January 13, 2008

Springfield, OH— During fall semester Wittenberg Center for Applied Management (WittCAM) project management assistants Jonathan Fox, Rob Loeffler, Fred Tudor, and Tricia Wendt worked with city, county, and business leaders to conduct a retail assessment. Together they gathered data from Wittenberg and Clark State students and faculty as well as downtown workers. With this data they were able to recognize problems the City is currently facing. These problems included poor perceptions of both safety and parking. They were able to find what the residents were out-shopping for and the primary reasons why they were out-shopping. They were also able to help determine if a bookstore was a reasonable downtown anchor and one that would compliment current downtown retailers. After the presentation, Jim Lagos, attorney and local entrepreneur, commented on the presentation, “This was an independent validation of information that local business people had been telling the City for years.”

Jon Fox says, “WittCAM gives you real world experience in an active business environment.” Through the retail audit we were able to build on the material we learned in the class-room and apply it to situations that the Springfield community is currently facing.

Rob Loeffler says, “I am very impressed by the collaborative effort of the Wittenberg community, Clark State University, and the local business owners. They were very supportive in providing our retail assessment team with useful information. This project provided an invaluable opportunity to connect with Springfield and see what it takes to add value to downtown. I am confident these city leaders will move forward in building the downtown environment this community craves for.

Fred Tudor says, “He appreciated the opportunity to be able to interact with head local officials to help shape the Downtown area into a better place to go.” Through statistical analysis we were able to identify why the Downtown area is struggling as a retail environment. People’s perceptions of safety and parking have an influence of whether or not they will visit the Downtown area.

Tricia Wendt comments, “The WittCAM presentation was an outstanding experience. I was excited to be given the opportunity to defend our data we collected throughout the semester and present it in a professional atmosphere.” We had to give reasons why the bookstore would not serve as a legitimate retail anchor in the Downtown area. The reasons we gave were supported by the fact that Springfield residents’ current bookstore spending behavior would not support a large bookstore such as Barnes & Noble.