Weyburn retailers, the Chamber of Commerce and city council all have a very big job ahead of them, and it will become more evident by late this year: namely, the presence and effect of big-box retail outlets in Weyburn.

First off was the retail giant Wal-Mart, which is currently in the process of constructing a new outlet on Highway 39, and more recently, Canadian Tire announced they will be building a new store, along with a Mark's Work Wearhouse, just to the west of Wal-Mart.

With the lead time provided by the necessity of these companies to construct new outlets, established city businesses can (and should) begin to prepare, as should the Chamber of Commerce and council as well. First, the city's downtown core is in urgent need of attention.

With a number of empty storefronts, along with vacant properties where a number of demolitions have taken place, there is a need for revitalization and renewal in the downtown core. This will be further exacerbated when Canadian Tire vacates its Souris Avenue store and moves into its new property.

This was an issue raised in last fall's byelection, as the candidates were asked what they would do on council to help begin the revitalization process. With the civic elections coming up in the fall, this will be sure to come up again as an issue, but the need for answers will be much more urgent.

While council is granting incentives to encourage such new developments, they ought also to look at incentives of some kind for building or locating downtown. There are both developed and undeveloped properties there, and this could be a prime opportunity to take advantage of those extra out-of-town shoppers who will be drawn by the new stores.

One suggestion is to offer a form of the "Weyburn Builds" program that is tailored to entrepreneurs looking to set up shop downtown. Another would be to offer reduced taxes on those properties, at least until the shops get on their feet.

At the top of the list for attracting those shoppers, however, is the issue of promoting a unique service or product, backed by open and friendly staff who take care of their customers. As those few who attended a recent seminar were told, service can be the main key to surviving the competition from the big-box stores.

Clearly from the attendance at that seminar there are a number of businesses who either don't think the new stores will affect them, or aren't aware of what kind of effect these stores will have.

Besides the issue of service, downtown entrepreneurs could set up unique shops that offer shoppers items they won't find in any of the big-box outlets, in addition to the personal attention that draws in and keeps shoppers as loyal customers.

In any event, the arrival of the big retailers is imminent; inaction could lead to disastrous results, whereas action could take advantage of a new shopping atmosphere that could make Weyburn a prime destination and reduce the threat of other cities that draw dollars away from our community. - G.N.