KINGMAN – Kingman has fared very well in the business development arena while charging through the pandemic with a string of successes including Culver’s, Dutch Bros, Cal-Ranch, Harbor Freight and more. Retail recruiting consultant Rickey Hayes believes Kingman should already be home to many other “junior anchors”.
“Every market your size should have a Hobby Lobby or a Michaels or some type of retailer that caters to both the home decor and the hobbies of the folks in your market,” Hayes told Kingman City council members during their Feb. 2 meeting. He said T.J. Max and Ulta Cosmetics should also be in the Kingman retail inventory.
Hayes’ Tulsa, Oklahoma-based Retail Attractions spent a year helping the city hunt business before the contract expired last Dec. The city council expects to consider possible contract renewal next month so Hayes and his firm can continue chasing viable prospects.
“We’ve got several that we think will come on line, hopefully in 2021, certainly first, second quarter of 2022,” he said. “We have had a very good response back from the retailers that we’ve contacted and the developers who build for those retailers.”
Hayes complimented the commitment and effectiveness of the city’s economic development team while noting a stable and calm political environment is helpful as well.
“Developers read newspaper articles about political infighting and that type stuff and they look at that as a red flag that’s going to cost them time, which equals money in their book,” Hayes said. “And in Kingman we don’t see any of that. There’s a great shared energy and a consensus for growth that really invites the private sector in.”
Hayes said Kingman has the demographics to support a Target but said Target and other big box stores are in a no growth mode as online shopping explodes. He said Walmart is not building new stores and is modifying its business plan providing pickup and delivery options for customers in many markets.
Dave Hawkins
