TERRE HAUTE — Whether drawing consumers and their money from miles away, or providing jobs to a double-digit percentage of the workforce, the significance of Terre Haute as a center of commerce is unmistakable.

“Obviously, we’re a strong retail center,” Steve Witt, president of the Terre Haute Economic Development Corp., noted.

Although his agency focuses primarily on attracting and growing industry, Witt acknowledged the two sectors are related.

“It’s a quality-of-life issue,” he said, explaining that to many industries seeking to relocate or expand, the presence of certain store names and “big box retailers” offers a sense of “validation” to the community.

Two Super Walmarts, a thriving downtown as well as a number of smaller, family-owned businesses all demonstrate diversity in the local landscape, he said.

And while comparing the wage-and-benefit scales of retail to manufacturing is like “comparing apples to oranges,” Witt said the retail sector’s significance to Vigo County is important.

“All jobs are important,” he said. “Every job is important, particularly to the person that occupies that job.”

The retail sector provides employment to younger people, many of whom are students at local high schools and universities, as well as to part-time workers and those transitioning through various phases of vocation, he explained.

Still, “we want them all,” he said of jobs, be they retail or industrial. “We’re selfish, we want them all,” he chuckled.

Sheer volume

And there are a lot of them.

According to information collected through STATS Indiana, a collaborative effort between the State of Indiana, Workforce Development and Indiana University, retail and commercial jobs constitute a large segment of the employment base here, no matter how one defines them.

According to information provided by the Bureau of Labor Statistics through the service, Vigo County’s resident labor force was 49,890 in 2008. However, about 64,111 work in the county, accounted for by about 15,000 workers who commute from surrounding communities.

Of the 64,111 workers employed in Vigo County in 2007, 8,207, or 12.8 percent, were classified as “retail trade.” An additional 5,269 workers, or 8.2 percent, were classified as “accommodation and food service,” with 1,559, or 2.4 percent, in wholesale trade. In the category of “other, private,” which could include the self-employed, 12,700 workers were classified, representing an additional 19.8 percent.

In contrast, the same data counted 8,775 manufacturing workers, totaling 13.7 percent of the workforce, less than 1 percent higher than “retail trade” by itself.

Rounding out the top three was “health care and social services,” counting 9,147 workers, or 14.3 percent.

According to Rod Henry, executive director of the Terre Haute Chamber of Commerce, geography plays a significant role.

Terre Haute’s retail draw runs unchecked in a market with boundaries of Indianapolis to the east, Evansville to the south, Chicago to the north and St. Louis to the west. This relationship with more than nine surrounding counties has grown with, and into, similar hubs in the health care and higher educational industries, he said.

“All of these factors tie in there somehow,” he said, noting that whether residents in neighboring counties want movie tickets, MRIs or master’s degrees, Terre Haute is usually the logical choice.

And it’s been that way for a while.

Henry recalled the August 1995 Survey of Buying Power, which rated Terre Haute as second-best in the nation for per capita retail sales. And while gross figures might have changed over the years, particularly in the most recent economic downturn, the ratios relative to neighboring cities are probably about the same.

“As we look back at it, that’s really the thing that jump-started it,” he said of developers interested in the area.

Statistics consistently show more money coming into the Vigo County retail market than is native to the area, he said.

A 2003 Survey of Buying Power report showed that about $4.25 billion was spent on retail within the nine Hoosier counties including and surrounding Vigo. Of that, $2.4 billion, more than half, was spent in Vigo County.

Even with historic lows in the American economy, Henry said, Vigo County is faring better than most. In his work with the Chamber, Henry meets with other directors from across the country, many of whom are in communities witnessing considerably higher losses than here.

“That’s tough for some people to hear,” he said, sympathizing with local business owners watching their revenues fall. But in the end, it could always be much worse.

Business variety

The terms “retail business” and “commercial activity” encompass as diverse a group of activities as that in any sector, from family owned craft stores to 24-hour discount chains. And within those circles, Todd Nation wears many hats.

President of the Terre Haute City Council representing the 4th district, Nation owns Book Nation and Nation Properties, and serves as president of the board of Downtown Terre Haute Inc.

