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 Friday
Facts - Archives -
Month of January 2005Current
Week
January 28, 2005
Legislature Beginning to Pick Up the Pace
CRMA Legislative Committee Tracking Numerous Bills that will
Impact Retailers
It’s Never too Cold to Think about Golf
Retail News and Notes
• As we have mentioned in previous Friday Facts’, the
Connecticut General Assembly has gotten off to a slow start.
• Many of the Committees have held just one or two meetings
since the start of the session on January 5th, and to date
most of the committees have yet to hold any public hearings on
bills.
• This is largely due to the fact that the new Speaker of the
House, Jim Amann, waited until after he was formally elected
Speaker to name his committee chairs.
• A delay is not the worst thing in the world. Remember, the
Legislature has until June 8, 2005 before they adjourn. It
does mean, however, that the committees will make a mad dash
to get all the public hearings in.
CRMA Legislative Committee Tracking
Numerous Bills that will Impact Retailers
• The slow start has not deterred legislators from filing
bills.
• In fact, the CRMA Legislative Committee is now tracking
close to 100 bills that impact retailers, and we expect that
number to grow.
• Of course, many of these bills have no chance of passing.
That is because we will either squash them before they gain
any momentum or the chairs of the various committees will not
raise them for drafting.
• But the fact that the bills get introduced is something that
we have to deal with. Even the craziest idea that a legislator
might have has a chance of causing trouble for retailers.
• To that end, our Legislative Committee will be meeting again
via conference call this Thursday, February 3rd, to review
those bills on the tracking sheet.
• As you know, our Legislative Committee is open to all
members and we would welcome your input.
• If you are interested in joining the call, please email
Cathy in our office at
cathy@crmaonline.com.
It’s Never too Cold to Think about Golf
• With the frigid temperatures outside we are sure you’re not
thinking about our Annual Golf Classic, but spring will be
here before you know it!
• With that in mind, please set aside June 14, 2005 for CRMA’s
4th Annual Golf Classic.
• Once again, we will hold the event at Blackledge Country
Club in Hebron, CT.
• Please mark your calendar; you won’t want to miss this great
event!
Retail News and Notes
• Analysis: Things are clicking at Walgreen
Reflecting on a recent Walgreen Co. shareholder conference,
Chain Drug Review writes the drugstore chain is the "hot
retailer in America." The analysis provides a glimpse of
Walgreen's future plans: improving its distribution system,
selling exercise equipment and competing with mail-order drug
plans. Chain Drug Review (1/31)
• Second Line Defense
Program helps retailers foil on line fraud scams: Where there
is a will, there is usually a way. Fraudsters have discovered
a novel new way to trick unsuspecting retailers out of their
goods and their money. But the scam, which involves a phony
shipping address, can be prevented if retailers take the
appropriate defensive actions. January 2005 By Liz Parks,
http://www.stores.org/lpst/cover.asp
• Kenneth Cole’s Gumshoe; Independent LP firm offers new
perspective on store theft, hiring practices: For specialty
retailer Kenneth Cole, known for its trendy footwear and
fashion, loss prevention has been given a leg up. Kenneth Cole
has been working with the Zellman Group on a number of LP
functions for the past five years. “We made a strategic
decision to move the function into the internal audit group
for a variety of reasons,” says director of internal audit
Rubin Stone. January 2005 By Janet Groeber,
http://www.stores.org/lpst/edit.asp
January 14, 2005
Senate Democrats and Attorney General Look to
Make Changes in CT Return of Merchandise Law,
General Assembly Slowly Getting Organized,
Legislative Committee Meeting Set for this Week,
Retail News and Notes
• Sen. Majority Leader Martin Looney (D- New Haven) and
Democratic Attorney General Richard Blumenthal announced
yesterday that they are introducing legislation to, in their
words, “clarify and strengthen” state law with respect to
retailer’s return of merchandise law.
• In their press conference, Looney and Blumenthal cited an
example of a customer who attempted to return an item to a
retailer and was denied because the retailer said the customer
“exceeded her return limit.”
• Looney and Blumenthal were unclear as to exactly what
changes they want to make, only that they want to “compel
retailers to be more forthcoming about their policies and
databases that track consumer purchases”.
