I like good ideas that have a decent chance of working but this ain’t one of ’em. “Let’s talk” about it…
Thursday, Danville’s Economic Development office sent out this press release…
The Office of Economic Development asks citizens of Danville, Pittsylvania County, and surrounding localities to sign a petition to help recruit a specialty grocery store to Danville.
“A similar process has worked in other localities,” said Corrie Teague, project manager for the Office of Economic Development. “We are constantly making connections and seeking new ways to market Danville. We’ve been advised to show a need from the citizens and highlight the local produce we have to offer.”
The completed petition will be one component of a marketing package that will be sent to key people in at least a dozen different grocery companies. The marketing will also include a map of local farmers, ranchers, growers, and producers of various agricultural products and artisan foods throughout the region. These individuals will also benefit from an increase in sales and the grocer would benefit from lower handling and transportation costs.
“We have found hundreds of products within a three hours’ drive of Danville ,” said Teague. “It’s a win-win scenario for all parties involved. A specialty grocery store would bring more jobs and tax revenue to the city of Danville, provide additional healthy grocery options that everyone in the region could enjoy, and our local producers would benefit.”
The deadline to sign the petition is February 19. You may find it at http://ow.ly/teYQM or by visiting www.discoverdanville.com and clicking on “Grocery Petition” in the left link menu.
Let’s get one thing now, I’m not faulting the Economic Development office for trying (yet again) to lure a “specialty grocery store” to Danville. That’s part of their job. That being said, this is not going to work… not in the way that they want it to. Let’s go to a Big Board Of Random Thoughts why…
- Danville doesn’t have the economic demographics to even come close to the big boys’ requirements for consideration. Windsor Heights, Forest Hills… those type of neighborhoods do. That’s not enough. Those neighborhood residents are already driving an hour to go to these places when they want to and the big boys are already getting their money without any new construction and new store expenses. Why spend that kind of money when there’s no chance that the other 92% of Danville won’t shop at a new store because the prices are too high for them?
- The ability to have local and regional suppliers is awesome for small stores like Danville already has. Old Dutch, Midtown, Farmers Market? Back that pickup truck to the loading dock and toss the boxes of tomatoes in, boys! The big players in the specialty grocery industry already have their supply chain logistics worked out and these local & regional suppliers would only be a small incentive if at all. Also, don’t think that you can just grow a field of corn and have it up for sale at Trader Joe’s when you pick a row. Quality assurance, liability insurance and that kind of stuff can make it expensive for these small-scaled suppliers to get into the door of a big player, and the ability to supply more and more if you get in can make it even harder to stay in that door.
- What happened to this Danville Economic Development survey project done in partnership with Averett? Why reinvent the wheel unless the results weren’t what you wanted them to be? And if the results weren’t what you wanted them to be, swallow the dose of reality that you got from the survey and move on in another direction. Oh yeah, where are those results? Let’s see them. Proof Or Not Real, that sorta thing.
- Instead of trying to hit yet another homerun with another big business, why isn’t our Economic Development office going for the easy base hit in working with our existing businesses and budding entrepreneurs into starting small and possible growing? The Launch Place is fine and dandy for that company that came to Danville to write security software, but where is the public push to encourage and help little people like us to fill this need?
- Online petitions are insanely useless. There’s no way you can assign any credibility to a webpage that lets Jim Shoes, Jim Shorts & Jim Nazium declare their support.
- Here’s a list of the grocery chains that they’re going to send this marketing package to: Whole Foods, Earth Fare, Harris Teeter, Trader Joes, Fresh Market, Kroger, Bloom, Bi-Lo, Ellwood Thompson’s, Publix, Wegmen’s, and Lowe’s Food. OK, that’s cute. Supply chain logistics wipe out about half of that list from consideration. Remember Boscov’s, where the Danville store was over 200 miles from another store? How’d that work out? Kroger and Lowes’ Foods are just plain old grocery stores with a few specialty items on their aisles. Oh yeah… Kroger & Harris Teeter are now the same company and combined, they’ve opened and closed four different times in Danville’s history. I think their business development people learn from their failures. The only one on that list that’s a viable option is Lowes’ Foods, because they’ve got a supply chain to Roxboro and Reidsville NC.
