What does manchester products, the national broadband network (NBN) and children’s wear have in common? Glen Innes needs them.
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Such was the opinion shared by around 14 business owners and community members who attended last Wednesday’s Business in Glen (BIG) meeting.
“We have got a lot of food in town already, what we need is clothes,” local businesswoman Wendy Ennor said.
“We need children’s clothing and the other thing we really need is manchester.”
The meeting was held at Glen Industries to discuss potential developments and business initiatives that could reinvigorate the local economic climate.
Recently established businesswoman Margie Ferris was at the meeting and, like many local owners and managers, called for strategies addressing the perception that out-of-town shopping is more cost effective.
Most agreed that the local economic identity was directed toward providing a unique shopping experience, but since the Target store closure late last year there are a number of retail items that have become difficult to source locally.
One strategy put forward was for a collaborative business environment that identified lacking retail items and brands and developed cooperative buying strategies across the business sector.
“You can’t be everything to everyone, but in a sense we have to try to get anything that anyone who can’t leave town wants,” Ms Ferris said.
“That was one of the things we thought would be good with BIG. If we could get the business owners together to say, ‘This is what we have got in Glen. These are the holes we’ve got. What can we do about it?’”
“I don’t want to see our world become a world where we don’t have shops anymore, where we can only access things online.”
BIG president Jim Ritchie chaired the meeting and called for a positive community outlook, particularly on social media.
“We need to be looking now at what we can do, whether it is things with the NBN or other innovative ideas that we can come up with to try to brighten things up in this town,” he said.
Director for development, regulatory and sustainability services Graham Price said Glen Innes Severn Council has are anticipating a development application for the former Target building in the near future, but do not believe the building will be used for a similar purpose.
