Whole Foods Check, Now What?

[metro]

Yeah, Academy has too strong a market share is what I've heard, they pretty much own the market, but I think the competition would have a good shot.

[Spartan]

That makes perfect sense because Academy is like the Wal-Mart of outdoor stores.

[bluedogok]

Market is probably oversaturated with Academy.... I sent an e-mail inquiry to Dick's a while back and they have no immediate plans for an OKC store. I would love to get one here too.....

We were just down in San Antonio today, talk about over saturated, I lost count on the number of Academy stores that I saw just in north SA west of I-35...we did go to a Dick's at The Rim, it was much larger than the Hill Country Galleria one here. I haven't been in The Domain location yet even though I work in the complex.

[HOT ROD]

Let's start with the grass roots emails.

REI All Other Questions

Please consider Oklahoma City for the next REI store location.

my email:

Dear REI. Please consider expanding your wonderful store to Oklahoma City. I believe it is the biggest city in the nation without an REI or competing upscale outdoor specialty store, so you would essentially have the entire market of a 1.3 million metro area to yourself (not to mention the entire state of OK and neighbouring states - of whom do easily travel to OKC for business and pleasure). You may have noticed the rise of OKC displayed in the national press lately and it is one of the very few cities whose economy is still expanding; REI could capitalize on this with minimal investment and enjoy the fruits of a rising community. I urge you to contact the Oklahoma City chamber of commerce and city officials for information as I am positive that not only will you receive a warm welcome and assistance in coming to OKC but you also would receive a huge following of a rapidly growing populous who are still yet starved of local upscale shopping options.

[gmwise]

my email:

Dear REI. Please consider expanding your wonderful store to Oklahoma City. I believe it is the biggest city in the nation without an REI or competing upscale outdoor specialty store, so you would essentially have the entire market of a 1.3 million metro area to yourself (not to mention the entire state of OK and neighbouring states - of whom do easily travel to OKC for business and pleasure). You may have noticed the rise of OKC displayed in the national press lately and it is one of the very few cities whose economy is still expanding; REI could capitalize on this with minimal investment and enjoy the fruits of a rising community. I urge you to contact the Oklahoma City chamber of commerce and city officials for information as I am positive that not only will you receive a warm welcome and assistance in coming to OKC but you also would receive a huge following of a rapidly growing populous who are still yet starved of local upscale shopping options.

You sure write prutty....lol

[Spartan]

Metro OKC is growing at what..10% a decade, and don't forget the main reason they and others refuse to come..crappy Academy controls the market unfortunately.

I'm not saying REI shouldn't come, just pointing out what they're probably going to say to that argument.

[bluedogok]

Everyone "controls the market" in every city, it doesn't keep competitors from moving in. Academy was in Texas long before REI, Dick's, Sports Authority, Galyan's (bought out by Dick's), Gander Mountain, etc. ever came into the state. Eventually they will move into the market, I remember when there was no Best Buy, Comp USA, etc. in the OKC market either.

[betts]

Let's face it. For whatever reason, we do not come up on the radar of many stores thinking about expansion. Whether it be preexisting stereotypes, average annual income, suburban sprawl or whatever, it just doesn't happen. In one way, that's a good thing. We have local stores that have filled the void, some of them very good. In fact, when I go places like Chicago and New York, I'm most excited about shopping in stores that are unique. I always have mixed feelings about wanting national chains to come in, but will admit some of them haven't been duplicated here, and those are the ones I covet. We just have to do everything we can to make this a city with an excellent national reputation, and things will happen.

[Spartan]

I think to some extent our local businesses aren't as nice as they could be b/c they don't have a national chain to compete with..

[HOT ROD]

my email:

Dear REI. Please consider expanding your wonderful store to Oklahoma City. I believe it is the biggest city in the nation without an REI or competing upscale outdoor specialty store, so you would essentially have the entire market of a 1.3 million metro area to yourself (not to mention the entire state of OK and neighbouring states - of whom do easily travel to OKC for business and pleasure). You may have noticed the rise of OKC displayed in the national press lately and it is one of the very few cities whose economy is still expanding; REI could capitalize on this with minimal investment and enjoy the fruits of a rising community. I urge you to contact the Oklahoma City chamber of commerce and city officials for information as I am positive that not only will you receive a warm welcome and assistance in coming to OKC but you also would receive a huge following of a rapidly growing populous who are still yet starved of local upscale shopping options.

Response:

Hello,

Thank you for the email suggesting that we open a new location in Oklahoma City. I have forwarded you request on to the appropriate department for consideration.

I can tell you that REI opens a few stores every year and I am sure that OKC would be a great destination for a REI location.

If you are interested in more information on how we select our store locations, look here: REI: Real Estate

Best wishes for great outdoor adventures.

Craig B.REI Online Customer Service

appears to be quite favourable (in that 1) it wasn't a canned/form reply and 2) he didn't dismiss OKC at all. .....). Thoughts.

