Chamber recruits employers in Germany; city dodges a bullet in Sears, Kmart, Aeropostale closings

It’s like planting a tiny seed and hoping that, along with plenty of hard work on your own, it will one day yield big-time tasty fruit.

That essentially was the mission of Bill Murphy and Brian Sillitto, the economic development executives with the Greater Columbus Chamber of Commerce as they embarked on a journey early last week to Hannover, Germany.

The nearly 70-year-old industrial trade fair known as Hannover Messe — “messe” is German for fair — draws as many as 6,500 companies and exhibitors, with more than 200,000 people attending the annual event from 70-plus countries. The Columbus duo said they met with 20 prospects they hope eventually might put Columbus on a short list of U.S. sites for a new manufacturing plant or other facility that creates good-paying jobs.

No mistaking it, economic development recruiting is dog eat dog, with cities, counties, regions and states all courting companies aggressively and letting them know why they should choose a particular area or community over another. Incentives, of course, have become major carrots in landing a prized employer large, small and in between.

“As we confirmed in the Regional Prosperity Initiative, part of our strategy is to tell the world that Columbus is an exceptional location for manufacturing,” Murphy said. “Our mission is to actively recruit international companies and showcase why they should choose the Columbus, Ga., region for their next major project.”

The Hannover fair put a spotlight on industrial automation, energy, research, supply and technology, to include digital factories. Sillitto said there isn’t a substitute for meeting decision-makers in person.

“This trip takes abroad our messages about our region’s vibrant economy, advanced manufacturing capabilities and location advantages,” he said.

With the Columbus metro area unemployment rate still hovering too high for comfort at 6.6 percent — that’s the March figure reported by the labor department — here’s hoping the chamber’s prospecting trip overseas pays off at some point locally with solid jobs for people who desperately need them. It’s been awhile since we’ve had a bumper crop of those.

Sears, Aeropostale and The Sports Page

There is some good news spinning out of the recent bad news on the retail scene, with iconic retailer Sears and one-time mall fashion hotshot Aeropostale both announcing rounds of store closures amid their financial struggles.

Sears, which has been downsizing in recent years, recently said it will be eliminating nearly 80 stores bearing its flagship brand and that of its discount chain Kmart. The good news is none of the Columbus-area stores are on the list, including its Columbus Park Crossing Sears location, although a Kmart did go dark on Milgen Road a few years ago. In fact, no stores in Georgia were targeted in the cuts.

As for Aeropostale, its outlet at Peachtree Mall on Manchester Expressway also has dodged a bullet, with the retailer geared toward teens saying Wednesday it has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. That comes with the closings of 113 stores in the U.S. and 41 in Canada. The Columbus location is nowhere on the list. Only three stores in Georgia are among the soon-to-be-vacated outlets, and those are in Athens, Lithonia and Macon.

Then there’s the mom-and-pop entertainment location, The Sports Page, a restaurant and bar at 5736 Veterans Parkway in north Columbus, which shuttered its doors suddenly less than two weeks ago. The business, situated at the parkway’s intersection with Whitesville Road, has long been operating inside what once was a bank branch building. And while the location may be down, it doesn’t appear to out, with The Sports Page Facebook page having posted photos of construction work in progress over the last week or two, and promising on Wednesday that “so many new and exciting things (are) coming soon.”

This story was originally published May 4, 2016 at 6:18 PM with the headline "Chamber recruits employers in Germany; city dodges a bullet in Sears, Kmart, Aeropostale closings."