On Retailing

Tuesday, January 16, 2001

Six small businesses to open in next 2 months

Corpus Christi ranks well as a good place for startups

Despite tough times for many big retail companies nationally, small businesses in Corpus Christi are actually doing a little better.
   The Corpus Christi Chamber of Commerce is planning ribbon-cuttings at six small businesses in January or February. That compares to three openings a year ago.
   Also, the Small Business Development Center is seeing improved activity: The six companies that the organization helped get started created 35 jobs in the 2000 first quarter.That compares to 32 jobs created for the same time in 1999.
   "Our strength has always been that we're an environment where small businesses have an opportunity to become successful," said Tom Niskala, chamber chief executive officer.
   That situation is showing despite hard times for major retailers.
   Weiner's Stores Inc. filed for bankruptcy and closed 44 of its 141 stores last October. One of those stores was in Portland while a second was in Parkdale Plaza.
   Nationwide, Stage Stores Inc., which owns Bealls and Palais Royal, closed 121 stores as a part of its restructuring process in December. That brought its total number of stores to 348 in 14 states. None of the stores in the Corpus Christi area were affected, however.
   At the end of last year, Montgomery Ward's closing shocked the retail industry. The 128-year-old company plans to shut down all 250 stores and 10 distribution centers.
   Small businesses, though, have been making a good showing.
   "Just based on the economy, small businesses have done very well," said Henry Cardenas, a spokesman for the U.S. Small Business Administration.
   Part of that success is seen through the increasing numbers of people attracted to small business.
   In 1998, the latest statistics available, 99.7 percent of the 5,744,900 U.S. businesses had fewer than 500 employees, qualifying as small businesses, according to the SBA.
   The number of small businesses increased by 2.6 percent from 5,601,200 in 1997. Along with the 10,303,000 self-employed people, officials estimate that there were 16,047,900 small businesses in the country in 1998.
   Ninety-eight percent of the 379,100 businesses in Texas had fewer than 500 employees. That was a 1 percent increase from the 375,400 businesses in 1997, according to the SBA. There were also 788,000 self-employed people in 1998, and officials estimate the total number of small businesses was 1,167,100.
   In Corpus Christi, that has meant seeing about 450 to 500 per year at the development center, director Ann Fierova said.
   On average, only about 100 of those applicants will go on to create a small business; fewer will make it three years.
   "Usually, if you're making a profit by the end of the first year, you're doing a lot," Fierova said. "A lot of people have some good ideas, but they just haven't done any sort of research in making that idea a reality."
   But Corpus Christi is a good place to make the attempt, she and others have said.
   Boasting relatively cheap real estate, less street congestion to hamper customer traffic and an influx of retirees financially set enough to afford the risks, Corpus Christi has a lot going for it, Niskala and Fierova said.
   The city ranked 40 out of the top 50 cities in the country to start a small business, according to Inc. Magazine, an entrepreneurship publication.
   That was based partially on recent startups and the number of startups that remained in business.
   That has meant a steady increase in the number of small business startups, Niskala said, from 29 in 1999 to 42 last year.
   The fact more retailers have come out to start the year despite the big shakeups proves Corpus Christi's economic resilience, Niskala said.
   "We're going to see a lot of communities that had a little bit of a boom last year going through a little bit of a bust," he said. "Our economy is a little slower but more stable."
   On Retailing is published every other Tuesday in the Caller-Times business section. Ideas may be submitted to: On Retailing, Corpus Christi Caller-Times, P.O. Box 9136, Corpus Christi, Texas 78469; e-mail Michael Hines at hinesm@caller.com; fax items to (361) 886-3732; or call (361) 886-4316.
  

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