Revitalization forces downtown merchants to cope

Retail is tough. Retail in the typical suburban downtown is tougher. And retail during downtown revitalization is - well, certainly not easy but maybe not quite as bad as the doomsayers say.

That's what conversations with retailers in downtown Elgin and St. Charles, two suburbs well into long-term downtown revitalizations, indicate. Make no mistake, however: Businesses are struggling in both downtowns.

Even so, what at least some downtown retailers are doing to cope is instructive. Prospering during downtown revitalization isn't likely, but surviving is possible.

We start with Elgin.

Joe Follrath and Suzette Pfaff co-own the Quiznos on Douglas Ave. in downtown Elgin. They're scared.

"We're not directly in the construction zone yet, but our customers are, and it's already a struggle," says Follrath. "Customers say it's too hard (for them) to get out the door, and that's certainly had a negative effect on our business."

Walk-ins account for as much as 95 percent of the store's business. "We're scared about what will happen (in 2008) when our street is torn up," Follrath says.

Follrath and Pfaff aren't sitting still, however. "We're always doing marketing," Follrath says. "We go out and solicit business. We go to events. We deliver (large enough orders) - when we can get down the streets." The two also hope to expand their catering business, which is "helping us hold our own."

Down the street, Patricia Keeney, manager of Keeney's Sporting Goods and PK Antiques & Collectibles, is moderately less concerned. She notices, for example, that customers have adapted. "A lot of people come in after three, when the construction work is done," Keeney says.

Nonetheless, Keeney has added web site advertising to her otherwise small promotional arsenal: She participates in a Downtown Neighborhood Association of Elgin web ad on the Daily Herald's Elgin page.

She also has history on her side: Keeney's family has owned downtown Elgin businesses since 1883. "It doesn't pay to let the construction upset you," she says.

Tom Brockner has "construction all around" the Tom's Auto Clinic he and his wife Janice own on Prairie St. in southern downtown. Brockner also has an additional challenge: Cars simply don't need trips to places like Tom's as often as they once did.

Brockner started to change his marketing approach when he joined an Auto Value Bumper-to-Bumper industry focus group in 1998. "It's changed me from an old style garage that relied on walk-in business to one with more of a market focus," Brockner says. Now, he continues, "We try to touch our customers nine, 10, 11 times a year" with such initiatives as thank you notes and personal phone calls, and "We do a lot more networking."

With a head marketing start, Brockner is relatively happy that "We've kept the (revenue) plateau" since revitalization ground was broken in '04.

Next week, St. Charles.

JKendall@121MarketingResources.com.

© 2007, 121 Marketing Resources Inc.