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 Friday
Facts - Archives -
Month
of October 2005
Current
Week
October 28, 2005
Special Session Yields Temporary Sales Tax Holiday
Pay or Play Committee Off and Running
Annual Meeting Update
Retail News & Notes
The Connecticut General Assembly was back in session this
week and the result was something positive for consumers and
retailers.
We are happy to report that as part of the General
Assemblys efforts to help reduce home heating cost for
consumers this winter they have eliminated the sales tax on
certain residential weatherization products.
Beginning November 25, 2005 until April 1, 2006 there will
be no CT state sales tax charge on the following items:
programmable thermostats, window film, caulking, window and
door weather strips and water blankets.
Also, no sales tax will be collected on the following
products as long as they meet the Federal Energy Star
Standard:
Water heaters, natural gas furnaces, windows and oil
furnaces (that are not less than 85% efficient).
If you sell any of these products and have any questions
about the administration of the temporary sales tax holiday,
give us a call.
Other Capitol news:
Still no real news on whether the General Assembly will
enact a comprehensive campaign finance reform bill.
The General Assembly remains in session and there is a
possibility they could come up with something, but as we go to
press there is nothing brewing.
Remember, the campaign finance reform proposal is an awfully
big leap to take in a special session.
Public Financing of campaigns is a big and complicated issue
and our sense is that this special session will end without
consensus.
But, you never know, we have been wrong before.
Pay or Play Committee Off and Running
This week CRMA hosted a special conference call for members
concerning an important health care issue.
The Pay or Play health care issue, if passed by the General
Assembly, is one that will ultimately have an impact on all
retailers large and small.
The conference call that CRMA hosted begins the process of
developing a unified Retail game plan for dealing with this
issue.
In the coming weeks we will continue these discussions and
urge all members to participate in this effort.
Annual Meeting Update
The Annual Meeting and Luncheon is now just 2 weeks away!
There is still time to purchase tickets or buy a table or be
a sponsor for our Annual Meeting and Luncheon.
Call or email Michele Mesek today at 860-527-1044 or
michele@cmraonline.com
for more information.
The Annual Meeting and Luncheon is an important event for
the Association and the industry.
Please take a minute today and consider joining us on
November 10, 2005 at the new Connecticut Convention Center. It
is important!
Retail News & Notes
Halloween costumes show character
Halloween costumes increasingly are less about getting treats
than they are about the chance to become a character, with
young adults ages 18-24 the fastest-growing segment of the
market and baby costumes among the hottest categories,
retailers say. Halloween sales are expected to increase 5.4%
to $3.29 billion, according to the National Retail Foundation.
BusinessWeek
(10/26)
Retailers begin search for holiday workers
Retailers already are looking for seasonal workers to ensure
adequate staffing for the holiday selling season. "It's a
misconception to think that businesses don't start hiring
until November," National Retail Federation spokeswoman Ellen
Davis says.
Washington Post (free registration)
(10/25)
Consumer confidence dips in October
The Consumer Confidence Index dropped to 85 in October --
below expectations and the lowest level since October 2003 --
which may impact the holiday season, analysts said. Reasons
for the decline include higher fuel prices, hurricanes and
worries about the job market.
MSNBC/Associated Press
(10/25)
October 21, 2005
Annual Meeting
Footprints: Excellence in Customer Service
Pay or Play Conference Call
Retail News & Notes
With our Annual Meeting and Luncheon soon approaching, we
thought we would keep this weeks Friday Facts simple.
So, we will limit our discussion this week to just a couple
of items: the Annual Meeting and the Annual Meeting.
Have you registered for the Annual Meeting and Luncheon yet?
If no, why not!?
It is our annual gathering to honor retailers and to
celebrate who we are the only state wide association that
represents the RETAIL INUDUSTRY IN CT.
So if you have not registered for the Annual Luncheon please
do so today it is important.
Call Michele Mesek at 860-527-1044 or email her at
michele@crmaonline.com
and she will take it from there.
Footprints: Excellence in Customer
Service
In 1979 Jerilyn and David Cohen opened Footprints, a
420-square-foot shop specializing in women's hard-to-find
sizes. In the beginning, David helped with the business at
night, while Jerilyn ran the store during the day.
David gave his wife three days training in shoe sales and
then asked his mother to help with the operations. Eventually
his father joined in the effort along with both of Jerilyn's
parents.
Through dedicated family perseverance, Footprints grew in
size seven times; slowly expanding its walls as neighboring
shops closed and the odd space here and there became
available.
