Beginning a merchants association in Tyrone is becoming more and more a reality for local merchants. This past Monday a handful of downtown merchants met once again to begin discussing concrete measures to take that will further the association’s development.
Togetherness is what downtown merchants are hoping to develop with all the local businesses in Tyrone, but right now participating merchants who have been attending the meetings feel that there are not enough merchants involved to take the association a step further.
Those who have been attending have agreed to name Rob Orr, manager of Morris Levine Shoefly, as the association’s spokesperson and acting president. Nothing was made official or finalized because they hope to attract more Tyrone businesses to participate and therefore have a say in the association’s development.
Orr stated, “We feel there are enough businesses in Tyrone to make a difference in what goes on in Tyrone. In the next couple weeks we are dividing up a list of businesses among some of our existing members and approach those businesses.” He added, “We want to try and secure at least twenty members.”
The merchants association is trying to become established to approach businesses for interest in Tyrone. Orr speculated that one of the goals of the merchants association is to become an entity of the Tyrone Chamber of Commerce.
“We encourage businesses to stay with the chamber and to even join the chamber if not already in it,” said Orr. “A business doesn’t have to be in the chamber but it is a lot broader in its means. We want to see the merchants as part of the chamber.”
The merchants association is looking at methods to become a member of the association in ways of a bi-annual fee. Orr said that it would be around $90 and each merchant would be a part of two $900 advertising campaigns. The monies collected by the association would mainly be used for advertisement.
Orr added, “If we (Tyrone merchants) put advertising dollars together and plan events together, we can draw people into Tyrone to shop. We can encourage businesses to put coupons in their ads, and with a full page of ads from Tyrone businesses with coupons also, people will take a day to come to Tyrone and do business.”
Together is the key driving force behind the merchants association in Tyrone. With the association and its combined monies for advertisement such things like billboard ads on I-99 and full page newspaper ads can be possible. Promoting Tyrone businesses around the area will more effectively draw people to the downtown area.
Nothing is final, but plans are being made. Within the next couple of weeks more Tyrone businesses will be approached to draw more attention and interest in the merchants association.
Orr noted that if or when Tyrone merchants decide to hold downtown sidewalk sales and or celebrations, he wants to try and get businesses outside of the downtown area to perhaps use some of the empty storefront spaces in town to promote and sell their items during an event. That way every merchant in the Tyrone area has the opportunity to be involved.
The merchants association will also aim to bring new businesses into the downtown area to provide a broader range of businesses and increase interest to become a permanent fixture in the convenient accessibility of Tyrone.