Nation said that in the 18 years he’s been selling books, he’s seen the retail sector of the downtown shrink as much as it’s grown in the southern and eastern parts of Terre Haute. Vigo County, he’s been told, leads the state in urban sprawl and, “instinctively, I think that’s probably true.”

But the phenomena of retail and commercial business chasing interstate exits is not limited to Vigo County and, in fact, has followed national trends. And those national trends seem to be swinging back into the downtown areas. While Terre Haute tends to lag behind other metropolitan areas in trending, its own downtown is making tremendous progress, Nation said.

“The downtown neighborhood is better-looking and performing better in recent years than it has, and I think there are a lot of reasons for that,” he said, crediting the city’s use of grant money in coordination with private investment as a strong asset.

From the arts corridor along Seventh Street to the new Hilton Garden Inn, public- and private-sector collaboration have paved the way for the coming Children’s Museum and Barnes and Noble Bookstore, the latter of which Nation sees carrying a lot of potential.

“Somebody has to make the first move for us to have national retailers who think the downtown is a credible location to move into,” he said, explaining large companies tend to locate near one another, such as the southern corridor along U.S. 41 and the intersection off Interstate 70 and Indiana 46. Barnes and Noble moving in downtown should bring others in the long-run, and help better tie the downtown to the Indiana State University community.

“I think there’s a lot of potential for relationships,” he said of downtown businesses and the communities of ISU, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, Ivy Tech and St. Mary-of-the-Woods College.

Nation’s experience in other college towns often has led him to wonder why Terre Haute’s downtown didn’t cater to those potential consumers more than it did, particularly in the market of books. Members of what Nation referred to as “the creative class” often are drawn to the unique characteristics best exemplified in independent businesses along an avenue like Wabash and away from the “generica” which can be found in any major town.

Andrew Conner, executive director of Downtown Terre Haute Inc., agrees.

“I think downtown will always be a center of commerce,” he said, echoing the fact that retail has, over the years, gone farther toward the edges of towns. But for the residents of downtown who don’t want to drive across interstates to shop, their neighborhood stores are a valuable resource. Unique, one-of-a-kind businesses with independent owners, downtown businesses have an opportunity with their neighbors.

“We certainly want to see more businesses downtown that will cater to a residential clientele,” he said, naming restaurants and clothing stores among others.

Conner said Downtown Terre Haute is constantly working to find “new ways to make downtown business more relevant.” One example of this is the Saturday morning farmers market, usually conducted at the Clabber Girl Festival Marketplace. The market not only connects growers with those looking for fresh-food options, but also gives people a reason to drive into the area.

With its variety of restaurants, shopping and activities, Terre Haute remains a destination point for many in the Wabash Valley.

Brian Boyce can be reached at 812-231-4253 or brian.boyce@tribstar.com.



Impact on the Valley



Vigo County Employment and Earnings Data 2007



Total employment in county: 64,111

Number of employees working in “accommodations/food service”: 5,269

Percentage of workforce working in “accommodations/food service”: 8.2 percent

Number of employees working in “retail trade”: 8,207

Percentage of employees working in “retail trade”: 12.8 percent

Number of employees working “wholesale trade”: 1,559

Number of employees working in “wholesale trade”: 2.4 percent

Total percent of Vigo County workforce engaged in retail and commercial activity: 23.4 percent

Total wages earned by Vigo County workforce: $1,859,677,000

Gross earnings by employees in “accommodations/food service”: $75,695,000

Percentage of county’s earnings produced in “accommodations/food service”: 3 percent

Gross earnings by county employees in “retail trade”: $198,003,000

Percentage of county’s earnings produced in “retail trade”: 7.9 percent

Gross earnings of employees working in “wholesale trade”: $98,980,000

Percentage of county’s earnings produced in “wholesale trade”: 4 percent

Percent of Vigo County earnings produced in retail and commercial activity: 14.9 percent



Source: STATS Indiana, an information service jointly operated by the State of Indiana, the Indiana Department of Workforce Development and the Indiana Business Research Center at Indiana University’s Kelly School of Business.