A Tupelo company has been hired by the city to help develop a strategy to keep and attract more retail business to the city.

The Board of Mayor and Aldermen Friday approved a $42,000 contract with The Retail Coach, a national retail consulting, market research and development firm, to help the city board improve the city’s retail business. Mayor George Flaggs Jr. said the company will be paid using a portion the $173,000 of the city money raised from an auction of surplus equipment in December.

Flaggs has promoted increasing the city’s retail sales and adding new businesses as a way to increase the city’s stagnant sales tax growth.

According to Retail Coach’s website, the company specializes in working with local government, chambers of commerce and economic development organizations to develop retail recruiting strategies “that better enable communities to maximize their retail development potential.”

“This is a good move for the board,” South Ward Alderman Willis Thompson said. “Economic development is important, and retaining retail stores and an assessment of what we have and how to bring in new business is a good way to get better. I see this as a proactive move and appreciate the opportunity to look at our strengths and weaknesses.”