Detroit is looking for a deal closer to help stock its streets with more big-name retailers, posting a senior retail-attraction job meant to draw national and regional chains beyond the city’s core shopping districts.
According to the City of Detroit, officials are recruiting a Senior Director of Retail Attraction who will sit at the Detroit Economic Growth Corporation and work with the mayor’s office to “advance and implement the City’s retail attraction strategy.” The city’s recruitment page also invites retailers to submit an interest form and lists [email protected] as the contact for questions.
What the role will do
The new hire will guide prospective retailers through site selection, incentive discussions, and city permitting, coordinating across departments and with local partners to keep projects moving. DEGC, Detroit’s economic-development arm, already markets the city to site selectors and developers and will host the position while leading outreach to brands and brokers.
Why now
Mayor Mary Sheffield rolled out the retail push during her State of the City speech as part of a neighborhood-first agenda to make Detroit “the easiest, most predictable, and attractive city in America for retail.” BridgeDetroit reported that Sheffield pitched the role as a way to spread economic activity block by block instead of concentrating it in a few downtown pockets.
Who the city is courting
Crain’s Detroit Business reported that officials have circled national brands, including Warby Parker, Lululemon, and H&M, as targets for the Woodward Avenue corridor downtown, while also making a case for neighborhood commercial strips. City leaders say the attraction work will focus on both storefront-ready properties and the behind-the-scenes operational hurdles that can deter chains from opening in urban neighborhoods.
Paying for it
City budget materials include one-time funding for retail recruitment, with a $500,000 line item for DEGC retail attraction in the FY2027 executive session worksheet. The same worksheet maintains support for small-business efforts like Motor City Match at $2.5 million, signaling an approach that pairs neighborhood business programs with targeted brand recruitment. The line items appear in the City of Detroit’s FY2027 executive session materials (City of Detroit).
What happens next
The city is already collecting interest from retailers and plans to ramp up outreach while the senior director search is underway. Brands and brokers can learn more about DEGC services at DEGC or by emailing [email protected], while candidates for the Senior Director role can look for application details on the city’s careers portal.
