TUPELO, Mississippi — Loxley, a small town located in south-central Baldwin County, is partnering with The Retail Coach, the nation’s leading retail recruitment firm, to expand their economic growth and retail development. The town’s prime location off Interstate 10 and proximity to Pensacola, Florida, and Mobile, Alabama, creates an ideal setting for national brands to expand their presence in the growing region.

Loxley is positioned along the retail corridor of highly trafficked Highway 59, the main north-south route to the Alabama Gulf Coast. The Retail Coach’s goal in the project will be to build a research-based retail strategy to market and recruit new retailers and developers, strengthening its tax base and optimizing the town’s economy. The Town of Loxley, its mayor, and council, spoke about their goals throughout the project.

“Our main goal is to attract the right retail for our small town that will help us in bringing in more revenue in the form of taxes,” said Loxley Town Council Member Jeff Knight. “We were in a place where we needed some help to push us in the right direction. By outsourcing on our own, we take ownership of our future. We have plenty of land to build, and we have a highly supportive mayor and council. We are open for business.”

After analyzing Loxley’s existing market and working closely with its current businesses and retailers, The Retail Coach’s first step in this process is to determine the town’s retail trade area, which is the defined boundary from which Loxley draws 80 to 85 percent of its primary consumers.

Using that information, the team will create retail profile reports and utilize marketing tools to prepare the team and the town to represent Loxley regionally and nationally to retailers, restaurants and developers.

To determine which dominant retail categories consumers are leaving the Town of Loxley to purchase, the team will conduct a gap/opportunity analysis, which is essential in determining which types of retailers to target.

Scott Emison, vice president of operations for The Retail Coach and leader of the project team, is looking forward to working with Loxley to bring in new retail developments. He believes their small-town appeal with ideal proximity to larger shopping destinations, presents the perfect opportunity for growth.

“We are excited to partner with the Town leadership in their retail recruitment effort,” he said. “The market has very unique attributes making it highly marketable, including high traffic counts and adjacent Interstate land available. From our very first visit to Loxley, it was apparent that the town is primed for growth and community development and retail is a part of their economic development focus.”

The Retail Coach, founded in 2000 in Tupelo, Mississippi, is a national retail consulting, market research and development firm that combines strategy, technology, and creative expertise to develop and deliver high-impact retail recruitment and development strategies to local governments, chambers of commerce, and economic development organizations. Through its unique process, The Retail Coach offers a fully customized system of the products and services that better enable communities to maximize their retail development potential. Their experience in leading municipalities in over 450 communities in 31 states will create better, stronger places to live and work.

For more information on Loxley, visit townofloxley.com. For more information on The Retail Coach, visit theretailcoach.net.