Downtown Santa Barbara, through private funding, hired Seattle - based retail consulting firm Downtown Works for guidance on how to fix the rising tide of vacancies and other issues affecting retail on State Street. (downtownsb.org)
Labor costs are rising, according to an estimate from Dean Haskell, a partner at National Retail Concept Partners, a restaurant and retail consulting firm in Denver. (nytimes.com)
«They truly want people to be available and present at this particular time to hasten a turnaround,» said Carol Spieckerman, president of retail consulting firm newmarketbuilders. (startribune.com)