New London Main Street Takes Care of Business

Thinking about opening a business in New London but not sure if there’s a market for it? New London Main Street’s new guide to doing business in “The District,” the 26 blocks comprising the city’s historic downtown, aims to help potential businesses answer that question.

“We wanted to focus on being a resource for businesses that wanted to relocate in the area, to provide some demographic and market information so they can understand who’s here and who they can market to,” said New London Main Street’s Barbara Lipsche, who put together the newly-published guide.  

The guide includes useful information about the local market. A demographic breakdown of New London county as a whole reveals a potential market of 274,055 people, 150,000 of whom are between the ages of 20 and 60, “a perfect market for retailers and restaurants,” the guide points out.

The District itself has become a hot spot for individuals between the ages of 20 and 24 and is dominated by businesses that focus on entertainment, arts, and hospitality. Most of the are one-of-a-kind, privately-owned businesses that offer unique goods and services. So where are the voids in the market that an enterprising business owner might step in to fill?

According to the guide, the most underserved retail areas are clothing, shoe stores, beauty supplies, optical goods and services and hardware stores. A survey of downtown residents conducted by New London Main Street, meanwhile, found that people would also like to see a book store, a movie theater, arts and craft supply store and a shoe store set up shop in the city.  

Initially, New London Main Street had intended only to update a retail market analysis that the organization produced a number of years ago using new data from the 2010 Census, among other sources. In the course of producing the document, Lipsche said, it expanded beyond basic demographics.

“It took shape as a “welcome to the District,” said Lipsche. “The demographics are on New London County, but we do talk about things that are going on in the downtown area. We talk about the demographics and events that might attract people.”

Indeed, that’s one of the things that sets this document apart from the one-stop shop guide that the city produced to help businesses navigate through the red tape required to start a business in New London. New London Main Street’s guide highlights the many attractions, such as the Garde Arts Center, Flock Theatre, Custom House Maritime Museum, Fort Trumbull State Park, and OpSail 2012, that draw people to the city.

“The information is out there, in some ways, in excess,” Lipsche said. “We wanted to present the information in a very easy way for people. It’s nice to have some information that tells you about the people that are here and the events. We do get inquiries from people who are looking for space. This is something we can give people. It makes the city much more accommodating to these entrepreneurial types.”