How Vegas Will Help Holdrege Grow

Real estate developers and owners of major retailers from around the globe descended upon Las Vegas in mid-May for RECon, the Global Retail Real Estate Convention.

And Phelps County Development Corporation’s Ron Tillery took the opportunity to tout Phelps County as the next great location for their businesses.

Tillery said he attended the conference as an extension of PCDC’s work with Buxton Co., a nationwide statistics and marketing firm. PCDC signed a contract with Buxton in late 2017 to help local businesses grow and to identify potential new retail opportunities.

“There are some voids where we have no local representation in a certain product category, or there is a danger we are going to lose it,” Tillery said.

For instance, Buxton research and statistics showed that Phelps County is exporting more than $9 million a year in the food and beverage category.

“Despite the fact that we have a number of restaurants choices already, that $9 million suggests there’s a lot more development opportunity here in our market,” Tillery said.

Several food and beverage company owners were on Tillery’s list of appointments at RECon.

Tillery also is attempting to connect with retailers who sell value-priced men’s, women’s and children’s clothing and shoes, which is another area of shortage in Phelps County.

Buxton representatives also attended the convention and assisted with meetings and making connections.

“This is our effort, and we are using their information to help promote Phelps County,” Tillery said.

Prior to the trade show, Tillery sent “Pursuit Packages” to 31 targeted businesses to share general market information about Phelps County and comparisons of existing businesses in other similar-sized communities. Tillery said he was pleasantly surprised by the positive responses he received.

Some of the contacts he made said they would require a franchisee to own and operate a local store. With Buxton’s help, Tillery said he is researching regional franchisee owners and would also encourage any local residents interested in franchise opportunities to contact him.

For more information, contact Ron Tillery at Ron@PhelpsCountyNE.com or call PCDC at (308) 995-4148.