[betts]

"Median household income $50K and above
100K or more households within a 15 mile radius of site "

Here's where it gets tricky. If they require that those 100,000 households have an income of $50K or above, we're probably OK. If they require the household income for the city as a whole exceed $50K we're out of luck. This is one reason we keep getting passed over. But again, that's such a simplistic requirement, which doesn't bother to take all the different factors that contribute to disposable income into consideration.

[HOT ROD]

betts, they may HAVE originally intended for it to be:

a city with more than 100,000 households AND average income over $50,000; but there's many cities who don't meet this yet are still viable.

I think the coc could do some very easy convincing - we shouldn't get discouraged by those corporate objectives; as they don't take into account local conditions (which might lend to higher disposable income, as in OKC's case).

I think a better corporate statement should be: cities above 100,000 households who have disposable income above $XX,XXX.

Seattle is above $50,000 in per capita gross but I can bet you the average disposable income isn't much different than OKC's (and in fact, OKC might have more).

[betts]

For fun, when we were hearing from people in Seattle that we were too poor to support an NBA team, I did some calculations. They were incredibly crude, but I looked at average family income, then took the average home price in both places and calculated insurance and property taxes, based on that average home price. In my calculations, which again, were admittedly very simplistic, I found that OKC residents had a higher disposable income after those three expenses were factored in, than did Seattle.

Now, because Seattle is so much bigger, you've obviously got a lot more people above the median than here. But, I honestly believe that most of these retailers simply look at average income and fail to make any corrections based on cost of living. That REI statement is a case in point, I think.

[okclee]

Keep hearing REI commercials on the Okc radio stations.

Are they priming the market? I know retailers will start advertisements in advance of a store quite often.

[betts]

Keep hearing REI commercials on the Okc radio stations.

Are they priming the market? I know retailers will start advertisements in advance of a store quite often.

Or, they might be checking to see what kind of catalog sales their advertisements generate. I know that if catalog sales are strong, it can create interest in a market.

[Spartan]

Catalog sales are exactly what you want to prevent, from a local economic development standpoint. Those dollars do nothing to benefit the community in any way.

[betts]

Catalog sales are exactly what you want to prevent, from a local economic development standpoint. Those dollars do nothing to benefit the community in any way.

I agree completely, Spartan, and I only use catalogs if I can't find what I want locally, but I do know that some of the national stores that have catalogs use catalog sales to determine where there is demand for a store.

[okclee]

Maybe we could all at least order a catalog or register online at REI. Get more of our zip codes in their computer system.

[mark]

Maybe we could all at least order a catalog or register online at REI. Get more of our zip codes in their computer system.

about five years ago, kohls started running ads on the miami stations, even though the closest kohls was three hours away. my understanding was they were monitoring traffic to their website to help determine if there was interest in a store. (i left less than two years later, so i don't know if they moved into the area or not).

[betts]

I think this is an improvement from prior levels of interest indicated by retailers. And again, I'm not sure we really comprehend the value of the Thunder as a marketing tool.:

Retail interest in Oklahoma City is growing, Oklahoma City officials say

FROM STAFF REPORTS Oklahoman
Published: May 26, 2010

About 30,000 people attend the convention each year, with retailers scouting new franchisees and locations and cities hoping to attract new businesses.

This year, Oklahoma City was getting a lot of attention.

"You can tell there has been a real shift in the perception of Oklahoma City’s market,” said Cynthia Reid, vice president of marketing for the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber. The Oklahoma City Thunder basketball team’s playoff appearance and a recent announcement that Whole Foods is coming to town have given Oklahoma City representatives a lot to brag about.

Reid said they have had promising meetings with retailers such as a ladies fashion and home decor store, a gourmet sandwich and bakery chain, a national discount department store, fast casual dining operators, several mall and shopping center developers and a specialty grocery store. The meetings were confidential, so Reid declined to name the retailers. But, she added, the chance of securing at least one new lease deal is high.



Read more: http://www.newsok.com/retail-interes...#ixzz0p2Nbgzmz

[demoman2k10]

Several stores the AREA does need:
1. Costco... Let's face it Walmart and Sam's club isn't giving us the BEST prices because they have a monopoly here. Nor are the providing the best produce at either of their locations. Sam's club is a cheap knock off that when faced with Costco competition looses out BADLY.
2. Costco Home Furnishings... Best new store concept they have released in some time. Applied same ideas of the Club store to furniture and works WELL.
3. Fry's Electronics... Best Buy is the Monopoly here as well.
4. REI.. Would run competition for Academy in several areas. Personally I like your Academy reminds me of a store we used to have called Joes in the West.
5. Dutch Brothers Coffee... Yes there is REAL competition to Star Bucks. They like to use LOCAL DAIRY Products... Love that place.
6. Cash and Carry.. Whole sale Food and Restaurant Supply anyone can shop at this chain you have to pay cash if your not a Restaurant or Food Service provider. VERY good BULK purchasing prices smaller warehouse concept. 50LB Bag of Rice 20.00...

You don't need a Nordies... They are all over the Northwest and your not missing a thing there. Over priced JUNK Clothing, that you will see at a NORDIES rack store in 6 months for 1/10 of the price. Nordies in the Portland area has nearly ZERO folks shopping in them these days even at the UPSCALE Malls there.