April 1, 2019

With Shopko closing, our city and area has been astir with questions about where are we going to shop now?  What will replace Shopko?  Can you think back to how you shopped before we had Shopko or Pamida?  We must have got along alright before those box stores came along, and that makes me think.  We’ve all been trained in the “one stop shop” element of box stores but I want to suggest to you that you go back to the way things used to be, when you went to different business in town to pick up many of the things that your one stop shopping at Shopko provided.  In fact much of what you got at Shopko you can still get here in town, just at a different business. 

The fact is the retail landscape is changing, not just here but nationwide and we must ask ourselves what we want the future of shopping local to look like and invest in it now. If we shift all our shopping we used to do at Shopko to online orders, how will that effect us further down the road. Will it help? Or will it eventually cause more local businesses to close? 

Now, in this case our Shopko closing was because of a larger cooperate issue, but the implications are the same. If we want a more vibrant and active town, more variety in retail and service options, and more fun events tomorrow, we have to start investing in what we have today.

I want to encourage you to start scouting out our businesses for the items you need, and to start conversations with the owners. Tell them what you need or wish was available and see if they can start carrying it for you. Many of the Chamber member business owners I have spoken to are very willing and would welcome your suggestions.

One thing we will miss is the ability to park our vehicles, especially with stock trailers attached in the large parking lot.  As a city we have some parking for such vehicles along the railroad tracks within a short walking distance of downtown.  Are there other places?  Let’s open some parking for our customers please by moving owner/employees vehicles off main streets.  Point out to our customers areas available for parking, like the lot next to the old city hall one half-block off of State street.

A word to our businesses.  Advertise what you carry that your customers can no longer go to Shopko to get. Let them know it’s still available locally!  Beyond that I’d encourage you to consider picking up product lines that are necessities (that fit in with your business), and will continue to service our community with the essentials that we all need for our daily lives. Ask your customers what they wish they could still purchase here in town for ideas. Start conversations, start building relationships, start strengthening your business.

Yes, we’ve lost Shopko, but we have not lost our business community.  

Let’s go shopping in our businesses!  Give them a chance to show you what they have.  Let’s form some new habits in the way things used to be.

 

- Gary Wood

Chamber Executive Director