Facelift for a coastal town (nip and tuck needed too)

Recently I visited the seaside town of Fish Hoek along the southern Peninsula coastline in Cape Town, and was interested to see how it is trying to change its image.

The main street business people took a big knock a few years ago when the nearby Long Beach Mall, situated in the valley between Fish Hoek and Noordhoek, was introduced. Since the mall opened close to 30 businesses left the Fish Hoek business district to relocate, or failed. Meanwhile, over the festive season 500 000 people were expected to pass through the mall.

Although late in the game, local business and community leaders, drawing in various tourist operators, residents associations, and representatives of local bodies, have started working on a common marketing vision called "Destination Fish Hoek Valley". Some broad aspects of the plan such as the need for market research and a common theme among the main street businesses have been announced in the local press.

With such smaller towns increasingly floundering in the 21st century due to new competitive forces, I thought it interesting to take a look at how towns can compete more effectively against seismic operations such as large professionally managed malls. I have used Fish Hoek as a case in point to show how repositioning and developing a distinctive character or brand can be a strong counter. Some experts familiar with the phenomenon give their experience and advice.

Bonnie Russell, a Californian publicist, has been living in coastal towns in the US for the past 40 years, and has tracked the flood of business to malls and subsequent redevelopment and rejuvenation back to coastal areas. Russell says: "This usually comes after city officials finally, and belatedly, wake up and smell the coffee."

Fish Hoek, called Visch Hoek (Fish Corner) by the Dutch settlers because of its good fishing is primarily a residential town ideal for families and retirees. It has a sheltered beach enjoyed year round by residents and both local and foreign holidaymakers over the festive summer months.

Apart from the effect of strong competition, in recent months the town has generated much negative news: the shark attack (Tyna Webb, 77, the victim of a great white shark attack off Fish Hoek beach on Monday, 15 November 2004), the town's naming as the "Suicide centre" of Cape Town ("Seaside town is suicide central", Cape Argus, 22 December 2004), and an outbreak of measles (January 2005). A crisis communications plan does not appear to be in place to effectively deal with the perceptions these events create.

To reposition itself, Fish Hoek requires as a starting point strong strategic leadership. This means that leadership either in the form of an individual or executive committee needs to drive change. The undertaking is challenging because the present commercial property owners (local and from elsewhere in South Africa) have their own interests. Communicating with them and persuading them to adopt a common vision will be difficult. Business owners have their own interests and ideas and getting their buy-in is no easy task. Residents are an important stakeholder group and will need consultation and convincing. Building a coalition of interests will be crucial.

Nate Cherry, vice president of RTKL, an international architecture and planning firm, has utilised a charette process when working to master plan and redevelop cities and towns. "Involving the public and various stakeholders from the beginning of the planning process raises the possibility for a smooth transition from plan to development." The process brings everyone into the same room to discuss key issues. It gets away from the "us vs. them" mentality and instead informs a more complex, nuanced approach where discussion, generation and evaluation of design options is used as a tool to help advance the project in the most democratic manner possible.

The product or offer from the main street business owners needs to change. A competitive analysis will need to include mapping of current competitors including the Long Beach Mall and neighbouring seaside towns. The main street retail mix will need to be viewed in a similar way to a mall's planned retail mix. Currently, the mix comprises an unrelated assortment of food, grocery, cell phone repair, art, and automotive repair and accessory outlets.

Finding the right retail mix is important says J B Bird, director of communications, McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas, Austin. Bird points to the example of Rockland, Maine, a coastal town where over the last several years the main street merchants have successfully coped with the addition of a Wal-Mart supercentre (and now a Home Depot) by enhancing their distinctions, bringing in new kinds of shops and "finding that if they zigged in a new way instead of trying to compete with Wal-Mart", they could be effective.

The present African arts and crafts market is tucked away from the main road in gloomy facilities. In future a more inclusive approach would be needed.

Russell mentions that local business people can sponsor local arts and crafts events. "Shop owners should brighten their own image and simple solutions are often best. Clean up the area. Events such as music, cook-offs, all tied to something only the coast can offer, such as surfing, sailing, boating, fishing contests can begin as a little local thing and often become huge events." She cites the Sansalito Art Festival, which began in 1952 as an example: www.sansalitoartfestival.org/home.html.

The main road needs to attract trade rather than now where it invites motorists to drive straight through it because of the notoriously inadequate parking.

A compelling vision for the future is required to obtain the buy-in of disparate groups. Again, this requires leadership. Underlying the business vision will be the need for a sustainable business model that takes into account the seasonality of present income streams with a view to making revenue more evenly spread over the year.

A common theme drawing on the natural competitive advantages of the town including the beach, historical features, the fisher folk involved in commercial trek netting, and the mountain and its hiking trails all need to be considered. Architectural and town planning aspects of the town should be carefully evaluated.

Successful models overseas could be visited and evaluated. Strategic planners may start closer to home by examining the highly successful Cape Town Waterfront and the processes that led to its development.

The neighbouring town of Simon's Town is a good example of being distinctive by drawing on a common theme through the strict preservation of its historical naval and nautical character and holding special events.

The business strategy will need to be resourced which includes the project team, financial resources for marketing and a supportive culture (mindset).

Finally, implementation will be crucial. Strong leadership needs to fit the implementation strategy. Communication will play a central role to reflect, promote and protect the reputational capital of the town. All communication needs to be sourced from one point and proactive communications with all stakeholders are essential.

Whatever the business people and residents of Fish Hoek eventually decide upon to ensure a successful makeover of their coastal town, a holistic, inclusive approach to repositioning the town needs to be considered. This would need to be done in a similar way that any income-producing asset or collection of assets would be branded if held by a corporation. The town's repositioning strategy has to be based on differentiation for competitive advantage. Fish Hoek is in the mature phase (some would argue the decline phase) of its product life cycle and requires recycling or product life cycle extension if it is to re-enter a growth phase.

To successfully transform and grow the seaside town of Fish Hoek will require much energy and resources as well as an effective communication strategy developed by professionals.