what businesses are working in wisconsin’s downtowns?

What Businesses are Working in Wisconsin’s Downtowns?

Businesses operating in Wisconsin’s Downtown’s(2002-2010)

By: JD Milburn, Downtown Development Specialist

Ever wonder what businesses work in Wisconsin’s downtowns which ones close the most, which ones create the most jobs? This presentation provides an analysis of 8 years of data from those on the front lines. Wisconsin Main Street Executive Directors!

Wisconsin Main Street presents 8 years of economic operating data to refine your local efforts.

Wisconsin Main Street Community Demographics• Population

Populations run from 764 to 102,000 when considering the community or one (1) mile radius of the two (2) metro designated neighborhoods. The average population is 7,400 and the median population is 10,000 for the designated areas.

• Budgets:The average budget of the designated areas were $138,922 with the median being $100,965. Gross budgets ranged from $400,000 to $30,000. The program requires organizations to employ a full-time executive director when the population base is 5,000 or greater, and allows for part-time director when the population is below 5,000.

Wisconsin Main Street Community Demographics (Cont)• Legal status

81.82% hold Internal Revenue Service (IRS) tax exempt status of 501 (C )(3) “Charitable Organization “,3.03% 501 (C )(4) “Civic League”,

9.09% 501 (C )(6) “Business League” and 6.06% two (2) local Government Agency “Business

Improvement District” (BID) Status.62% Have a BID

ClosingsAs we all know business closing can have many negative economic and

social affects on an area.Some of those may be:

• Lost area sales• Lost area necessity goods• Lost area necessity services• Lost bank and investor capital• Lost payroll spending impact• Lost real estate value• Lost taxes• Perhaps higher crime rates?

• So lets look at the types of businesses that are closing, and estimate some economic impacts

ClosingsBusiness types that closed the most in Wisconsin Downtowns

1. 81 appliance and home electronics2. 70 eating places3. 42 apparel4. 39 Gift stores5. 33 drinking places

Closing Business type by job impact

6. 458 eating places7. 98 drinking places8. 88 apparel9. 82 Gift stores10. 78 other retail

Closings so what?

Appliance stores

Average sales $1,988,000

Average payroll $217,885

Average real estate size 4,000

Real estate taxes $6,160

What has the area lost per store

Closings so what?

What have we lost as a state

Appliance stores

Sales $161,028,000

Payroll $17,648,654

Real estate vacancy 324,000


Closings so what?

Job impact

Eating Places

Lost Jobs 458


Economic loss $4,826,987

Business types soldSales can indicate many things.Some of those may be:

• An enhanced economic area, in which owners sellout and invest funds into new ventures.

• An area in which transition is happening as business owners reach retirement age.

• An area experiencing economic stress, in which selling the business is the only way out of a potential liquidation

• A type of business that is becoming a casualty of a category killer or Big Box competition

• So lets look some of the types of businesses that are selling and think about our own local situations.

Business Types SoldBusiness types that sold the most in Wisconsin Downtowns

1. 14 eating places2. 7 other retail3. 5 drinking places

Sold business type by job impact

4. 52 eating places5. 29 drinking places6. 24 laundries & cleaners

Sold businesses so what?

Local area economic influence

Eating places

Average sales $702,875

Average payroll 200,238




State economic influence

Eating places

Sales $9,840,250

Payroll $2,803,326




State Job impact

Eating Places

Lost Jobs 52


Economic loss $548,042

ExpansionsExpansion into the area can indicate many things.Some of those may be:

• An enhanced economic area, in which owners expand product offerings • An enhanced area, in which owners purchase additional real estate• An enhanced area, in which owners pursue additional markets, or acquire

additional businesses.• In most cases expansion is a sign of local economic health

• So lets look some of the types of businesses that are expanding and evaluate our own local situations.

Business Expansion Types

Business types that expanded the most in Wisconsin Downtowns

1. 26 eating places2. 18 professional services3. 13 gift stores

Expanded business type by job impact

4. 103 banks/credit unions5. 86 eating places6. 71 miscellaneous personal services

Expanding businesses so what?


Eating places







Eating places

Sales $18,274,750

Payroll $5,206,177




Job impact

Banks/Credit Unions

Expanded jobs 103


Expansion gain $4,288,422

ReductionsReductions in the area can indicate many things.Some of those may be:

• A product that has experienced obsolescence and so the survival strategy is to reduce the employees and or real estate footprint

• Reductions also happen when a firm is dying a slow death• Reductions are warning signs to help the owner using retention strategies

• So lets look some of the types of businesses that are reducing and evaluate our own local situations.

Business Reduction Types

Business types that reduced the most in Wisconsin Downtowns

1. 4 eating places2. 4 miscellaneous professional services3. 2 apparel

Reduced job numbers by business type4. 50 manufacturing5. 22 banks/credit unions6. 9 eating places

Business reduction so what?

Eating places






Business reduction so what?

Eating places

Sales $2,811,500

Payroll $800,950




Business reduction so what?Job impact

Manufacturing

Reduction jobs 50


Reduction loss $2,240,720

RelocationsRelocations from the area can indicate many things.Some of those may be:

• When a firm has experienced growth so large that a large single purpose headquarters has to be built. This can be experienced both ways and some firms have relocated their headquarters into downtowns

• Relocations happen when an area experiences business cycles similar to the maturity of its business mix.

• Relocations happen when cost structures change

• So lets look some of the types of businesses that are relocating and evaluate our own local situations.

Business Relocation Types


1. 52 miscellaneous professional services2. 37 other retail3. 33 miscellaneous personal services

Reduced job numbers by business type4. 426 Insurance agents5. 307 miscellaneous professional services6. 243 eating places

Business relocations so what?

Misc. Professional services

Average sales $1,138,524






Misc. Professional services

Sales $59,203,253

Payroll $2,312,902

Real estate 117,000




Insurance agents/brokers

Relocated jobs 426


Relocation gain $19,949,279

Job impact

Business startsBusiness starts in an area can indicate many things.Some of those may be:

• Healthy attractive business environment• Business friendly area, community, politics• Capital sources.• Good real estate value compared to business revenues• Coexisting business in the area, that encourage their friends to open a

supporting business.

• So lets look some of the types of businesses that are starting and evaluate our own local situations.

Business starts Types


1. 93 eating places2. 62 other retail3. 33 miscellaneous personal services

Reduced job numbers by business type4. 1,112 eating places5. 307 other retail6. 232 miscellaneous professional services

Business starts so what?

Eating places







Eating places

Sales $65,367,375

Payroll $18,622,094





Eating Places

Gained Jobs 1,112


Economic gain $11,719,672

Job impact

Strategies/Take away?• Eating places have high start up rates, high job impacts, but experience

larger amounts of closings. Each community should have an active restaurant development, retention strategy!

• Financial institutions have high job impacts and are purchasing real estate in downtowns. Actively working with this sector as a development strategy is an effective strategy.

• Light small component manufacturing should be a strategy. Look for large manufacturing plants, and try to locate small value added suppliers in certain areas of downtowns.

• Professional and personal services. This area has large employment and income impacts. Look at your mix and try to fill in the upper areas of properties with these types of businesses. A balanced and market sustainability driven effort is the key to a downtown area.

Data sources?• Wisconsin Main Street reporting database.• InfoUSA• Dollars and Cents of Shopping Centers SCORE 2008

(ICSC & ULI)• US 2007 Economic Census

what businesses are working in wisconsin’s downtowns?

Documents

enhanced economic area

economic loss

real estate taxes

average population

wisconsins downtowns2002

wisconsin downtowns

business closing

average real estate