Industrial Base In Roanoke (Norfolk, Chesapeake: for sale, how much, home)

[Spence&Kim]

I'm hoping for some help from the Roanoke locals here. I own and operate a retail store that sells higher end work boots including safety shoes. Currently we are doing really well out here in Chesapeake because Tidewater has a HUGE industrial base to draw customers from. Unfortunatly it is too darn expensive to live in this area to enjoy the fruits of our labors so we (the missus and I) are contemplating opening another store in your fair city.

I need the know what kind of industrial, manufacturing, construction job base there is out there. Does somebody have an opinion of these fields and if there'll be enough folks out there to keep us in business.

We really love the mountians and feel more at home in the valley than anywhere we've lived so hopefully your input can nudge us in the right direction.

Thanks Ya'll!

[roanoker 4]

Roanoke was once a huge industrial area mainly from the N & W Railroad. The railroad's headquarters left here as you know and moved to Norfolk about 20 years ago. There is still some railroad car construction but nothing like before.
Roanoke has become more of a service type center with less industrial and manufacturing. I'm not sure about the potential of your business but it sounds like if you have found a market there for your business, maybe you should continue in Tidewater, in my opinion. Good Luck!

[seanpecor]

It depends on your customer sales expectations. Roanoke was _never_ close to Chesapeake's industrial base so I presume you would expect a lower sales volume?

Check out Roanoke, VA - May 2006 OES Metropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates. Out of the 156,000 jobs in the Roanoke MSA (Roanoke City, Roanoke County, Craig County, Botetourt County, Franklin County) there are 49,000 jobs in sectors that would need medium/heavy duty work clothes.

I can tell you from personal experience that work boots and work clothing in general is a question that nobody around here is answering, except as an afterthought. I order my work clothes online (gemplers) and buy work boots at the local Southern States (wolverine) but the selection is pathetic.

There is a building for sale/lease on Route 220 south of Roanoke, on the intersection of Buck Mountain Road. It used to be a "big ugly warehouse" but they painted it and upgraded the interior/front entrance. It would be a perfect location for a work outfitters store. A super walmart will begin construction across the road in '08. That section of Route 220 is a major artery between Roanoke and Franklin County, probably 75% of the blue collar work force would pass by it regularly. It's a short drive from the N/S Roanoke Shops.

If you diversified into work clothing and became something more of a one stop shop then you'd do well here. A place to buy carhartt gear, boots, safety shoes, work gloves from cloth cheapies to shoulder strapped chemical gloves, etc. You'd draw from the gentry farmers also, like myself, and the german baptist population also, which is not insignificant in the Franklin County area.

Sean

[Spence&Kim]

Thanks for the input. To be honest I'm not sure just how much volume I'd expect from ANY area. The base is great here in Chesapeake, but there's also a lot of competition. I'm trying to educate myself as to if there are even enough potential customers in that area to make a good solid go of it. I'm not greedy...I just want it all. But serisously, I'd be happy if a store was sustainable out there. Thanks Again!

[emsgoof]

Roanoke is big on word of mouth advertising. If you impress someone, they're sure to tell all their co-workers and friends about it. The opposite applies also. If you treat them badly, you may as well pack up, because nobody is going to come around! It's still a "small town" mentality for most of the area, and everyone knows everyone else.
Having said that, when I was working down there, a uniform shop would have been great! I had to go to about 4 different places to get all of my stuff!