Attracting the Big Retailers
The City of Hammond wanted to persuade Wal-Mart to locate a new store in the community. Wal-Mart,
however, believed their other area stores already adequately met the needs of shoppers in northwest Indiana.
Using GIS, Hammond Economic Development staff created vicinity maps that analyzed driving distances for
Hammond residents to existing Wal-Mart stores.
The analysis showed long driving distances and awkward routes for Hammond residents to reach existing stores.
Using GIS, staff also analyzed existing Census map data, like median income, to show that Hammond residents
fit Wal-Mart's customer profiles. After examining the maps and reports, Wal-Mart agreed to build a new store in Hammond.
Results
By using GIS, the City of Hammond:
- Created 200 construction jobs
- Attracted Wal-Mart's investment of $7 million
- Generate $200,000/yr in taxes
- Created 335 full and part-time permanent jobs (54% of which are held by Hammond residents)
Wal-Mart benefited, too. The new store:
- Generates $1.15 million/week in sales
- Has up to 40,000 people through the door each week
- Has a 20% higher sales volume than newer stores in region
- Ranked in top 15% of 120 regional stores for generated sales
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