Business Recruitment Team

Business Recruitment Team

In effort to attract a broad retail mix to Kelowna, an innovative partnership was created between the Central Okanagan Regional District’s Economic Development Office, Kelowna Chamber of Commerce, and the Downtown Kelowna Association. This partnership resulted in the Business Recruitment Team (BRT) with each organization contributing annually to a central fund for activities. The goal of this group was simple; utilize the trade shop opportunities to share the growth stories of Kelowna throughout Canada and the United States.

This partnership has resulted in some significant successes for a wide variety of businesses in Kelowna, and more specifically, Downtown businesses. In 2009 the BRT supported local businesses at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, NV and the International Council of Shopping Centres (ICSC) Canadian Convention in Whistler, BC.

While attending trade shows in Whistler and Toronto in previous years, it was quickly identified that the BRT was one of the only collective attending these trade shows. These shows had typically been venues for shopping centres, developers, and retailing representatives. For the Downtown Kelowna Association participation at these shows presented a unique opportunity to not just meet with representatives of the many national tenants located within the BIA boundary, but also meet with prospective retailers and leasing agents from Vancouver and Calgary.

For more information on the BRT or Downtown Kelowna, please call Executive Director, Peggy Athans at 250-862-3515 or email at Peggy@DowntownKelowna.com .