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Facts - Archives -
Month of April 2009Current
Week
April 17, 2009
Judiciary Committee Takes Action on Two Bills Impacting
Retailers
Other News and Notes from the State Capitol
Member Services Update
Retail News and Notes
• We are very pleased to report this week that the Judiciary
Committee, by unanimous consent, favorably reported out of its
Committee, SB 974 “AAC Organized Retail Theft”.
• The bill has strong support on both sides of the aisle and
now has been reported out of both the Judiciary and General
Law Committees with no opposition and is on its way to the
State Senate.
• We expect the next action on this bill to take place within
the next two weeks.
• The Judiciary Committee also took NO ACTION on a bill that
we strongly opposed.
• That bill, the ill-conceived, SB 925, AAC Gift Certificates
and Establishing a Retail Gift Card and Certificate Guaranty
Fund”
• Because Judiciary does not act on this bill, thanks to our
strong opposition, the bill is now technically dead for the
year. And we plan on keeping it that way.
• This bill would have forced retailers to pay into a special
fund in the event that a retailer goes out of business. It was
a bad idea and we are happy to tell you it is dead for the
year.
• It is not always the case that we can report good news out
of the Judiciary Committee but we are happy to do so this
week.
Other News and Notes from the State
Capitol
• As we mentioned last week, it has been a fairly quite week,
outside of the Judiciary Committee meeting.
• For instance, no meetings are scheduled for today.
• Both the House and the Senate were in on Tuesday but nothing
of great substance was done.
• We did see, however, representatives from the Gov’s budget
operation huddling with House and Senate leaders. It appears
that they have begun discussing ways to come to an agreement
on the budget.
• Meanwhile, House Republican Leader Larry Cafero (R-Norwalk)
held a press conference yesterday outlining the House R’s
budget proposal.
• You can look at the details by visiting this site,
www.housegop.ct.gov/
• Our Legislative Committee will meet again this Wednesday, at
our normal time, 11:00 am. EST. Please call Cathy in our
office for more information at 860-527-1044.
Member Services Update
• CRMA has an outstanding new Dental Program with MetLife
Dental.
• If you offer your team dental insurance or if you do not and
are interested, you owe it to your bottom line to call our
office to get quote from us.
• Our rates are just outstanding and the network is full of
Doc’s you need.
• So, please call us today and ask us about this great new
program.
Retail News and Notes
•
Stew Leonard's changes with times
Stew Leonard's has changed its offerings as shoppers change
their habits, and the strategy has proved successful. The
company's stores, for instance, are reducing the size of the
cuts of the priciest meats, which makes them less expensive
for customers.
The News-Times (Danbury, Conn.) (4/14)
•
Retail's bright spot: Dollar stores
As consumers across the U.S. trade down to deal with the
recession, one segment of the retail market has benefited:
dollar stores. Discount retailer Family Dollar keeps prices
low by selling second- and third-tier brands and by choosing
inexpensive locations. Family Dollar also has benefited from a
five-year revamp, which included a strategy for luring
shoppers into its stores more often.
CNNMoney.com/Fortune (4/15)
•
Bill would force online shoppers to pay sales tax
A bill that could be introduced Monday in Congress would force
people shopping online to pay sales tax at the time of
purchase. The legislation has support from state politicians,
large retailers and tax collectors. A National Retail
Federation executive said all the group's members back the
bill.
CNET (4/15)
April 10, 2009
Governor and State Employee Unions Reach Frame of Deal
Capitol News and Notes
Retail News and Notes
• Last week we gave you a rundown of the controversial budget
that the Democratic Majority adopted.
• Among the highlights, for retailers was the elimination of
the sales tax holiday along with some other sales tax
exemptions, but no increase to the overall sales tax
percentage.
• On the spending side, there is strong sentiment that there
are simply not enough cuts and because of that the Governor
threatens to veto this plan.
• This week the Governor called, once again, on the Democratic
Majority to cut more spending and in fact sent to them her
plan for additional cuts.
