Albert Lea Focuses on Bringing New Businesses to Town
ABC 6 News, December 21, 2018
(ABC 6 News) — For years, community members in Albert Lea have asked city leaders to bring more shopping and employment options to town. Now, the city is sharing preliminary results of a new initiative designed to do just that.
Six months ago, the city began working with Alabama-based Retail Strategies to more effectively market Albert Lea to retailers and others, City Manager Chad Adams said.
Chad Adams
“Then we started to see some businesses closing, so we felt a little bit more of an urgency to contract with a company like this to actually go out and recruit retailers.”
In the time since, Retail Strategies has talked with 22 businesses, five of which are actively considering setting up shop in Albert Lea, Adams said.
“We’re getting some good feedback from some of those direct conversations and connections between Retail Strategies and retailers that there’s an interest to be in Albert Lea, so now it’s just a matter of trying to keep things moving forward,” he said.
The city’s most recent citizen survey shows just 18 percent of respondents feel positive about the city’s shopping options. Hiring the consultant is one way the city is hoping to boost that number.
Retail Strategies is thrilled to have partnered with Albert Lea, Minnesota. Working with a city who is proactively recruiting retail increases the quality of life in a community while raising tax revenue and providing jobs.
Albert Lea City Site
