Dec 9, 2007

Muskegon stores hope their ‘Synergy’ helps allBy Dave AlexanderBlog.MLive.com

Synergy” is a term used by urban-planning wonks who talk to each other in their own language. But it has a dollars-and-cents meaning for a group of more than two dozen specialty retail shops in Muskegon.

When naming the growing, informal network of city retail outlets, Brenda Moore — of Clay Avenue Cellars and The Station Gallery — dipped into her planning tool box and pulled out “synergy.”

“It means the whole is greater than the sum of the parts,” said Moore, a former zoning administrator and planner for the city of Muskegon whose day job is now as principal planner for LSL Planning Inc. in Grand Rapids. The group describes Moore as the “glue” that has brought them together and keeps them cohesive.

In a few short months, Synergy, a group of gift shops, art galleries and specialty food stores, has become a bigger marketing tool than any one of the 16 participants have had on their own.

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