• In addition, she made a major announcement regarding state
employee unions.
• The Governor announced that she had reached a ‘framework’
for and agreement with state employee unions that if enacted
could save the state over $637 million over the next two
budget years.
• Among the highlights is a plan for an early retirement of
some state employees and an increase in co pays for health
insurance and a no layoff pledge.
• This agreement will help in reconciling the budget gap and
hopefully begin the process of brining the sides together to
find a solution to the budget woes.
Capitol News and Notes
• Due to the holiday this week was a relatively quiet one at
the State Capitol.
• The House was in session on Tuesday and it allowed us to get
caught up with the Chair of the General Law Committee
regarding HB 6516, “AA Establishing Minimum Retail Refund and
Exchange Policies”.
• Among other things this bill, which we strongly oppose,
would require that all retailers regardless of size have the
same length of time for accepting returns.
• We met with Rep. Jim Shapiro (D-Stamford) on Tuesday and
once again outlined our concerns.
• Although it was a productive meeting, Rep. Shapiro remains
committed to moving the bill along while maintaining an open
communication with us.
• We should meet with Rep. Shapiro again next week and we will
update you on how that goes.
• With most Committees done with their work, next week also
looks like a quiet week.
• The Senate is expected to be in Session on Tuesday.
• The General Law Committee will also meet on Tuesday and will
consider HB 6572 (file number 165), “AAC Banning Bisphenol-A
in Children’s products and Food Products and Certain
Alternative Substances”.
• On Tuesday of this week we reached out to many of the
members of the General Law Committee, including the House
Chair, to outline our objections to this bill.
• We will update you on the General Law Committee action in
next week’s FF.
• Also, on Wednesday, tax day, the CT State Capitol will be
the site of a National Tax Day Tea Party, which will be held
on the Capitol grounds beginning at 11:00 am.
• Finally, due to some technical difficulties on our end, our
regularly scheduled Legislative Committee conference call
reminder notices did not go out.
• So, we apologize if folks could not join us and because of
that we are going to hold another call next Wednesday at 1l:00
am EST.
• We have fixed out technical problems and will send out a
notice and our latest tracking sheet to our Legislative
Committee members and we encourage all members to join in the
call.
• If you would like more information about the call, please
feel to call Cathy in our office for more information at
860-527-1044.
Retail News and Notes
•
Retailers cut back on hours as retailers look to cut costs, businesses such as Dick's
Sporting Goods and Best Buy are cutting back on hours. Best
Buy, however, says the move isn't aimed at cutting labor
costs. "The customers told us they would rather have more
employees here to help them during these busy times than
longer hours," an official with the company said.
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (4/7)
•
Some jewelers buy used to hold on in slump.
More than
1,000 U.S. jewelers went out of business in the past year, and
those remaining are experiencing a big slump. Some are holding
on by buying and selling used jewelry. "It's a guaranteed
profit. You might as well take advantage of it," one jeweler
said.
The Hartford Courant (Conn.)/Washington Post, The (4/5)
•
Brands go vintage to capture customers.
PepsiCo, Coca-Cola, General Mills, MillerCoors
and Unilever are launching ad campaigns that evoke nostalgia
for less-complicated times. Tactics include new packages that
mimic previous ones, a reintroduction of old jingles and
slogans, and recreating scenes from the 1950s to the 1980s.
The New York Times (4/6)
April 3, 2009
Finance Committee Adopts Tax Package and does not Increase
Sales Tax
Sales Tax Free Week Eliminated
Personal Income Taxes to be Raised, Corporate Surcharge Added
Other News and Notes from the State Capitol
Member Services Update
Retail News and Notes
• Well, they finally are dealing with the elephant in the
room.
• Calling it an honest, fair and balanced approach to closing
the State’s budget gap, Democratic leaders in both the
Appropriation Committee and the Finance Committee adopted a
tax and spending plan yesterday.
