By Gary J. Groman, a.k.a. The Ole Seagull
The final gross retail sales numbers for the city of Branson’s 2007 Fiscal Year will be in record territory by a huge margin. On Oct. 31, Ferris Brown, the city of Branson’s Finance Director said, “Once we get a final numbers for September we’ll be at a billion dollars gross retail sales for the Fiscal Year. That’s about $200 million over the best of any previous year.”
Brown emphasized that the monthly tax receipts from the tourism tax have been up for 19 straight months and that the city’s sales tax revenues have been up for 17 straight months. He said, “The encouraging thing is the way that the numbers continue to go up and that does not include the convention center or what will happen when the Wal-Mart Super Center and the other Branson Hills stores open.”
Data furnished by Brown indicates that all areas of Branson shared in the retail sales growth. As of August 2007, Branson Hills had a 12 month retail sales value of $41.6 million up from $20.3 million for the same period in 2006, Branson Landing $99.6 million versus $26.7 million in 2006, and all the rest of Branson, excluding Branson Hills and Branson Landing, $843.6 million versus $823.6 million in 2006.
Analysis of the data furnished indicates that the retail sales value in the retail areas outside of Branson Landing and Branson Hills actually went up about 2.4 percent between August of 2006 and August of 2007. During the same period, the retail sales values rose about 273 percent in Branson Landing and about 105 percent in Branson Hills. It also indicates that the August 2006 figures for Branson Landing and Branson Hills is based on retail sales revenues from a partial year of operation, March through August, and that the figures for the areas other than Branson Landing and Branson Hills reflects a full 12 months of operation.
Brown pointed out that the increase in the retail sales value in the areas of Branson other than Branson Landing and Branson Hills is important. During the planning stages for the approval and construction of Branson Landing, consultants hired by the city of Branson had forecast about a 19 percent reduction in the retail sales of existing Branson retail businesses outside of Branson Landing during the first two years that Branson Landing was open. The actual figures indicate that during the first full year of Branson Landing’s operation, not only did the forecast reduction not occur but that, as a class, those businesses actually had an increase in sales.
Brown attributed a large part of the current retail sales increases to Branson’s use of Tax Increment Financing (TIF). In terms of that success he said, “Branson Landing is a text book example of what a TIF should do. It should pay the debt and generate economic opportunity throughout the area.”
Furnished courtesy of the Branson Daily Independent.
