New Business Openings Outpacing Closures in Wilton

Despite the national recession that began last fall, business in town has experienced steady growth through 2009.  Approximately 180 new Wilton-based companies have registered with the state over the year's first three quarters in comparison with 60 company closures.

These records, up to and including September, were recently posted on the Secretary of State's website www.sots.ct.gov.  Wilton’s 3:1 start to stop ratio outranks that of Connecticut overall, which hovers slightly above 50 percent with 20,494 starts to 9,545 stops in total.  But Wilton’s standing would diminish if scrutinized next to ratios of other towns with similar population sizes.

Seth Klaskin, Director of Commercial Recording Division (the branch in charge of processing state registration paperwork) stated “…the Start and Stops Index can be viewed as a general indicator only of broad economic trends” and that when stops increase, as they have in 2009, “one can probably safely conclude that the market has been tough on businesses."

Klaskin works as part of the the Secretary of State’s office, with which most commercial entities, such as stock corporations, LLCs, LLPs, non-stock corporations, etc. are required to register if they intend on operating in Connecticut.  It is not mandatory, however, for sole proprietors and general partnerships to do so. In some cases, a “new” company may just be an old company that has either closed and reopened or redefined its business status. 

Therefore, these numbers by themselves do not represent a precise count.  For instance: IOpening Media was an LLC in Wilton, but dissolved in March, reopened as a stock corporation, and re-registered in August, and is now listed as a “new” business.  Also, the Historical Christmas Barn, which has been “making Christmas memories since 1990," was incorporated by its owners in June. 

Among the 18 towns that claim between 15,000 and 20,000 residents and more than 15 starts on record, Wilton is 11^th in openings and has only the 9^th-best ratio.  In the last quarter alone, 50 new businesses have sprouted in town and 18 have gone under, second in the group in both categories.

According to Stephanie Barksdale, Executive Director of the Wilton Chamber of Commerce, the economy in town has been stable.

A majority of the companies that have opened in ’09 appear to be white collar in nature, a notion that Barksdale confirmed, explaining that many financial advisors, consultants, and lawyers retire from larger firms and open private practices with small staffs of two to five people.  She credited much progressive activity in construction and renovation of office buildings by corporate landlords, such as the LEED-certified Wilton Corporate Park built last year, with driving this trend.

On the other side of the coin, Barksdale admitted that the town has a small retail base in contrast to its considerable wealth.  She said that retailers are hanging on at present and are in need of a strong push forward from consumers this Christmas season to usher them into 2010.