• For retailers the big news is that the Finance Committee did
not increase the State sales tax. We had worked hard over this
session and for that matter a number of years with the
co-chairs and ranking members of the Committee fighting for
retailer’s ability to compete regionally with respect to the
internet sales and regional sales.
Sales Tax Free Week Eliminated
• The bill does however eliminate the State sales tax holiday.
We will continue to work with members of the Committee to keep
the sales tax holiday.
Personal Income Taxes to be Raised,
Corporate Surcharge Added
• While we were pleased to see that there will not be an
increase in the sales tax that does not mean that other taxes
will not go up.
• In fact the Finance committee will raise $1.653Billion in
new taxes in FY10 and $1.602 bill in FY11.
• They do that primarily by raising personal income taxes and
closing sales tax exemptions.
• But, they do not eliminate the current clothing exemption
allowance. That stays in place with this bill.
• The does hurt retailer in other ways. It imposes a 30%
surcharge on all businesses that make a profit for income
years 2009, 2010, and 2011.
• The big question now remains, what happens to this plan?
There are strong rumors that the D’s in both the House and
Senate will bring this for a vote on Tuesday of next week.
• But, before now and then, the public reaction to the bill
very well may dictate if that vote does in fact take place.
• Oh, by the way the Governor hates the D’s budget and has
threatened to veto it.
• Let the fun begin!
Other News and Notes from the State
Capitol
• Our favorite or least favorite bill of the Capitol, HB 6516,
“AA Establishing Minimum Refund and Exchange Policies”, was
sent to the Judiciary Committee in a rather surprise move.
• We think maybe our friends on the Screening Committee, a
powerful behind the scenes Committee that reviews bills before
they are acted on by the full General Assembly may have had
something to do with this.
• The Judiciary Committee has until Friday, April 3, 2009 at
5:00 pm to act on that bill. If no action is taken the bill
dies.
• The plastic bag bill, HB 5215, “AA Promoting Reusable
Shopping Bags” came out in file this week. We will keep
working hard AGAINST this bill.
• We also expect that this bill will be sent to the Finance
Committee possibly early next week.
• Republican State Senator Sam Caligiuri (R-Waterbury)
announced this week his intention to challenge US Senator
Chris Dodd for his seat when it comes up for re-election in
November of 2010.
• Caligiuri joins former Congressman Rob Simmons in
challenging Dodd.
• By the way, in a recent Qunnipiac Poll, both Simmons and
Caligiuri would beat Dodd if the election where held today.
• Finally, our Legislative Committee will hold its next
meeting on Wednesday of next week at our usual time of 11:00
a.m. EST. Please call our office, 860-527-1044 for more
information.
Member Services Update
• We have officially launched out new Dental Program with Met
Life and encourage all members to take a look at it.
• We are confident this program will save members money.
• Also, don’t forget our complete menu of services that come
with your membership in CRMA.
• We can help save you money in these difficult times and
would welcome the chance to talk to you about these programs.
• Please check us out on the web at www.crmaonline.com or call
our office today, 860-527-1044 for more information.
Retail News and Notes
• We are very pleased this week to direct you to a story about
CRMA Board Member Ed Carney and his partner Norm Cavallaro. Ed
and Norm’s great store, North Cove Outfitters has been named
Retailer of the Year by Backpack Magazine and SNEWS. Great
jobs guys, we are proud to have you as members!
• Midlevel brands put some oomph in
their style
Midlevel brands such as Liz Claiborne, Talbots and Ann Taylor
are changing things up by bringing interesting, edgy fashion
to their lines. They still face the challenge of getting women
to buy beyond just the essentials, but they seem to be
succeeding.
The New York Times (4/1)
•
Topshop highlights fast-fashion niche in U.S.
As Topshop opens in Manhattan's SoHo, it joins such brands as
H&M and Zara as the latest overseas fast-fashion retailer to
hit the U.S. Amid the trend, retailers such as American Eagle
and Abercrombie & Fitch are shortening their lead times on
merchandise.
Google/The Associated Press (4/1)
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