RETAIL STRATEGIES GIVES OTTUMWA A SEAT AT THE TABLE
Ottumwa faces an uphill battle to bring retailers and other new businesses to the city , one that Greater Ottumwa Partners in Progress is tackling through a unique initiative they call “ Retail Strategies .”
Funded by the City of Ottumwa and the Legacy Foundation , and quarterbacked by GOPIP , Retail Strategies is a marketing and outreach initiative aimed at getting businesses to take a look at Ottumwa as spots for investment . According to GOPIP Executive Director Marc Roe , these efforts have primarily been focused around Quincy Plaza , the Quincy Place Mall and the Old Target Box .
“ And the reason that it ’ s the focus is that number one , that ’ s where most of the retail is in Ottumwa , and by virtue of that , that ’ s where our highest concentration of traffic flow in the community is ,” Roe said . “ So that ’ s where the retailers want to be .”
Retail Strategies kicked off in 2022 as the city struggled to reach out to , and get noticed by , major retailers — in particular as they got edged out by major metro areas like Chicago , Des Moines , Atlanta and Dallas . By teaming up with GOPIP and the Legacy Foundation , Ottumwa has been able to draw attention to itself and get people talking .
“ The city for years has been trying to loosely get businesses into the community , but it ’ s always fallen short . And most of the time , it ’ s because the City of Ottumwa hasn ’ t had the access , whereas these folks do ,” Roe said . “ So it ’ s given us the opportunity to get Ottumwa ’ s name in the conversation , along with Mobile , Alabama , or Atlanta … or whatever . Hey , Ottumwa exists and we have space available , so why don ’ t you consider this area ?”
One of the primary ways that Retail Strategies is getting people to look at Ottumwa is by finding a seat at the table for retail conventions where these businesses congregate , something they were unable to do in the past . While there , they ’ ve been able to market Ottumwa and the opportunities that are present there .
Roe said it ’ s impossible to compete with the major metros , but they are able to edge out comparable markets like Mason City . Meanwhile , their goal isn ’ t to be Des Moines or Chicago , but to redirect some of those dollars from going into Des Moines and
instead finding their way into Ottumwa .
“ I think that we ’ re competing with every city in the country . That ’ s , I think the simple takeaway , is we are competing with everybody . We ’ re not a community like Des Moines or Chicago , where everybody wants to be here . We have to fight for that attention , and this company helps us do that .
“ We have a lot of leakage here that ’ s going to the metro markets , and every dollar that we can keep local , we want to keep local .”
And the efforts of Retail Strategies are starting to pay off , with both T . J . Maxx and Five Below opening up in the Quincy District . Previous negotiations had been fruitless for GOPIP , but Roe said that Retail Strategies was able to push them over the finish line . This in turn has drawn more attention to Ottumwa , resulting in more potential retailers coming in down the line .
“ T . J . Maxx may not have come to fruition . I had been in communication with Five Below prior to Retail Strategies ,” Roe said . “ However , we had not seen any development on that and had it not been for Retail Strategies , we would have not seen Five Below come to Ottumwa — at least not when they did .”
Over time , members of GOPIP , the Legacy Foundation and the City of Ottumwa hope their partnership will move Ottumwa to a new future , where the outlets for economy are more diversified and accessible .
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SO IT ’ S GIVEN US THE OPPORTUNITY TO GET OTTUMWA ’ S NAME IN THE CONVERSATION , ALONG WITH MOBILE , ALABAMA , OR ATLANTA … OR WHATEVER . HEY , OTTUMWA EXISTS AND WE HAVE SPACE AVAILABLE , SO WHY DON ’ T YOU CONSIDER THIS AREA ?”
As Roe puts it , there was a lot of good in the heyday of Ottumwa before the closing of the Hormel Foods plant , but Ottumwa needs to look not to then , but to the future to ensure a lasting success .
“ There were a lot of great things about the economy in the 80s and 90s in Ottumwa , but there were a lot of bad things , too . People just don ’ t tend to remember the bad things . They tend to remember the good things . So while there was a lot of good here , I think it ’ s in the past for a reason , and it just doesn ’ t marry up to the current socioeconomic condition of the community .”
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