madison shoppers, whether you live here or drive here, if you haven't posted your vote, do so now! Tell your friends and shopping pals, get those votes in!
We'll discuss the results tomorrow and forward the results to our Chamber and the ever-diligent LAIC.
I vote for somewhere to get a steak that isn't a bar. Somewhere nice enough to propose to your future wife, take your parents after graduation, host your wedding dinner, give a gift card to your favorite professor. Nice--not pizza or bar food.
ReplyDeleteIn general, if you want nice places to go, own a good car. I remain shocked by how many people continue to tell me they don't shop Madison because there's nothing here or we aren't competitive. I just bought a foreign car from another state to encourage getting necessities elsewhere. We have to consider ourselves part of a regional area because Madison is unable to stand on its own. Rather than failure its acceptance we can succeed by being part of Brookings and Sioux Falls and all the underlying communities.
ReplyDeleteCory,
ReplyDeleteWhy forward the results to the Chamber and LAIC. These are central think tanks and part of the fascist corporate socialism. Why not take the the results and start a business of your own? Do something yourself instead of waiting for government and their private sector big business partners to do it.
Retail is a funny thing. To be strong, you don't need just one store - you need two of the same. Notice that the two big bike dealerships in Sioux Falls are built next to each other. They both benefit.
ReplyDeleteSiouxland, that's an admirable goal, but the reality around here is that you need a bar to keep a steakhouse in business.
ReplyDeleteMy mom, who has worked in steakhouses and bars for thirty-plus years, put it to me like this... "You break even with your food sales; you make your money in the bar."
Case-in-Point... Before Tom Herding bought the Old Dutch Inn in Dell Rapids, a couple from out East owned it. They did what you had suggested: less emphasis on the bar and more on the food. Now the food was very good, but for a lot of the regular clientele, they didn't like the fact the bar closed at 10:00 along with the restaurant. As a result, they stopped going and business dropped.
Now I'm sure that places like Sioux Falls and Rapid City would have the population base to support such a place. But as for places like Madison, Brookings, Huron and the like, I just don't see it happening.
Our Retail Leakage is really Retail Hemorrhage, and it's a trend that started decades ago as Sioux Falls and Brookings grew and Madison stagnated. Our population has remained steady at about 6500 people. When a portion of those 6500 folks started working and doing their retail spending in Sioux Falls, we started losing stores in Madison. Simple math.
ReplyDeleteThe slices of the retail pie keep getting smaller. Even a new grocery store may not help. Expanding our current store and making sure there is inventory on the shelves would encourage more local shoppers. Big retail (Walmart, Sam's Club, HyVee) has obviously hurt Madison because of their buying power and pricing. We won't ever see growth again in retail, but we will see additional service jobs added in Madison.
I agree with JohnSD that we have quickly become a bedroom community of Sioux Falls and Brookings due to economic need, and the key to our future success is to partner with surrounding larger communities and their employers/industries. If our unemployed are going to find jobs at home it will be because Citi, Wells Fargo, eSurance, Daktronics, First Premier Bank, Persona and others need additional employees that their own towns can't provide and they come to Madison to set up additional satellite locations to fill the needs.
We need to market within 200 miles of Madison for industry expansion or services our people can provide to supplement existing companies, such as call centers, small manufacturing and fulfillment operations. We can still remain vibrant, but we have to see ourselves in a different light of reality.
"Big retail (Walmart, Sam's Club, HyVee) has obviously hurt Madison because of their buying power and pricing."
ReplyDeleteThe lesson here is that big government fosters the growth of big business at the expense of small business, consumers, and the taxpayers. By limiting government and allowing a true free market to exist, we can fix that problem. And that is why I propose Cory use his data to start his own business instead of turning it over to the corporate socialists that foster big business.
Um, Steve, the data are already on the Internet (a great socialist endeavor itself!). It's available to everyone. I'm just going to send our Chamber and LAIC an e-mail to remind them it's available... and to remind them they can get data like this for free from locals instead of paying out-of-state consultants to conduct proprietary studies.
