UPTOWN JACKSON: MEETING COMPETITION WITH CUSTOMER SERVICE

JACKSON -- Kelly Blackman was in high school when he started working at Rozier's Cash Store uptown in 1944.

He went into the Navy for two years in World War II, came home and went back to work at Rozier's in 1946. "And I've been here ever since," he said.

Blackman is corporate president for the Jackson Rozier's. His son Steve manages the store.

Rozier's is a fixture in the city's old business district.

"It'll be 69 years next month that Rozier's has been here in Jackson," Kelly Blackman said. "It opened here in August of 1927."

Malls, discount outlets and other modern retail phenomena have sounded death knells for many small towns' shopping districts. But in uptown (the area surrounding the courthouse and city hall) and downtown (the area along West Main Street) merchants keep ringing up sales.

When Wal-Mart opened in Jackson several years ago merchants along High Street and West Main may have worried about their customers migrating. But Blackman said he doesn't even think about it anymore.

"They have their thing to do, and we have ours," he said.

Competition from discount stores like Wal-Mart and West Park Mall is a fact of life for all retailers, but service is the secret of Jackson's success, merchants say.

"We've had our up and down periods," said Jeff Moore, vice president of Ross Furniture on High Street and president of both the Jackson Chamber of Commerce and Jackson Merchants Association. "But to me, I think the consumers are seeing that service does matter and that the personal touch you get from a Jackson merchant is unique in today's marketplace, and I think they see that as part of our perceived value."

Residential growth is mushrooming on all sides of Jackson and the out-county areas, while Highway 61 is the site of most of the city's new commercial growth, including a new Citgo station and Auto Zone store, said City Administrator Steve Wilson.

But the old business district is still a high-traffic area for residents of the city and surrounding communities.

"I think the out-county people still like to come to the small, family-owned businesses and do their trading," Wilson said. "I think our merchants offer that value."

Lisa Fluegge-McClanahan, who opened Lasting Impressions on High Street a few weeks ago, said the proximity of the courthouse, city hall, the post office and local banks hasn't hurt her business a bit.

"Occasionally, we get tourists. When the train (St. Louis-Iron Mountain Railroad) has a break, they send people up to us," she said. "To be honest with you, most of my traffic right now are senior citizens coming in from the banks. And we've got the courthouse here to feed off of, which is great. And the growth in Jackson has really helped."

Mayor Paul Sander agreed, pointing out that the residential boom in Jackson and surrounding unincorporated areas has meant a bigger customer base for merchants in the city.

He said that while Highway 61 is the area now experiencing most of the city's commercial development, it contains different types of businesses that aren't really in competition with merchants uptown and downtown.

"I see that kind of developing for fast food, car dealerships, high-visibility places," Sander said.

Merchants in downtown Cape Girardeau had to adapt to competition from West Park Mall. Jackson hasn't seen that kind of commercial development yet, Wilson said, and merchants have a loyal customer base.

Moore said the chamber is working to develop a stronger tourism base for the city. In the meantime, businesses in the central district work together to take advantage of annual events like Homecomers, which bring thousands of people into the area.

The extension of East Main Street to Interstate 55 will bring even more traffic uptown, Sander said, giving out-county shoppers "a straight shot" into the city's business district.