• This proposal has not been assigned a bill number, but when
it is, it will be before the General Law Committee.
• We will keep you updated on the progress of this bill as it
moves through the process.
General Assembly Slowly Getting
Organized
• Speaking of process, as we expected, in the last week to 10
days, the Legislature has been very slow in getting organized.
• For instance, the General Law Committee held an
organizational meeting in which virtually no business was
conducted and no other meeting time was scheduled.
• Other committees have also been slow to get started but we
expect that will change in the next week with Legislators
filing bills and committees holding public hearings.
Legislative Committee Meeting Set For
This Week
• Our next Legislative Committee conference call is scheduled
for Thursday January 20, 2005 at 9:30 EST.
• We will send a reminder notice with the call in number and
the latest tracking sheet to members early next week.
• If you are not a member of the Legislative Committee, but
would like to join us, please call or email our office,
860-527-1044 or
cathy@crmaonline.com, and we will give you the number to
call.
Retail News and Notes:
• Walgreens effectively competes with mail-order prescriptions
Walgreens CEO David Bernauer is confident the drugstore can
fill a 90-day prescription for less than a mail-order service
can, thanks in part to its dedicated pharmacists. To ensure a
competitive edge, Walgreens says it also plans to expand its
own mail-order prescription business. Chicago Sun-Times (1/13)
• J.C. Penney on the move
The department store chain's new chairman and CEO said
yesterday he plans to make prices more competitive en route to
making J.C. Penney a "persuasive" player in the market. The
Dallas Morning News (free registration) (1/14)
• Home Depot looks to China expansion, European possibilities
Home Depot has its eyes on acquisitions in Europe and
elsewhere, but the company's priorities are on organic growth
in the U.S., Mexico, Canada and China, CEO Robert Nardelli
said at the company's annual investor conference on Thursday.
Nardelli underscored the company's plans to expand
particularly in China and said the firm was always open to
acquisition opportunities that met strict financial criteria.
Forbes (free registration) (1/14)
January 7, 2005
Connecticut General Assembly Officially Opens Session,
Governor Rell Addresses Joint Session of the General Assembly,
House and Senate Under New Management,
New Speaker Names Committee Chairs, Member Services Update,
Retail News and Notes
• On Wednesday of this week the Connecticut General Assembly
officially began its new legislative session.
• Under Connecticut’s constitution, the General Assembly is in
session from January to June during odd numbered years. This
year the session began on January 5th and it is scheduled to
adjourn on June 8, 2005
• In addition to the beginning of the long session, Wednesday
was the first day on the job for many legislators. All 151
House members and 36 Senate members were sworn in for 2 year
terms.
• The start of the Legislative session brings a busy time of
the year for us at CRMA as we strive to represent retailers of
all sizes at the State Capitol.
• In order to do that as effectively as possible, we need your
input. We encourage all of our members to join our Legislative
Committee.
• The Legislative Committee meets every other Thursday morning
to review bills that are before the General Assembly. The
Committee is open to all members and the meetings are
conducted via conference call.
• If you are interested in joining the Legislative Committee,
please call the office at 860-527-1044 or email us through our
website, www.crmaonline.com and we will give you the
information you need to join the call.
Governor Rell Addresses Joint Session of
the General Assembly
• In addition to the swearing in of all members of the General
Assembly, the Governor gave a welcome address to a joint
session of the Legislature.
• It was CT Governor, M. Jodi Rell’s first speech to a joint
session.
• The Governor, who recently had cancer surgery, gave a brief
but challenging speech to the General Assembly that was well
received.
• The Governor will give a more formal, detailed speech to the
General Assembly in February when she presents her two year
budget during a State of the State address.
House and Senate Under New Management
• As we have mentioned in previous Friday Facts’, this General
Assembly will be operating with new leaders for the first time
in 6 years.
• Gone are former speaker Moira K. Lyons (off to the private
sector) and former Senate President Kevin Sullivan (now the
LT) having been replaced by new leaders.
• As expected the State Senate on Wednesday formally elected
Sen. Don Williams (D-Killingly) as President Pro Temp and
Martin Looney (D- New Haven) as Majority Leader.
