Mayor Domenic J. Sarno and the City of Springfield’s Office of Planning and Economic Development are pleased to announce that the City will be offering its BEST RETAIL PRACTICES PROGRAM to assist retailers, restaurateurs and storefront business owners in Springfield. BEST RETAIL PRACTICES (BRP) brings professional advice to independent retailers in all aspects of store and restaurant design, layout and visual merchandising, customer service and both traditional and social media marketing through workshops and one-on-one consultations.
Springfield’s BRP’s 3-part program begins with a free 2 hour workshop in which visual examples of current best practices are shared. Everyone is sure to learn something new! The workshop will be held Tuesday morning, October 23rd, from 8:00-10:00AM at Richard E. Neal City Hall Annex (a.k.a DPW), 70 Tapley Street, Springfield, MA. 01104.
Retail expert Christine Moynihan of Retail Visioning will present the free workshop and conduct the ten individual consultations. Since 2003, she has brought the “tips, tools and tricks of the trade” of this program to over 1000 business owners across the state and provided specific recommendations to over 350 shops, salons and restaurants. Following the workshop, qualified owners of shops, restaurants and store front service businesses in Springfield may apply to be one of the businesses that will receive a one-on-one, in-store consultation session with Moynihan – also for free! These businesses will then receive a written report with specific ideas and recommendations for improving their businesses now and for the future.
Qualifying businesses attending the workshop will also have the opportunity to apply federal grants to implement recommended improvements. Criteria for the consultations and eligibility to receive the grant money will be explained at the workshop.
For more information on the workshop, consultations and grants -- and to register for the workshop --please contact Richard Griffin at (413) 787-6020 rgriffin2@springfieldcityhall.com
While all are invited, seating is limited and attendance at the workshop is required for access to the grants so advance registration is highly recommended for this popular program