Corpus Christi Caller Times Caller.com - Retail spending in city jumps $33.8 million

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Tuesday, April 18, 2000

Retail spending in city jumps $33.8 million
Grocers and auto dealers gain most

Corpus Christi spent $33.8 million more on retail goods in the third quarter of 1999 than in 1998, the state comptroller reported.
   Some of the big winners were grocery stores and auto dealerships/service centers. Both industries are expanding in the city. Corpus Christi's grocery purchases saw a healthy increase of 7.7 percent to $208 million.
   But for comparison, Austin's grocery purchases jumped 16.6 percent to top $700 million and Laredo's jumped 17.2 percent to $108 million.
   Sam J. Susser, chairman of the board for SSP, a company that distributes gasoline and owns 420 Circle K stores in Texas, said that the company will be building six new stores in Corpus Christi in the year 2000, and closing a few others.
   "Sure there's some increase in demand," Susser said. "We're still a growing community, although not as fast as any of us would like to grow."
   Corpus Christi's automotive sales grew 7.91 percent to $166 million in the third quarter of 1999, the comptroller's report found. For comparison, Austin's automotive sales grew 24 percent to $898 million and Laredo's grew 5.8 percent to $36.7 million.
   Bill McBean, president of Vista Automotive, is building a new 90,000-square-foot sales and service center for the company's Chevrolet, Toyota, Oldsmobile and Cadillac dealerships.
   Corpus Christi's growth has been strong enough to justify the expansion even if it doesn't match Austin's, McBean said.
   "We bought more franchises and our business kept growing. We are literally busting at the seams."
   Overall, retail spending continued to make up about 37 percent of the city's sales. The other 60-plus percent comes from industry such as construction and manufacturing.
   The 1999 third quarter figures "look like a continuation of a trend we've had before," said Ralph Goonan, director of research at the Corpus Christi Regional Economic Development Corp. "From 1986 to '99, the retail sales percentage hovered around 37 to 38 percent."
   Ramada renovations
   The "please pardon our noise" sign at the Ramada Inn-Bayfront downtown is just a hint of the $1.2 million facelift the hotel is getting.
   The hotel was built at the site of the Nueces Hotel in 1971 as the La Quinta Royale, said general manager Ralph Ehrlich. Since then it has been run under a series of owners, and became a Ramada in the mid-1990s. However, Ehrlich said, "it had not had any renovations in a long time."
   "We were losing market share," he said. "The property had become non-competitive because of its physical condition."
   On the outside, the hotel has finished turning its aged balconies into floor-to-ceiling bay windows. On the inside, each of the hotel's 200 rooms is getting new paint, carpets, drapes, air conditioners, TVs, comforters and a bathroom makeover; the suites are also getting new furniture including sofas and microwaves.
   In the end, the hotel will spend about $4,000 per room, Ehrlich said, and visitors should notice "a major improvement."
   "We will be a first-class Ramada Inn."
   The renovations will be complete by June 1, he said.



On Retailing is published every other Tuesday in the Caller-Times business section. The column includes news of new, relocated and expanded businesses in the Coastal Bend, plus retailing trends and profiles. Ideas may be submitted to: On Retailing, Corpus Christi Caller-Times, P.O. Box 9136, Corpus Christi, Texas 78469; e-mail Tara Copp at coppt@caller.com; fax items to (361) 886-3732; or call (361) 886-4316.

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