Retail Strategy

In February 2007, the Downtown Winnipeg Business Improvement Zone (BIZ) sponsored a two-day site visit and evening presentation by Michael J. Berne, President of New York, N.Y.-based MJB Consulting (MJB), on the subject of retail regeneration in Downtown Winnipeg.

Based on the positive reception to Michael's presentation, the BIZ looked to secure funding from its Downtown partners to retain MJB Consulting for an extensive, three-phase effort involving, first, a market analysis and positioning strategy, then, second, a review of retail challenges, and third, a "roles-andresponsibilities" implementation plan.

The BIZ was able to secure funding from its Board, the City of Winnipeg, Centre Venture Development Corporation, the Forks/North Portage Development Corporation and the Exchange District BIZ to retain MJB Consulting for the first phase (market analysis and positioning strategy), with the hope that the resulting product would generate interest in providing additional monies for the second and third.

MJB started on this first phase in the summer of 2008. The firm was asked to focus on four specific districts within the Downtown: the Exchange District, the Waterfront, Portage Avenue and Graham Avenue. Other districts were considered only inasmuch as they impacted on the retail potential of (or would be affected by retail regeneration efforts in) one or more of these four.

As an out-of-town consultant, MJB took very seriously the need to spend an extensive amount of time "on site" (in the study area and Winnipeg more generally), and during the course of the study, its President, Michael J. Berne, made three separate site visits, aggregating to roughly two weeks (in addition to the two days in 2007).
Specifically, MJB's scope-of-work consisted of the following:

• Review of previous studies on and plans for Downtown retail, as well as past articles and blogs on the subject
• Assessment of general "site-specific" factors that impact on Downtown's retail potential (e.g. visibility, parking, "street traffic", etc.)
• Extensive review of competing business districts and shopping centres in the Winnipeg metropolitan area
• Separate interviews/meetings with local retail brokers and real estate experts as well as various other stakeholders (see below)
• Delineation of appropriate trade area boundaries
• Analysis of trade area demographic and psycho-graphic profiles
• Consideration of other relevant "traffic drivers" (e.g. office-worker concentrations, arenas/theaters, educational institutions, etc.)

In an effort to gather input, elicit feedback and achieve "buy-in", Michael also
conducted start-up meetings with the BIZ's Downtown Retail Steering Committee
and with Waterfront property owners/brokers, and presented his findings
separately to each of these two groups as well as an assemblage of Downtown
retail brokers.

Keep in mind that this first phase is meant to focus only on general market
positioning; it is in the second phase (if approved) when specific tenanting
possibilities would be identified and pursued.