We wrote yesterday about Warren Buffett saying the economy is in recession and that the downturn would be longer and deeper than most people have been thinking, and those problems certainly extend to local businesses.
We've written about the challenges confronting places like Wolfe's Market and PFF Bancorp, and Tony Krickl had an article in Saturday's Claremont Courier about the the pressure local business owners are putting on the city of Claremont to help draw more foot traffic to the Claremont Village and to the Village Expansion area.
(The Krickl article isn't online yet, so we can't link to it.)
According to Krickl, the city is taking steps that include a "way finding" signage program directing motorists to the downtown areas. The sign program, Krickl wrote, was hung up at the last City Council meeting because the council couldn't agree on the style of the signs.
The article also said:
The council recently approved $21,500 for a professional polling survey of Claremont businesses. The survey would cover how businesses are faring in today's economic climate, what role businesses believe the city should play in a marketing program and whether businesses are willing to financially support a citywide marketing campaign.....
"All that's going to be a huge help," said Joan Bunte, owner of Stamp Your Heart Out and Chairman of the Village Marketing Group. "[The survey] will be a big asset to have that info available to us as we try to move forward on different projects.
In addition, the city has earmarked $50,000 in the next budget cycle for a branding study that would clearly define "who is Claremont and what message we want to go out to the rest of the world," [Assistant City Manager Tony] Ramos said.
The article noted that Claremont merchants have complaints about the lack of clear planning for the Village Expansion:
"To date, Village West has not even had a grand opening," [Chas] Seward said. "...Key locations are standing vacant, businesses have already moved, and/or closed and professional signage has been virtually non-existent.
City Manager Jeff Parker said a grand opening could still be in the works once some of the key locations in the expansion are occupied. That could happen over the summer.
Some city officials admit that the Expansion thus far has not been as successful as they had hope but argue it is hard to compare it to projects like Victoria Gardens [in Rancho Cucamonga] or The Shoppes in Chino Hills.
Adding to their structural problems - finding downtown Claremont, poor planning with the Village Expansion, competition with larger outdoor malls, attracting out-of-area customers - the dragging economy and rising fuel prices have consumers watching their pennies more carefully and driving less.
Posts
