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Consultants outline long retail recruitment timeline and identify confidential prospects for Parlier
Summary
Retail Strategies told the Parlier City Council it uses trade-area data, site cataloging and national outreach to recruit retailers and cited an 85,000 trade-area population and a $626 million retail opportunity gap; consultants said deals typically take 1–5 years and the city’s contract is in its final year.
Parlier officials on Wednesday heard an overview of the city’s retail-recruitment work from firm Retail Strategies, which outlined how trade-area data and persistent outreach aim to expand local retail options.
Brooke Hill, Retail Strategies’ West Coast portfolio director, told the City Council that the firm maps trade-area populations beyond city limits using mobile-tracking and drive-time analysis, and builds a property catalog to present to retail decision-makers. She said the city’s 14,426 resident count can expand to an 85,000-person trade area in Retail Strategies’ modeling and described a claimed $626,000,000 “opportunity gap” in retail spending that retailers could capture by locating in Parlier. “We are an investment multiplier,” Hill said, describing the firm’s role as both advisor and relationship manager for the city.
John Mark Buser, Retail Development Manager, walked the council through a typical national-retail timeline — site identification, pro forma, letter of intent, Real Estate Committee review, and lease or purchase — and warned that deals often take years. “It’s not a one-size-fits-all process,” Buser said, adding that projects can take from one to five years depending on the tenant, owner and market conditions.
Hill said the city has ongoing confidential discussions with a limited set of potential retailers. She listed categories under consideration — a quick-service burger operator, a coffee concept, a hardware store prospect that needs an operator or franchisee and a fried-chicken quick-service operator — but said confidentiality agreements prevent naming the companies.
Council members thanked the consultants and raised local issues that affect recruitment, including property-owner responsiveness and traffic on Manning Street. Staff confirmed the Retail Strategies contract is in its third year and is eligible for renewal next summer.
The presentation closed with staff promising clearer, public-facing communications about the program and its contract timeline. The item was informational; no vote was required.