Despite Footprints' mammoth proportions, it has consistently
maintained a mom-and-pop vibe, partially because the entire
time the store grew in size, David hired new employees one at
a time, nurturing each relationship and encouraging their
family members to join the company as well.
The Cohens son Scott is vice president of the now
30,000-square-foot super store that continues to carry
hard-to-find women's sizes, along with a vast selection of
men's, children's and orthopedic shoes, running the gamut in
style.
"The emphasis on family, which was initiated by my folks and
my grandparents, has translated to employees, each of whom has
become part of the family. That's significant both for the
staff and for customers," Scott says. "The importance of a
mom-and-pop business is the interaction with customers,
assessing what they need and then exceeding their
expectations. Having passion for the business and the people."
Pay or Play Conference Call
A reminder that an important conference call will be held on
Thursday of next week October 27, 2005 at 3:00pm EST to
discuss Pay or Play legislation.
This conference call is important as we prepare for a
legislative battle on this issue.
We encourage all members to contact us if they have any
questions regarding the conference call or the issue of Pay or
Play.
Retail News & Notes
Consumers Arent Pulling the Reins on Holiday Spending,
According to NRF
--Consumers to spend $738 Each, Survey Reinforces NRF Holiday
Forecast--Washington, DC, October 18, 2005Consumers will be
feeling the spirit of the season when they hit the stores for
their holiday shopping, according to the findings of the
latest National Retail Federation (NRF) survey. The NRF 2005
Holiday Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey, conducted by
BIG research for NRF, found that the average consumer plans to
spend $738.11 this holiday season, up 5.1 percent from the
previous year. Furthermore, consumers will spend an additional
$86.62 on themselves. The survey is in line with NRFs holiday
sales forecast, announced last month, which expects total
holiday retail sales to increase 5.0 percent over last year to
$435.3 billion.
http://www.nrf.com/content/default.asp?folder=press/release2005&file=holiday1005.htm&bhcp=1
Chain pharmacies educate seniors on Medicare plan
CVS and Walgreen Co. are among the chains offering information
in their stores to help seniors understand their options under
the new Medicare prescription drug benefit program. CVS also
is conducting educational seminars senior centers across the
country, while Walgreen pharmacies are providing one-on-one
consultations.
Chain Drug Review (10/24)
October 14, 2005
Hurry and Wait at the State Capitol
AG Blumenthal not a candidate for higher office
Excellence in Community Service: Roxanne Coady Owner of RJ
Julia Bookseller
Annual Meeting Update
Member Services Update
Retail News & Notes
Governor Formally Enters Race
As we go to print with today's Friday Facts, Governor M.
Jodi Rell formally filed papers forming her reelection
committee.
Although this is no real surprise, the Governor had yet to
take the necessary steps in her bid to run for her own 4 year
term for Governor.
The Governor will begin her race for election/reelection
with a tremendously high approval rating that any Democratic
challenger will have a hard time overcoming.
In last weeks Friday Facts we informed you that the
Connecticut General Assembly was called into Special Session
by Gov. Rell to address campaign finance reform.
The Special Session was scheduled to be held on Tuesday,
with not every one so sure what was going to happen.
Well what happened is what happens a lot at the Capitol:
hurry up and wait for something to happen and in the end
nothing really does.
Officially, the Legislature adjourned the Special Session
the Governor called without taking any action on campaign
finance reform.
Instead, they called themselves back into session to deal
with the issues and other items that have developed since they
went out of session back in June.
The issues include commercial motor vehicle insurance,
technical changes in some bonding the state does in addition
to campaign finance reform.
They say they will not meet again until at least Oct 18th.
We will keep you up to date on what they do or dont do, but
our sense is that the more members look at public finance of
campaigns the less they like it.
Excellence in Community Service: Roxanne Coady Owner RJ Julia
Bookseller
The goal at R.J. Julia Booksellers has always been about
making a difference in the lives of our community, our staff,
and our customers.
Customers, or readers as we prefer to call them, can rely
on the staff here to put the right book in the right hand and
we hope that we continue to serve as credible eyes and ears in
an onslaught of advertising and the 50,000 books published per
year.
And five years ago Roxanne took on another challenge. She
was approached by a local affiliate of the national literacy
organization Reach Out and Read. The local group, which gave a
book to children each time they went to Fair Haven Community
Health Center for a check-up, was running out of books.
