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Approximately 500 residents of Powell, Wyoming, invested in Powell Mercantile, a large retailer. |
When the last department store in Powell, Wyoming, closed its doors,
townspeople were faced with a couple of choices--drive more than an
hour-and-a-half north to Billings for clothes and shoes or go to the
nearest Wal-Mart 20 miles away in Cody. Instead, they took matters into
their own hands and opened Powell Mercantile in 2002. |
After Stage Store, a retail chain with more than 7,200 stores
closed its Wyoming and Montana branches in 1999, Powell community
leaders, including the Powell Valley Chamber of Commerce, tried to
bring in another large retailer, such as JC Penny. However, none of the
chain stores felt the town of 5,500 was a large enough market. "It
became for us a question of need and the survival of the town," says
store manager Paul Ramos.
For three years, Powell went without a department store. Then the
town's retail board heard about Plentywood, Montana, which had faced a
similar predicament and opened its own store. Inspired by the
Plentywood story, the Powell retail board presented the idea to its
citizens. "People were all for the idea and promised to make it work,
Ramos says. The board sold shares for $500 a piece and limited
shareholders to 10 shares so that everyone would have an equal say.
Eight hundred shares were sold to 500 stockholders, raising the
$400,000 needed to launch Powell Mercantile, affectionately known as
The Merc, in the old Stage Store location. A board of directors made up
of local business owners, including a retired pharmacist, an
accountant, and the newspaper publisher, was set up to oversee the
store, and Ramos was hired to handle the day-to-day operations. The
next step was hiring someone to stock the 12,000-square-foot-store with
men's, women's, and children's clothes; shoes; and accessories. Mike
Reile, a retired retail manager with more than 45 years of experience,
was hired.
The Merc has provided the townspeople with more than just a place
to buy clothing--it's also helped revitalize Main Street. "It's really
a spirit of 'we're all in this together. When you succeed, I succeed,'"
says Ramos. In addition, The Merc is drawing customers from other small
towns that don't have a retail clothing store. "All told, this store
serves close to 20,000 people," according to Ramos. And this year, the
investors received their first dividend payments on their
investments--$75 per share.
Ramos says he knows of at least seven other communities that have
opened their own stores. "We get calls from people every day from all
over the country. It's a wonderful idea. I wish every community could
do it."
