Mobile retail trucks-similar to food trucks but with goods and services sold in lieu of cuisine-are in motion to set up shop in Memphis. Five trucks will be launching their businesses between now and May.
The city of Memphis, the Mayor's Innovation Delivery Team and Alt Consulting have combined efforts to bring a mobile retail truck industry to Memphis and help them succeed in the process.
As one of the city's economic development initiatives, MEMMobile provides education around mobile businesses, aid with regulation of the policies and procedures surrounding the retail trucks and provide incubation in the form of a forgivable loan program.
"We want to use these first five trucks to understand and really test the business model," program manager for the Mayor's Innovation Delivery Team Abby Miller said.
Last fall, the MIDT issued a request for proposal to the public for the mobile program and received 20 applications. A selection committee of local business leaders and government officials chose five awardees to receive the forgivable loan and be a part of MEMMobile.
Henny Penny Mobile Boutique, Thigh High Jeans, Sache: A T-Shirt Truck, K'PreSha: A Haul of Fashion on Wheels and The Bike Smith are gearing up to start business.
"Our idea was to have it be a cohort where we had enough trucks hitting the street at the same time to create a credible mass and really test the business model for a variety of businesses," Miller said.
In other cities where the mobile retailers are thriving, trucks encompass a number of different markets and services. Floral shops on wheels, for instance, have found great success.
"We saw that there was a pretty healthy and robust food truck industry here but, unlike other cities, we didn't see this mobile retail opportunity really cropping up," Miller said.
The program is a great way for entrepreneurs to start a business without having to open up a brick and mortar shop. It also provides the opportunity to set up anywhere as a retailer, which is helpful in an expansive city like Memphis, giving businesses the ability to go where customers are.
Regulations for the retail trucks differ drastically from those set for the food truck industry. Food trucks have ordinances that require them to maintain a distance of 300 feet from restaurants, unless given approval from all the restaurants within that distance.
Memphis retail trucks currently have no such restrictions and regulations.
"There isn't any specific language about how close or far retail trucks can be to other retail stores," Miller said. "We are just asking the mobile retail businesses themselves establish good relationships with other businesses and get permission to be where they are. "
Cyndii Jo Harley's Henny Penny Mobile Boutique is the first of the five retail trucks to roll up its door and open for business. Hartley held two soft openings before having her official grand opening to the public at Theatre Memphis Saturday from 12 to 4 p.m.
So far, the Henny Penny Mobile Boutique has been a success, according to Hartley.
"The only thing tripping me up is how to bag the purchases," she said. "I've been fighting with tissue paper."
The Henny Penny sells ladies' clothing and accessories under $100 with a focus on "effortless glamour."
Part retail, part education and part engagement, the Sache: A T-shirt Truck will sell the same products featured in their store downtown as well as lease the truck out for events to do on-site screen-printing.
"For a company like ours, where we have a brick and mortar but are not really ready or willing to go out and open another one yet, it's a good growth step," Sache co-owner John Sylvester said.
The 30-foot long truck is still in the fabrication process but owners John Sylvester and Eric Evans hope to be doing business by May 1.
A downtown brick and mortar clothing store that is gearing up to sell on wheels, K'PreSha: A Haul of Fashion on Wheels, sells both men's and women's clothing featuring mostly local designers. Owner Kimberly Taylor expects to open in two to four weeks.
Thigh High Jeans, owned by Ann Smithwick and Kerry Peeples, up-cycles used jeans people donate and reconfigures them into creative wearable denim with a message.
The fifth truck in the MEMMobile program is The Bike Smith, a mobile bike repair and bike accessories business owned by Jim Steffen. The truck will set up shop in bike central areas as well as make house calls for repairs.
"It's an exciting time for a city like Memphis because this could be a unique catalyst for growth, not only for consumers who want to come out and look at niche goods but also for future entrepreneurs that maybe don't have the resources to open up a traditional storefront business," Sylvester said.