Roxanne and R.J. Julia got involved, filling two school
buses with 12,000 books to give out. Inspired by their
success, Roxanne was then the impetus behind Books for Babies,
a program to give every mom and baby leaving a local hospital
a book.
It quickly grew from a donor-advised fund at The Community
Foundation for Greater New Haven and took on a life of its own
as Read to Grow, a nonprofit organization that is an umbrella
for Reach Out and Read, Books for Babies and a host of other
literacy programs for people of all ages. Roxanne is chair of
the board of Read to Grow.
Annual Meeting Update
Tickets are selling fast for our Annual Meeting and Luncheon
that is coming up!
There are still seats open, but we would encourage all
members who want to attend to get your registration forms into
our office today.
If you are interested in attending this years event, please
visit us online at www.crmaonline.com to print a registration
form, or contact Michele Mesek at
Michele@crmaonline.com for more information.
We hope to see you on November 10th.
Member Services Update
Another week, another member takes advantage of the savings
and expertise that CRMA member services offer.
Last week we encouraged members to call or email us for
information regarding our member services programs and
challenge us to save them money.
Well, one member took us up on that challenge.
This week one of our members took advantage of the expertise
that the CRMA/ABI Insurance program offers members by having
us search the market for the best workers compensation
coverage for them.
By taking advantage of his CRMA membership, ABI was
successful in finding the right coverage for this member.
If you have questions about whether you have the right
coverage, whether it is workers compensation or business
owners insurance, call Casey Cook at ABI today at 1-800-211-
4217 ex.229.
Casey is ready to show you how the CRMA/ABI program can help
you with your bottom line.
Also, this week Cathy in our office received an email from a
member challenging us to save him money on his ever growing
bank card fees.
Cathy is working with our bank card provider, Global
Payments to show this members how much money we can save him
on his bank card fees - which we think will be considerable.
Once again, we challenge our members to call or email us
today for a free quote, on our bank card, property and
business insurance, workers comp and health insurance
programs.
Retail News & Notes
NEW BOOK ATTACKS CONSUMER-TRACKING CHIP TECHNOLOGY:
Anti-P&G Tome Climbs to Amazon's Top 10 Best-seller List in
First Week
CINCINNATI (AdAge.com) -- Potential marketing applications of
radio-frequency identification chips -- which range from
in-store marketing to tracking readership of magazine ads --
may be harder than ever to implement now that a new book
lambasting the companies behind the technology is showing
surprising popularity. October 14, 2005, QwikFIND ID: AAR02X,
By Jack Neff
http://adage.com/news.cms?newsId=46399
Toy retailers prepare for difficult holiday season
An uncertain economy and higher fuel prices may cause many
parents to reduce their toy budget this holiday season. Toy
retailers have already responded, with Wal-Mart Stores cutting
prices by 30% on popular toys and Toys "R" Us following suit.
MSNBC/Associated Press
(10/11)
Malls look beyond traditional department store anchors
Anchor mall tenants are no longer limited to upscale
department stores, as evidenced by a Skokie, Ill.-based mall's
decision to go after $10-or-less clothing retailer Steve &
Barry's University Sportswear to replace a Saks store.
Chicago Tribune
(free registration)
(10/7)
October 7, 2005
Annual Meeting Getting Closer!
Flanders Fish Market: Excellence in Marketing Innovation
Special Session to Deal with Campaign Finance Reform
Play or Pay On The Way
Member Services Update
Retail News & Notes
As we close out another week, we want to send a reminder to
all members that our Annual Meeting and Luncheon is getting
closer.
The Annual Meeting and Luncheon is being held November 10,
2005 at the brand new Connecticut Convention Center in
Hartford, CT.
This year we will be honoring four outstanding CT Retailers.
These four Retailers represent the very best in Connecticut
Retailing and we are proud to honor them.
There are plenty of ways that you can help this year.
You can purchase a table for you and your colleagues or a
full page in our program book or both!
Call our office today and ask for Michele Mesek or email her
at
Michele@crmaonline.com for more information.
We hope all of our members will put November 10, 2005 on
their schedules and join us that day.
Flanders Fish Market: Excellence in
Marketing Innovation
The Excellence in Marketing Innovation award will be
presented to Flanders Fish Market of East Lyme CT, a fish
market and restaurant.
Paul and Donna Formica opened Flanders Fish Market &
Restaurant in the fall of 1983, renovating a single-family
house into a specialty market providing high quality fresh
fish and seafood along with a small line of prepared food
items.
