• added more than 1.3 million square feet of retail space from 1992 to 1999
• surpassed both Modesto and Fresno in sales taxes per capita, after seriously lagging these neighboring market centers in the late 1980's
• bucked state trends for auto sales in the early 1990's, with rapidly growing sales in this category (while statewide auto sales stagnated)

Most impressively: Merced achieved all this while Castle Air Force base was closing, and taking with it 6,000 jobs from the area from 1991 to 1995.

RETAILERS
RETAILER	OPEN DATE	SQUARE FOOTAGE
Merced Toyota	Febuary 1992	28,709
Canned Food Grocery	June 1992	15,000
Target	October 1992	118,807
Food-4-Less	February 1993	40,000
Holiday Inn Express	July 1993	20,000
Walmart	September 1993	125,165
Costco	December 1993	156,144
In 'n Out Burger	December 1993	3,000
Toys R Us	December 1993	31,000
Mac Frugal	December 1993	20,000
Razzari Chrysler-Plymouth	January 1994	20,000
Ron Smith Buick	March 1994	26,145
U.S. Rentals	March 1994	10,500
Walgreens	April 1994	13,000
Courtesy Olds	May 1994	30,000
Orchard Supply Hardware	May 1994	49,100
IHOP	November 1994	4,559
Blockbuster Video	April 1995	7,000
Michaels Arts & Crafts	July 1995	17,000
Circuit City	September 1995	19,000
Staples	March 1996	15,000
Home Town Buffet	May 1996	8,715
Two Wheels	May 1996	8,000
Cellular One	Winter 1996	6,488
Razzarri Nissan	July 1997	10,700
Kragen Auto Parts	Summer 1997	8,000
County Bank	September 1997	28,000
Albertson's Supermarket	January 1998	51,744
Walgreen's (North)	January 1998	13,737
Merced Honda	October 1998	26,156
Marie Calender's	August 1998	5,864
El Pollo Loco	November 1998	3,094
Home Depot	May 1999	130,000
Office Max	January 2000	23,500
Hollywood Video	March 2000	5,000
Chevy's	March 2,000	8,300