Huntley approves partnership with retail recruiting firm in hopes of bringing more businesses to town

Huntley is partnering with a retail recruiter that will look to expand the city’s business and retail footprint, as well as help its local businesses by using cell phone location data from those shopping in the area.

The Retail Coach, a Mississippi and Texas-based retail recruiting and development firm, will seek out businesses on behalf of Huntley to try and bring them into town, CEO Kelly Cofer said during last week’s meeting.

Trustees approved the partnership unanimously.

The village will work with the retail firm for one year at a rate of $47,000, village material states. That agreement includes a two and three-year option, which would run at $30,000 annually, material states.

Similar to other communities in the area the firm has worked with, The Retail Coach will use mobile location data to map where people are spending their time and money while shopping in town.

Using this, the company can find the boundaries of the market for Huntley, as well as determine what spots new businesses can go into, Cofer said. Huntley’s market is broken up into a northern submarket, the downtown corridor, and a southern submarket, he said.

Huntley, which has a little less than 28,000 residents, according to the 2020 U.S. Census, doesn’t have a lot of retail lease space currently, Cofer said. Because of this, it may take longer before the firm is able to bring in businesses.

Despite this, there are spots in town that businesses can occupy immediately, Cofer said. He added that the area is underserved when it comes to food, which may offer the best chance to get someone in sooner, he said.

“If someone came here tomorrow looking for sites, they’d leave not feeling very confident,” he said.

When pressed for a timeline, he said he thinks there will be interested parties in about three months.

Part of The Retail Coach’s plan will be to work with larger landowners in town and help them with their plans for their individual properties.

The firm also will put an emphasis on helping businesses already in town, with Cofer bringing specific attention to Huntley’s downtown district. This includes a workshop to help give those businesses more information on their customer bases, Cofer said.

“You’ve got a really healthy downtown, but you need to build upon that,” Cofer said.

Board members, like trustees Mary Holzkopf and JR Westberg said they liked this aspect of the firm’s plan.

“This is what we’ve been looking for when we went through this process,” Village President Timothy Hoeft said. “We look forward to working with you.”

Trustee Ronda Goldman asked how the firm will take all the board members’ wants into account. This will be done through stakeholder meetings, Cofer said.

“You’ve got different personalities sitting here on the board from different views,” Goldman said.

The village is also planning to send out its annual survey later this year, which Goldman suggested could provide the firm with more information.

The Retail Coach, established in 2000, has worked with more than 650 communities across 40 states, according to its website. This includes the city of McHenry, which approved a deal last year with the firm.

McHenry’s deal emphasized much of the same in terms of using cell phone location data. The city was hopeful the partnership would help them recruit retailers who in the past had turned the city down, and fill vacant and underused storefronts.

One year later, Mayor Wayne Jett said Sunday the firm has been “very aggressive” in trying to strengthen the city’s partnership with national retailers.

“I believe adding any type of organization that pushes your community as a potential home is worth it,” he said.