Today the fish market is also home to a 150-seat restaurant
whose kitchen is presided over by award-winning chefs.
Flanders innovative marketing includes in-house chef
demonstrations and cooking classes, production of a cooking
show, and publishing of an accompanying cookbook.
Flanders has been featured on the Food Networks The Best
Of and the travel Channels Destination New England. They
are currently working on their second television show and
cookbook as well as their teaching program The Healing
Kitchen.
Special Session to Deal with Campaign
Finance Reform
Last week Governor M. Jodi Rell called the Connecticut
General Assembly into special session to tackle campaign
finance reform. The special session is expected to begin on
Oct. 11th.
At the end of the Legislative Session the General Assembly
failed to pass any campaign finance reform despite working on
it all session.
Because of that failure, Governor Rell appointed a
bipartisan group of Legislators to work during the interim to
try and close the gap that prevented passage of campaign
finance reform.
However, those efforts failed again, as Democrats and
Republicans simply could not agree what campaign finance
reform means.
Here is how it appears to us on how this issue breaks down:
Certain members of the Democratic majority would like to see
the end of Political Action Committees (PAC) by candidates and
in turn have a public finance system in its place.
That financing would be done by using the unredeemed bottle
deposits-remember you cant use gift cards because they are
good forever. And those same Democrats want to stop the use of
corporate funds that can be raised by the sale of ad books.
Still other Democrats oppose public financing and would
rather limit the number of PACs that individual caucuses could
have and close the ad book exemption.
Both groups of Democrats want any new system that is agreed
upon ( presuming there is any) to begin after this election
cycle 2008
Republicans on the other hand, led by Governor Rell want to
see no PACs and no ad books. They are not necessarily opposed
to public financing (the Governor has publicly supported it,
although we think most GOP members oppose it) but want the new
system to begin this election cycle.
Our prediction is that if anything at all gets done, it will
be that ad books are closed down and Leadership PACs are
limited. Also, we think the new system will go into effect
next election cycle.
Play or Pay On the Way
While the General Assembly is in session we will be there to
monitor what, if anything is going to happen on campaign
finance reform.
But more importantly we will be monitoring another important
issue that we are sure to face next session Universal Health
Care.
Play or Pay either you offer your employees the same level
of health care that state employees get or you pay into a
system will be front and center next session.
At CRMA we are gearing up for a major battle next year on
this issue and we are going to need the help of every single
retailer in CT.
In the next week look for a Special Edition Friday Facts
that will be dedicated to this issue as well as our plans to
deal with it next session.
Retailers will be the focus of advocacy groups that will be
pushing this issue we even hear that some groups are
planning a PBS special on the issue and we need to be ready
for a major fight.
Member Services Update
There is a really good chance that when you call or email us
today we can save you money on any number of programs we
offer.
In fact, just this week we helped a member lower their bank
card fees with our program with Global Payments and we have
already added a number of new members with our Property
Casualty and Business Owners Insurance offerings.
Please call us today and give us a chance to show how we can
help you with your bottom line.
Remember, CRMA is here to serve you our Members. Take
advantage our ability to get discounts for you by calling on
us to save you money!
Call or email Cathy at 860-527-1044 or
cathy@crmaonline.com
today and let us show you how we can save you money!
Retail News & Notes
Survey: 750,000 caught stealing in 2004
Just 27 U.S. retailers reported catching more than 750,000
thieves among both shoppers and employees in 2004, according
to a survey by Jack L. Hayes International. "Both the number
of shoplifters apprehended and the dollars recovered from
those apprehensions increased for the fourth straight year.
Reversing a three-year trend, the number of dishonest
employees apprehended and the dollars recovered from those
apprehensions also increased in 2004," said Mark R. Doyle,
president of Jack L. Hayes International.
Progressive Grocer
(9/30)
Smaller retailers "fed up" with credit card fees
Traditions Classic Home Furnishings co-owner Michael Schumann
believes taking legal action against credit card companies'
interchange fees is the right thing to do, even if his
personal payoff could be quite small.
The New York Times (free registration)
(10/6)
Lower Manhattan is retail ready, analyst says
New York realty experts are predicting "retail will be the
next big story in the recovery of Lower Manhattan" and are
following plans for the development of a major retail corridor
from river to river. Cushman & Wakefield's Ken Krasnow says
retail is the market to watch because of decreased retail
space, strong leasing in SoHo and higher rents.
GlobeSt.com
(10/4)
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