Economist: US needs PhoenixMart - trivalleycentral.com: Area News
This artist’s rendering shows what PhoenixMart is projected to look like when complete.
Posted: Tuesday, August 4, 2015 8:16 am
As construction on the PhoenixMart site continues, outside experts weigh in on the uniqueness of its “convergence” business model and whether or not Casa Grande is the best location for such a bold international megatrade center.
Larry Myler, CEO of the business consulting firm By Monday and an adjunct professor in the Rollins Center for Entrepreneurship & Technology at Brigham Young University, contributed an article for Forbes magazine last week highlighting the efficiencies of consolidating hundreds of businesses under one roof.
He referenced similar mega-marketplaces in China and Dubai and pointed out the need for something similar in the United States to keep American dollars from moving offshore. Myler said one of PhoenixMart’s strongest selling points is the boldness of its concept.
“PhoenixMart is big not only in size but in degree of change from the norm,” Myler said in an interview Monday.
The costs buyers and sellers save from not having to hop from city to city is alluring, Myler said, and can’t
“PhoenixMart is big not only in size but in degree of change from the norm,” Myler said in an interview Monday.
The costs buyers and sellers save from not having to hop from city to city is alluring, Myler said, and can’t
be found in any other American business model.
This originality can come with a struggle, as Myler identified the difficulty of marketing PhoenixMart to
prospective tenants. Like any other business, sellers need to clearly explain why customers should give them the time of day.
prospective tenants. Like any other business, sellers need to clearly explain why customers should give them the time of day.
Situating PhoenixMart in the unsaturated, open lands of Pinal County is more of a benefit than a detriment, according to Myler.
“With this much open space, you’ve got the ability to make it right,” he said. However, Arizona State University associate professor Arnold Maltz said economics indicate PhoenixMart should be built in a metropolis like Tucson or Phoenix.
“There is a reason why people end up in one or the other and not in the middle,” Maltz said. Maltz researches supply chain management at the university’s W.P. Carey School of Business. He said
deciphering whether there is a demand for businesses to make in-person transactions, like those that would be done at PhoenixMart, is still “pretty murky.” He added the age of Internet and technology does create the same kind of convenience PhoenixMart is selling, but he has found many businessmen still prefer an old-fashioned handshake when making a deal.
Myler agrees that personal contact is necessary in the modern business world. He said technology cannot
replace the types of interactions buyers and sellers are seeking. Locally, Myler says PhoenixMart will
replace the types of interactions buyers and sellers are seeking. Locally, Myler says PhoenixMart will
create thousands of jobs that will help the economy and allow local businesses to have unprecedented access to domestic and international markets.
PhoenixMart is located on a 585-acre site near Florence Boulevard and Overfield Road. The structure that is to house 1,740 business suites is scheduled to be completed by mid-2016. A collection of hotels and condominiums built in the surrounding complex is expected to follow by the end of that year. Last month,
pouring of concrete began for foundations and other infrastructure. So will the completion of PhoenixMart usher in a wave of similar trade hubs in America? Myler doesn’t think so, but he sees room for something similar popping up in South America and Africa in the future.
pouring of concrete began for foundations and other infrastructure. So will the completion of PhoenixMart usher in a wave of similar trade hubs in America? Myler doesn’t think so, but he sees room for something similar popping up in South America and Africa in the future.
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