• In the House, after some infighting, the Democrats
overwhelmingly supported Representative Jim Amann (D- Milford)
to succeed Lyons as the next Speaker of the House.
• In addition, the House Democrats elected Rep. Chris Donovan
(D- Meriden) as the Majority Leader.
• With those selections over, we can say that for the first
time in 8 years we have a new Governor, new Speaker, new
senate President, and a new House Majority Leader.
• The House and Senate, as well as the Governor’s office truly
are “under new management”
New Speaker names Committee Chairs
• Here is a new twist on the Amann election: He did not name
any committee chairs, or committee assignments, or even seats
in the House chamber until his election was formalized with
the House session on Wednesday.
• That is unprecedented in modern CT legislative history.
Typically, soon after the November election, the Speaker elect
begins naming committee chairs.
• Never in the past 30 years has a Speaker waited until his or
her formal election to name committee chairs or, for that
matter, which members are on which committees.
• But Amann felt a little unsure of where his support was,
given that veteran lawmaker Bill Dyson was making implied
threats that he would take his 20 or so supporters and make a
deal with the 53 House Republicans.
• So, to keep everyone on their toes, Speaker Amann decided he
would just wait until everything was formal and then name his
leadership team.
• As we go to press, Speaker Amann has not formally announced
his committee chairs. A press conference scheduled for
yesterday was cancelled due to the winter storm that hit the
state.
• But Amann did release the names of chairs and will mostly
likely hold a formal press conference sometime today or Monday
to introduce them.
Here are some of the highlights:
o General Law (a key committee for CRMA members) Rep. Chris
Stone (D-East Hartford)
o Finance, Revenue and Bonding Committee – Rep. Cameron
Staples (D- New Haven)
o Judiciary Committee – Rep. Michael Lawlor (D- East Haven)
o Environment Committee – Rep. Richard Roy (D-Milford)
o Appropriations Committee – Rep. Denise Merrill (D- Storrs)
o Energy Committee – Steve Fontana (D- Hamden)
• Now the work begins.
• We expected it may take the committees another week or so to
begin to settle in. We will keep you up to date along the way.
In the meantime, please consider our offer to join our
Legislative Committee and call us if you have any questions or
comments about the General Assembly.
Member Services Update
• With the start of the New Year we are pledging to put a
renewed emphasis on our Member Services offerings.
• We would like our members to tell us what they like and
don’t like about our current Member Services and give us
suggestions on ways to improve.
• Also, please let us know if there are any services that we
currently do not offer that you would be interested in.
• Your comments and thoughts would be greatly appreciated and
will help us tremendously to provide the best service
possible. Please call or email your responses to 860-527-1044
or cathy@crmaonline.com.
Retail News and Notes
After eight years of preparation, the bar code switch set to
take place
Starting Jan. 1st, all North American retailers are supposed
to use scanners capable of reading the 13-digit bar codes used
throughout the world, a move intended to boost global
commerce. Retailers have had years to prepare for the switch,
and one retail group says it expects minimal problems. Journal
and Constitution (Atlanta) (free registration) (12/30)
2005: The Year Consumers Spend Less
Higher prices for goods, rising interest rates and personal
debt are going to cause consumers to rein in their spending in
2005, according to Standard & Poor's. Even so, says S&P,
consumers will wind up spending 3.8 percent more at retail
(excluding cars and food) than in 2004. By George Anderson
1/3/05 (http://www.retailwire.com/Discussions/Sngl_Discussion.cfm/10351)
Are Big Retailers Being Smart About How They Expand Their
Hispanic Marketing Strategies? A recent article on AdAge.com
highlights steps that large retailers like IKEA, Circuit City,
Target, Home Depot and JC Penney are taking to adjust their
Hispanic marketing programs, as well as their attitudes. Many
are reportedly digging deeper into research to help them
understand trading areas and identify stores that can be
designated as Hispanic as a way to make decisions about:
Increasing ad budgets to target Hispanics; Developing
bilingual signage and collateral; Hiring more Spanish-speaking
staff; and Adapting merchandise assortment. Editorial by Terry
Soto 1/6/05 (http://www.retailwire.com/Discussions/Sngl_Discussion.cfm/10351)
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