Mill Creek Village Center: A Convenient Location for Some, The Right Image for Others

Mill Creek Village Center is coming soon.  Theresa Shulz, Shodeen Management leasing agent at (630-232-7883 X 201) is ready to talk to perspective business tenants.  This month, the Small Business Advisor looks at two general categories of business that may thrive in the Village Center.

The first, and more obvious, is the convenience based business.  As home owners, many of us have looked forward to the day when buying a gallon of milk and loaf of bread is a five minute foray.  A small grocer, coffee shop or cleansers located in Mill Creek will enjoy a near-at-hand potential clientele that rivals many urban neighborhoods.  But a store based on convenience isn’t the only type of business that can succeed in Mill Creek.  

Experts on retail often mention “site selection” (determining where to locate your place of business) as one of the key factors in determining the success or failure of a business.  The following quote from a University of Nebraska web-site offering business advice provides the following guidance on site selection, “Stores that sell convenience goods, such as candy and snack items, need to be located in high traffic areas.  Businesses selling shopping goods, such as furniture, can be successful on secondary streets, since customers will make some effort to search them out.  Specialty goods can be sold by stores ‘off the beaten path’ since customers are often willing to travel for the right item.”  (from http://nebraskaedge.unl.edu presented by U of N with funding from the USDA)  

We’re not going to recommend opening up a traditional shopping goods store in MC.  With the proliferation of big-box retailers (think Best Buy, Circuit City, Sam’s Club) possessing tremendous buying power and other economies of scale, selling the same shopping goods like refrigerators or lawn mowers at a sustainable profit is very difficult.  Add to this the challenge that the Mill Creek Village Center would pose through its somewhat remote location, and it would be difficult to establish a business that dealt in “generic” shopping goods.  

However, you might still make a-go of your furniture store (furniture is traditionally a shopping good) if you can recast your offering as a specialty good.  A specialty good is an item that certain buyers are willing to seek out and often buy at a premium price over generic, functional equivalents.  What makes a particular item a specialty good instead of a mere shopping good?  Often, it’s the cache that the item carries.  The cache is created by blending the features of the product with the way it’s presented, the store that sells it and the location of that store.

What images come to mind when you think of Mill Creek?  Certainly for most of the readers of this newsletter, we think of Comfortable, Attractive Homes.  The winding streets, parks and parkways, golf courses and churches connote Family-Friendliness, Safety and Leisurely Recreation..  

How do you put these images to work for to set your establishment apart as a destination?  

Consider Mill Creek and it’s connotation as a place of Pampered Luxury and then consider how this image might complement the establishment of a Day Spa.  The Day Spa’s promotional literature could ask you to “picture a round of golf in a natural setting followed by an afternoon of massaging and manicuring at the spa (Or send your husband out for the golfing and go straight to the spa.)”  

If Mill Creek conjures up images of Small-Town Craftsmanship, then think about how that image can benefit a high-quality, furniture re-finisher.  If Mill Creek says Landed Gentry, then consider perhaps a Saddlery and Bridle shop.  

Test your perspective out on friends and families from outside Mill Creek.  Does the feedback match your expectations?   Talk to enough people to get a representative sample.  

Anna Harmaan of Shodeen Management indicated that Shodeen envisions that Mill Creek Village Center will draw heavily from Mill Creek residences but also be a shopping experience that is capable of attracting shoppers from outside our area.  According to Anna, “Shodeen Management's desire is to make it a destination shopping experience similar to Long Grove.  With unique shops and dining, consumers will be able to make a day of visiting Mill Creek Village Center.  The more diverse the center, the more attractive the shopping.  With our databases and market research we should be able to reach out to unique shops within local communities and beyond. An example of this is Galena Winery at Dodson Place in downtown Geneva.

According to Anna, “Shodeen Management owns and manages over 600,000 square feet within Geneva and St. Charles in approximately 28 different locations. New retailers can feel good knowing Shodeen Management is one of the largest private commercial owners/management companies in the Fox Valley. Our portfolio ranges from Jewel Osco to Gramp's Custard and everything in between. We cover the spectrum of users and should make any, and all, retailers feel welcome and supported.  From a Management perspective Shodeen will initiate grand opening events and open houses, help to establish a marketing co-op for the retailers and support the Village Center with as much sign exposure as possible through the county.”

In all cases, when considering the opening of a convenience store, art gallery or anything else, build the business case.  If the numbers are looking promising and you’d like additional information on leasing in the Mill Creek Village Center, contact Theresa Shulz, 

Tim Hadfield is a Mill Creek resident and Director of Strategic Consulting for The Allant Group, a data-driven marketing services firm.  If you have questions or comments related to this article or you would like to be a guest columnist for “The Small Business Advisor”, please contact Tim at 630-208-4828 or thadfield@allantgroup.com.