Business & Tech

Chamber of Commerce Prepares to take Bigger Role in Southampton Shopping Center

A new Chamber of Commerce subcommittee will represent the interests of Southampton Shopping Center merchants and help them market the shopping center to the public.

The Benicia Chamber of Commerce is starting a subcommittee for members who are tenants in the Southampton Shopping Center.  The new subcommittee will officially form in early 2013 according to Executive Director Stephanie Christiansen.

“Southampton businesses that are part of the Chamber have asked that we help with starting up of a committee,” said Christiansen.  “We’re working with them at their request to see what we can do and how we can help.”

There are currently 12 Southampton Shopping Center tenants who are members of the Chamber of Commerce.  The owner of the Southampton Shopping Center, Weingarten Realty, is not a member of the Benicia Chamber of Commerce.

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Before Weingarten Realty bought the Southampton Shopping Center, part of the rent each tenant paid monthly was used to support the shopping center’s merchant’s association.  The association would then use some of the money to market the center.

Christiansen believes the chamber and its staff can be especially effective in reinstituting those marketing efforts on behalf of merchants. 

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A detailed work plan for the subcommittee is still being discussed and won’t become official until after the first of the year.  The plan could include promotions built around seasonal activities or holidays.

The plan does not currently include using the Chamber of Commerce to negotiate for improvements at the center like cameras at the entrance and exit points or better signage. 

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If there’s something in this article you think should be corrected, or if something else is amiss, call editor JB Davis at 707-628-0051 or email him at benicia@patch.com.


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