ReplyDeleteCory,
ReplyDeleteYes I know. You have not answered my question. Why not start a business yourself, instead of waiting for the corporate socialists to do it?
First of all, there are actually 6 stores that sell a line of groceries commercially ----- Sunshine, Pamida, Lewis, and the three dollar stores. Second, the owner of Sunshine gives often to this community, and he lives in Madison. In contrast, the owners of Walmart (although philanthropic) are not living in this community and, in turn, do not really care about this "small piece of pie." If any truly capitalistic company could actually make a profit in this town, don't you also believe that someone else would actually be here? Fourth, don't think that a Walmart is automatically cheaper. With their "lead" items they probably are because they are so big nation-wide, but with some items they actually are not. What makes Sunshine a little competitive is the presence other stores in other communities, such as bigger market SF, Brookings, or Watertown. Having Walmart here might make Sunshine more competitive ----- but at what expense? Buying locally may cost more, but it better to support our own than to support somebody living in Arkansas? And wouldn't it cost employees or businesses such as Pamida, Lewis, or numerous stores downtown? Pipestone (community like Madison) used to support two grocery stores, but now only has one. They found that they were unable to support two. If you really believe that we need another grocery store, then why don't you start a grocery store and become "rich." Sunshine runs a good store in a competitive market, and survives in and supports our community. Groceries is not an area that necessarily needs changing.
ReplyDeleteDan Bohl, Madison
Dan,
ReplyDeleteI've asked at least 30 people how they feel about our grocery store. Only one feels satisfied (she can't drive in SF). Even if they shop here now, like I do, people have come to expect more (wide aisles, big deli, low prices, nice environment). If it makes sense to buy here, people will, but it's a real shame so much of the time there is a compelling reason to go elsewhere. We don't have a free market economy. Businesses have come to expect incentives, (like James River, Rosebud, & Randy Schaefer), so our economic development efforts (our money) shapes the community. If we want to keep dollars here and attract new people, it takes creating the kind of community people want to live (and shop). That kind of information shouldn't be discounted or discarded. The LAIC should work to bring the businesses we need (not just employers) and no one should protect those that aren't meeting our needs. If Sunshine really cared about doing that they would enlarge their grocery selections or create a new deli/bakery rather than give us another liquor store.
I guess a store sells what it can or is allowed to sell. What they sell is only determined by what we buy --- smart business. The "30" persons that are dissatisfied are dissatisfied with what? I'm sure if enough people were dissatisfied things would then change because a store can't sell to dissatisfied customers. They must satisfy enough people or the store still wouldn't be in business. Simple economics ------ the store must give the public what the public wants to make money ------period.
ReplyDeleteDan Bohl
Dan,
ReplyDeletePeople shop at Sunshine because it's the only thing here, which makes most of your statements true, but that doesn't mean Sunshine is the magnet a good store could be. Imagine something really nice across from Prostrollo. People coming from Howard, Flandreau, even Brookings if the prices were right. I encourage you to do your own friendship poll and see what they say. Until we have something better, people are gonna drive, which holds our community back.
Dan, I just drove through Pipestone two weeks ago and they still have two grocery stores open at that time. So, Unless one closed in the last two weeks you are off on that point. Plus, Pipestone has about half the population of Madison when you factor in the DSU students....
ReplyDeletematthew m. siedschlaw
Some Madison residents always feel that everybody has it better than we do. I'll agree ------ some do, but I can name many other towns that have it the same and survive just fine. Matthew, sorry I was wrong, but that only shows that some citizen had sufficient guts and started a new store because Pipestone used to have only one. I'm sure Sunsine would welcome the competition, but none is appearing at the present time. Also, Brookings, I think, only has two grocery stores (about double the size of Madison) and Dell Rapids only has one (only slightly smaller than Madison). Put your money where your mouth is.
ReplyDeleteDan Bohl