- I distrust and dislike vague statements like “A similar process has worked in other localities”. Really? How? Where? I want to know where an online petition has caused a specialty grocery store has decided to build in a Danville-like demographic.
- “We’ve been advised to show a need from the citizens and highlight the local produce we have to offer.” – What?! More consultants? Can this Economic Development office do anything on their own? What kind of consultant comes up with this online petition stuff anyway? Now that Jeremy Stratton is in Happy Trails mode, the main face of Danville’s Economic Development office is Linwood Wright… and he’s not an employee. He’s a (…wait for it…) “consultant”! I don’t understand why, but hey, that’s government for you.
- Why did they set the goal on this useless online petition at 10000 “signatures” and publicize that number? If it falls short (and there’s a good chance that it will), this paints this idea as a failure even though it has some potential benefits.
Whew I’m done. I’m already not popular with Danville’s Economic Development office and I’m sure that this article opens that rift further. But that’s why you people love SouthsideCentral…
The stores listed on the petition site such as Whole Foods, etc. will not even begin to think about coming to this area, we simply do not have the economic demographics as you mentioned Bruce.
Hey, let’s talk about a small grocery in HALIFAX. HA! But I sure would support one and would love one…do not at all even dream of a chain locating in the TOWN but we sure could support a local…issue is now days guess no one can make a go of that sort of store. Waa.
Grocery stores have very small profit margins. As such they have to maximize sales. In order to do that they have demographic data that tells them who their buyers are. This demographic data is their bible. Danville in no way fits their very narrow scope and as such they will never locate a store here. As long as Walmart continues to suck the few dollars around here there will not be any “specialty” grocery stores. It would be interesting if the Danville economic development office ever, ever considered getting input from local commercial real estate agents. If they did they could have been shown the “been there, done that, got the T shirt” experiences that have already happened.
Such a high-end store in Danville is laughable.
Does anyone know why the fresh fish place called Fish Bones has vanished? That was an excellent little fish market….but no more.
Just in today’s paper, our region’s chief hired cheerleader, Karl Stauber, reminded us that 75% of Danville’s school kids are on welfare meal programs. Sadly, that’s the real Danville. Thank goodness for places like Greensboro that’s an easy drive.
I just noticed the Happy Trails, Fish Bones today. I seem to remember that the owner sold it last year. I also know that that place had cornered the local market on gluten-free products. That’s a shame and it’s also something that could possibly have been helped out by an Economic Development marketing campaign featuring our locally owned small businesses.
It is a well known fact that existing business drives more growth than new business in the long run. ED would be wise to remember that and take care of what you already have. And take one of those “dose of reality” pills. Danville has had a few nice stores that could not be supported by the demographics, i.e. Boscovs. And let’s not forget that Harris Teeter and Krogers left. 2 personal thoughts that may or may not be accurate as they are personal opinions. One of the ways Danville missed the boat (among so many other reasons) is by not making a more substantial partnership with Averett long long ago. Also let’s be truthful – like it or not Danville’s reputation is nothing but little more than a gang zone. And there is a huge problem with poverty there. How does anyone with even a tiny brain really think that a specialty foods store can be supported there. It is like ED doesn’t have a grasp on reality nor the ability to think out of the box.
“Little more than a gang zone”????
First and foremost, Danville is a mill town that has continued to deteriorate because it tries to be something it isn’t instead of building on its strong points. The message at every turn is that if a person is from Danville and grew up in Danville, then he or she is second rate and will never get the good jobs. Of course all the smart people leave.
I agree the numbers dont add up . The way I look at it is this . Our population is 50% White 50% Black
Of the 50 % white Im guessing 30% are around the poverty level 60% are middle income and 10 % higher income .
Of the 50 % black 50 % are around the poverty level 40 % are middle income and 10 % higher income.
A family each making minimum wage is not even close to middle class , just to clarify so Im being generous on the middle class numbers I think >
Does anyone have factual numbers , Im curious ?
Your point is important, but what is more important goes to the issue of , sophistication. People need education and health-consciousness to know about higher-end foods. Danville does not have a single ingredient needed to make something like that profitable. What our econ/dev people should do if they want such a store is to offer tax breaks and tobacco commission money and on-going subsidies to keep them going. It could be part of helping the community learn about such things.