The open shopping centers in the province of Córdoba coincide in giving visibility to small businessesJOSÉ ANTONIO AGUILAR
A decade sees the CCA of Lucena, which was established in 2014 but was approved three years later by the Board. Currently it groups some 150 members, with a continued expectation of “growth», says its president, Vicente Briones. At this time, with the proximity of Las Noches Mágicas, on June 7, membership registration is increasing.
For its part, the CCA of Pozoblanco is he oldest of the province, since it has been operational since 2007 although it has had official recognition since November 2010. At this time brings together 143 companies. Those responsible indicate that its constitution “has allowed us to have a cohesion tool to face all the difficulties that small businesses have, especially in recent years with the emergence and growth of online commerce.”
The second to be recognized was that of Montorowhich now groups 64 partners. The president, Francisco Calero, insists on the importance of this initiative for small businesses, in which he also considers the support of the City Council essential. Montilla Its shopping center has been recognized as open since June 2016 and currently has 129 members, but their board assures that their objective is for all businesses located in the geographical area of the CCA to join the association. In this case, they consider that the impact that the initiative has had on local commerce could have been greater, since they point out that “the Administration has not carried out an awareness and information campaign about the importance of open shopping centers.” . Furthermore, they believe that “subsidies are not enough».
In the case of Genil BridgeAlthough the merchants association has existed since 2002, it was in 2016 when the Board officially recognized it. It currently has 100 associates and represents more than 280 businesses in the municipality. They point out from the CCA pontano that they are aware “of the change that purchasing habits have undergone, which is why We fight and value the advantages of consuming in our locality and the benefit it represents for the local economy. The CCA of Goat It was recognized as such on March 16, 2016 and currently has about 80 local businesses as partners. From their board they point out that being CCA for Egabrense commerce “has been vital, since it not only has the strength that associationism gives and the union of sectors in favor of a common good, but thanks to the aid received by the associations responsible for the CCAs and the city councils we can alleviate the difficult situation that the sector is going through.
Off the official list
In addition to those recognized, also in PriegoThere is the Open Shopping Center Association, which, although it does not appear on the official list of the Board, also carries out intense activity. So, José Luis Momparlerits president, points out that the association was established in April 2015 and currently has some 200 members. The main objective of its launch was “to support, revitalize and promote commercial and business activity, as well as promote the development of Priego.”
