GETTING PEOPLE BACK TO WORK IS ONE OF THE KEYS TO PANDEMIC RECOVERY... BUT IT'S ALSO IMPORTANT TO GET PEOPLE BACK INTO STORES AND SPENDING MONEY. THE GOOD NEWS IS... RETAIL IS RETURNING.
CHERRY CREEK NORTH SAYS FOOT TRAFFIC AT ITS STORES HAS BEEN UP ABOUT 16-PERCENT EACH MONTH SINCE FEBRUARY. AND... 18 NEW STORES HAVE OPENED THIS YEAR.
WE'RE CHECKING IN ON RETAIL BUSINESS WITH TONY JORDAN... THE G-M OF CHERRY CREEK'S STATE AND LIBERTY CLOTHING COMPANY.
NOTES FROM CHERRY CREEK NORTH:
--Foot traffic in the district is up 14% on average each month since February, Q1 business openings reached a 12-month high in Colorado and nationwide.
-- Industry experts say retail sales are expected to increase 8.2% this year, reaching more than $4.33 trillion nationally.
--Colorado saw a 25% increase in business openings between Q4 of 2020 (2,716 new businesses) and Q1 of 2021 (3,396 new businesses).
-- CHERRY CREEK NORTH STORE OPENING/CLOSURE DATA:
2021: 18 OPENED, 4 CLOSED
2020: 24 OPENED, 28 CLOSED
2019: 22 OPENED, 31 CLOSED