Mall Builder Covering Bases With Push For Local Shopping Firm’s Spokane Valley Mall A Draw, But It Recently Bought Silver Lake Mall

The company building the Spokane Valley Mall is curiously encouraging Idaho shoppers to stay at home.

And on Friday, JP Realty Co. Inc. - the company that built its valley mall with the idea of luring shoppers from Washington and Idaho - launched a “Shop North Idaho First” campaign. Coeur d’Alene and Post Falls chambers of commerce are helping in the effort.

G. Rex Frazier, president of JP Realty Co. Inc., declined comment on how long the campaign would last, what type of campaign it would be and how the company would implement it.

The Salt Lake City company purchased Coeur d’Alene’s Silver Lake Mall two weeks ago for $27 million.

The two chambers said the shop Idaho effort is a “subtle” educational campaign. They will sell T-shirts with a “Shop North Idaho First” logo, saying the idea is good for local business.

But Bob Templin, owner of Templin’s Resort in Post Falls, says he doesn’t like the idea of encouraging territorialism.

“If everyone else shopped at home, we’d be out of business,” he said, referring to the large number of Washington customers in the Idaho area.

“It’s nice to invite people to shop North Idaho first or last or whatever. What disturbs me is the using ‘first,”’ he said. “We need all the tourists we can get.”

Patrick McGaughey, executive director of the Coeur d’Alene area Chamber of Commerce, said JP Realty’s campaign is a smart business move.

“They’ve got all their bases covered,” he said. “They’ve cornered their portion of the market, as everyone does.”

The Valley Mall, only 15 miles from Coeur d’Alene and 11 miles from downtown Spokane, has almost a million square feet of retail space. The Silver Lake Mall has 300,000 square feet of retail space.

Kerri Thoreson, executive director of the Post Falls Chamber of Commerce, said she doesn’t anticipate any feelings of provincialism among competing businesses.

“It has been a good-natured campaign. It’s not meant to diminish any other state or area,” she said.

Both the Spokane-area and Spokane Valley chambers of commerce say they understand the campaign.

“If I were in their position, I’d be doing the same thing. It’s a competitive market,” said Ray Murphy, president and CEO of the Spokane Valley Chamber of Commerce.

A local businessman said he had not heard of the campaign, but thought it sounded like a good idea. Tom Richards, general manager of Atlas Building Center in Coeur d’Alene, said he is concerned about the perception of big advertisers and chain stores that seem to promote “immense selections.”

“Wal-Mart has created this perception that locally owned stores can’t compete against the big chains,” he said.

Others say it may be a nice idea, but express concerns about its effectiveness.

Bob Potter, president of Coeur d’Alene’s Jobs Plus program, a non-profit economic development program, said the real test will be how competitive northern Idaho businesses will be with low prices, hours and service.

“We certainly want to encourage it (‘Buy North Idaho First’), but it is a two-edged sword. We have to be competitive. We can’t ignore the fact that we are 35 miles from Spokane and the Valley.

“You can’t forget we’re a region. You can’t ignore it. We’re not that far apart. We’re supporting vendors for the Spokane area.”

Says Murphy, “The bottom line is, it’s one economic region, and, oh by the way, a state line runs through it. Dollars flow very freely.”

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color photo