3 malls give entrepreneurs a chance to pitch retail plans
By Fran Daniel
Winston-Salem Journal
HIGH POINT, N.C. - Hanes Mall, Randolph Mall and Oak Hollow Mall have started a contest to find the best retail-business plans in the Triad.
The malls, owned by CBL & Associates Properties Inc. in Chattanooga, Tenn., developed The Piedmont Retail Business Challenge in an effort to promote economic growth and development for new and innovative retail concepts in the region.
"Contestants can win the opportunity of a lifetime," Vickee Armstrong, the general manager of Oak Hollow Mall, said yesterday during a press conference at Oak Hollow. She said that one winner at each mall will receive a complete retail-concept package to start a business.
Jerry Jones, the district specialty-retail manager at Hanes Mall for CBL, got the idea for the contest from a similar competition in Canada.
This is the first time that CBL has tried this type of program, he said.
Resources will be provided to educate and inspire entrants, including information sessions in February.
The N.C. Small Business Center Network of the state's community-college system will also offer an exclusive four-week course for entrants. Help will be available at the Small Business Centers at the community colleges in Forsyth, Guilford and Randolph counties. Additional training will be provided through the Small Business Centers at the three malls for people who want help developing their business plans and entries.
The malls will accept online entries until Feb. 19. Prizes include free print, radio and television advertising packages; building construction (Oak Hollow Mall only); free graphics, design and printing services; office supplies; and a membership to the chamber of commerce.
The prize packages are worth about $200,000 for all three malls. The contest winner at Hanes Mall will receive a six-month package valued at $49,650 for kiosk space. Randolph Mall will also provide kiosk space, a package valued at $38,850, for one year. At Oak Hollow, the winner will receive store space, a package valued at $107,350, for a year.
The business plans will be judged on creativity, marketability, operational approach and financial viability.
The contest has more than 20 sponsors, including Southern Community Bank & Trust, the presenting sponsor; the North Carolina Small Business Center Network; the Winston-Salem, High Point and Asheboro/Randolph chambers of commerce; and the Winston-Salem Journal.
F. Scott Bauer, the chairman and chief executive of Southern, said that the bank has a special interest in entrepreneurs because it started as a small business.
He said that small-business owners need everything from a banker to a lawyer.
"But you also have to have capital and the start to make your dream come true," he said. "This group, CBL, will give them the opportunity. The combination of the Small Business Center Network, a community-college system, even makes it better."
Mark Hagenbuch, the director of the Small Business Center for Guilford Technical Community College, said that the program will help bring the Triad together, fostering collaboration between different resources, businesses and local malls, where everyone wins.
"We're really looking forward to seeing the unique retail concepts that can come out," he said. "That's what we really want to stress is to get something that's not just another standard cookie-cutter idea, but something new, something creative, something innovative for retail for the Triad."
Gayle Anderson, the president of the Greater Winston-Salem Chamber of Commerce, said in a statement that the chamber is committed to cultivating entrepreneurs and bolstering small businesses.
"Through our Buy Local campaign, we encourage consumers to spend locally and support our area's economy," Anderson said. "We're looking forward to seeing the fresh, innovative ideas that spring from this contest and hope to add three more successful businesses to the Triad."
If someone already was making plans to open a store in a mall environment-it would be a great package-but not everyone that has great ideas are cut out to actually carry them out. I saw this contest a couple of days ago and wondered how long after the free rent and other comp goodies these places that are opened because their owners won the contest will still be open past the free rental period.
ReplyDeleteI was more excited about it before I read the details. Giving somebody a kiosk is a nice idea, but the rent on those is horrendous, almost as much as an inline space. And giving somebody a space in Oak Hollow Mall is almost suicide. That mall can kill almost anything, even national name stores.
ReplyDelete