Hancock County and Mississippi Power Engage Retail Strategies for Growth in Hancock County

May 19, 2023

KILN, MISS - Hancock County Port and Harbor Commission, in partnership with Mississippi Power, are excited to announce the engagement of consulting firm Retail Strategies from Alabama to identify and recruit new businesses to the I-90 corridor from Bay St. Louis to Waveland and Diamondhead, Mississippi.

The consulting firm is no stranger to the region, working with Mississippi Power to identify retail, hospitality and dining vendors interested in moving to the Mississippi Gulf Coast. “Mississippi Power takes pride in being an economic development partner in the communities we serve,” said Mississippi Power Senior Commercial Representative Tomeka Durr-Wiley. “Adding the expertise of Retail Strategies will only bolster the efforts already underway to strategically recruit new businesses to Hancock County.”

The firm was hired in January of 2023, and will continue to work with HCPHC for three years through January 2026. The first phase of the project focused on discovery: identifying the trade areas, demographics, and what was missing in comparison to other similarly sized communities. The next phase is for Retail Strategies to reach out to potential hotels, retailers, fast-casual restaurants, and others, to see if they are interested in the region and would be open to expansion. Although this will take several years to come to fruition, the return on investment is huge and there are opportunities for the community to get involved.

The cost of the retail recruitment project is $120,000 over three years with Mississippi Power cost sharing a portion of the overall professional services agreement. “We understand how important it is for the local population to be able to shop and dine in their local community. This retail recruitment effort will target retailers and dining establishments by that will drive new traffic to our community while capturing tax dollars that are leaking to neighboring counties. The developments will work to increase the visibility of Hancock County as a place for people to visit and hopefully stay” said Hancock County Port & Harbor Commission Business Development Manager, Obie McClure.

HCPHC is currently inventorying commercial property located along Highway 90 and in the City of Diamondhead. If you are current property with commercial property and wish to be included in our inventory database, please reach out to HCPHC’s Obie McClure for further assistance.

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The Hancock County Port and Harbor Commission was established in 1963 to lead the county’s economic development activities. Stennis International Airport and Port Bienville Industrial Park are home to 30 companies with more than 1,000 employees. For more information visit www.portairspace.com.