University of Montana ScholarWorks at University of Montana Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers Graduate School 1987 Marketability of the Great Falls retail trade within the golden triangle counties Patricia E. Erickson The University of Montana Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.umt.edu/etd Let us know how access to this document benefits ou.y Recommended Citation Erickson, Patricia E., "Marketability of the Great Falls retail trade within the golden triangle counties" (1987). Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers. 5141. https://scholarworks.umt.edu/etd/5141 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at ScholarWorks at University of Montana. It has been accepted for inclusion in Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks at University of Montana. For more information, please contact [email protected]. COPYRIGHT ACT OF 1976 Th is is an unpublished manuscript in w hich copyright sub ­ s i s t s , Any further r e p r in t in g of it s contents must be approved BY THE AUTHOR, Ma n s f ie l d L ibrary U n iv e r s it y of Montana Date : 1 9 8 7 . THE MARKETABILITY OF THE GREAT FALLS RETAIL TRADE WITHIN THE GOLDEN TRIANGLE COUNTIES BY PATRICIA E. ERICKSON B.A. California State College - Sonoma, 1977 Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Business Administration UNIVERSITY OF MONTANA 1987 APPROVED BY: Chairman, Board of Examnners Defn, Graduate School / Date UMI Number; EP40605 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. UMI' tMsssrtatietft Psbfetskiu UMI EP40605 Published by ProQuest LLC (2014). Copyright in the Dissertation held by the Author. Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code Pro ProQuest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE LIST OF EXHIBITS................................................................................iv LIST OF TABLES ................................................................................v LIST OF FIGURES................................................................................vii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ................................................................................. v iii CHAPTERS: I. INTRODUCTION .......................................................................... 1 I I . PROBLEM STATEMENT - HYPOTHESIS ...................................... 6 I I I . FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS OF PAST STUDIES . 7 IV. METHODOLOGY OF STUDY..........................................................11 V. FINDINGS OF D A TA ..................................................................15 VI. RECOMMENDATIONS ................................. ................................26 . APPENDIX......................................................................................................35 BIBLIOGRAPHY ......................................................................................... 94 i i i LIST OF EXHIBITS EXHIBITS: PAGE: 1. Map of Survey A re a ............................................................. 2 2. 20-Mile Radius Map of Great Falls A re a ...................... 5 3. Follow-up Post C a r d .......................................................... 11 4. Customer Service C a r d ...................................................... 27 5. Cover Letter to Questionnaire ................................. 37 6. Customer Preference Survey Questionnaire ................. 38 •% iv LIST OF TABLES TABLES: PAGE: 1. Table 1: Employment In Cascade County .................................. 42 2. Table 2: Questionnaire Distribution .................................. 43 3. Table 3: Counties and Towns Surveyed .................................. 44 4. Table 4: Occupations .......................................................................45 5. Table 5: Size of Household ...........................................................46 6. Table 6: Ages of Members of Household ...................................... 47 7. Table 7: Television/Radio/Newspaper Utilization .... 48 8. Table 8: Car Ownership ...................................................................51 9. Table 9: Travel 50 or More M i l e s ...............................................52 10. Table 10: Planned Purchasing ...................................................... 53 11. Table 11: Frequency of Travel ...........................................................54 12. Table 12: Seasonal Travel to Great F a lls ........................ 55 13. Table 13: Reasons For Visiting Great Falls .......................... 56 14. Table 14: Description of Great Falls ...................................... 57 15. Table 15: Availability of Goods and Services ...................... 58 16. Table 16: What Great Falls Can Do To Attract Customers . 59 17. Table 17: Major Reasons Why Residents Would Not Shop In Great F a lls ..................................................................61 18. Table 18: Location of Great Falls Shopping .......................... 63 ' 19. Table 19: Adequate Parking .......................................................... 64 v LIST OF TABLES TABLES: PAGE: 20. Table 20-1: Preference Shopping - Blaine County ..................... 65 21. Table 20-2: Preference Shopping - Chouteau County ..... 66 22. Table 20-3: Preference Shopping - Fergus County ...................... 67 23. Table 20-4: Preference Shopping - Glacier County ....... .............. 68 24. Table 20-5: Preference Shopping - H ill County ......................... 69 25. Table 20-6: Preference Shopping - Judith Basin County . 70 26. Table 20-7: Preference Shopping - Lewis & Clark County . 71 27. Table 20-8: Preference Shopping - Liberty County ....... .............. 72 28. Table 20-9: Preference Shopping - Meagher County ...................73 29. Table 20-10: Preference Shopping - Phillips County .............. 74 30. Table 20-11: Preference Shopping - Pondera County .............. 75 31. Table 20-12: Preference Shopping - Teton County ..................... 76 32. Table 20-13: Preference Shopping - Toole County ....................... 77 33. Table 20-14: Preference Shopping - Valley County ..................... 78 34. Table 21-A: Percent of Great Falls Shoppers Based on Respondents By County (Blaine - Lewis & Clark). 79 35. Table 21-B: Percent of Great Falls Shoppers Based on Respondents By County (Liberty - Valley). 80 vi LIST OF FIGURES FIGURES: PAGE: 1. Figure 1: Occupations ................................................. 81 2. Figure 2: Size of Household ..................................... 82 3. Figure 3: Ages of Members of Household .............83 4. Figure 4: Frequency of T ra v e l ................................. 84 5. Figure 5: Seasonal Travel .................................................. 85 6. Figure 6: Reasons For Visiting Great Falls .... 86 7. Figure 7: Description of Great Falls ......................... 87 8. Figure 8: Reasonable Prices ............................................. 88 9. Figure 9A: Location of Great Falls Shopping .... 89 10. Figure 9B: Location of Great Falls Shopping .... 90 11. Figure 10: Adequate Parking .............................................. 91 12. Figure 11: Great Falls Preference Shopping By R eason ................................................ 92 13. Figure 12: Hometown Preference Shopping By R eason .........................................................93 v ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I want to express my sincere appreciation to those that have made it possible for me to complete my professional paper and my Master's degree in Business Administration. First and foremost I wish to thank my husband, Don Erickson and my daughters, Renee Marsh and April Marsh for their endless support and understanding during the many hours when my studies took firs t priority in my life . Thank you for giving me all the space I needed for success. Secondly, I'd like to thank the company I work for in Butte, Montana. MSE Incorporated extends tuition assistance to their employees who wish to pursue additional education. Without my company's support of tuition assistance and time away from work, I could not have pursued my educational goals. I also wish to thank my advisor, Dr. Bernard J. Bowlen for his expertise and guidance throughout this research project. Last, but certainly not least, I want to thank John Podobnik, Bill Robinson, and Gil Sparks for joining me as a student from Butte and sharing in many hours of driving and study. CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION Great Falls, Montana, also known as the "Electric City", is the Seat for Cascade County. As of December 31, 1984, the population in Great Falls was 80,200. The area over which this study was conducted is known as the "Golden Triangle". It consists of fourteen counties in the Northcentral portion of Montana with a total population of 144,100, as of December 31, 1984. Please see Exhibit 1, Map of the Survey Area, on page 2. The potential economic growth of Great Falls has been the subject of many studies over the years. The Economic Base Study of 1974 for the City of Great Falls and County of