ALLPRO Independent Volume 1, Issue 2 March/April 2018

ALLPRO

INDEPENDENT M A R C H / A P R I L 2 018

Fresh Faces

Young leaders at ALLPRO U gain new skills and know-how

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BIG B I RT H D AY

WAY OUT WEST

BRAND NEW BUILDINGS

Visit Peninsula Paint in Washington State

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• LIPTON ’S LETTER

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Premier Paint Roller turns 50

Corona’s big plans are taking shape

• SUPPLIER PROFILES • I N D U ST RY NEWS

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My Membership

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f there are 280 members of ALLPRO (and there are), then there are 280 different ways to use an ALLPRO membership.

With a group this diverse, I’m sure no two members are alike.

Of the 280 members, fully half have one or two stores, and 40 percent have more than five locations. In

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I can’t buy paint and sundries on my own as well as I can as an ALLPRO member.

But there’s more to ALLPRO than the discounts.

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this issue of ALLPRO Independent, rather than write about how the Northeast Warehouse is now stocking a deck sprayer that holds three gallons (I know, it’s compelling), ALLPRO executive vice president Mike Beaudoin asked me to share a little about how I like to use my membership to its best advantage.

Let’s get the easy one out of the way first: discounts. I can’t buy paint and sundries on my own as well as I can as an ALLPRO member. But

By Mark Lipton

there’s more to ALLPRO than the discounts. The warehouse has really been a problem solver for keeping the shelves stocked with ALLPRObranded goods that are hard to buy direct and make minimums. I count on those small items to keep up my requirements to the group for how many lines I stock of branded goods.

I have freed up several thousand dollars in inventory overhead since the warehouse opened.

ALLPRO recently started accepting American Express for payments of a member’s statement.

At first it didn’t sound like it was for me (and you don’t need to use every program), but a few months in and now I get it: I’m getting an extra 60 days or so of dating for free. And just as important, my rewards points are growing so fast that I doubt I’ll have to pay for a single flight for my entire family anywhere we travel this whole year.

My experiences touch on just a small piece of the group’s value.

My company doesn’t sell wallpaper, flooring, roof coatings or lacquers. But if you do offer those products in your stores, then you are likely having a similar experience to mine, just with different vendors. No matter if you have one store or 50, or if you’re new to the group or a founding member, I’d bet you’re not taking advantage of all the ALLPRO programs that are ideal for you and would add value to

ALLPRO Independent

LETTER

your stores. The more I do with the group, the more I seem to deal with Mike. He’s a tremendous advocate for the members, and the more I take advantage of him, the more he thanks me. My kind of guy!

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Mark Lipton has more than 30 years experience in the paint trade as a retailer, coatings inspector, consultant, manufacturer and writer.

He is the owner of Tremont Paint in New York City.

• Volume 1 • Issue 2

ALLPRO Leadership

About ALLPRO Independent

How to Reach Us

President Glen Morosohk

We are a bimonthly publication dedicated to

Write us at ALLPRO Corporation

Executive Vice President Mike Beaudoin

strengthening the ALLPRO community with

4946 Joanne Kearney Blvd., Tampa, FL 33619

Director of Marketing Scott Morath

relevant stories and news. Your suggestions,

Or contact us at 813-628-4800 or by email at allpro@allprocorp.com.

Marketing Coordinator Susie Fontana

opinions and feedback are encouraged.

All publishing services provided by Stevens Editorial.

March/April 2018 ALLPRO Independent

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What Happened in

New Orleans

ALLPRO executive vice president Mike Beaudoin talks about the inaugural Next Gen event held in January in the Crescent City.

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t our 2016 spring show, ALLPRO’s leadership held an impromptu lunch meeting with our Next Gen group—members 40 years old and younger who are either taking over the family business or just starting out in the business. We wanted to find out the best ways our organization could support them. We expected to see 10 to 20 people, but it was closer to 60, and they were very eager to network and learn. We quickly realized we had underestimated not only the group’s size but also their level of interest.

We left that meeting with a much clearer idea of what we needed to do. It was extremely important that we put together an event that was sufficiently planned and funded, one that would provide this group enough relevant content to justify the time away from their businesses. This evolved

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into our first event focused on the next generation of independent retail leaders.

We called it ALLPRO U: Next Gen and it took place Jan. 21 to 23. We enlisted the help of the North American Retail Hardware Association’s Dan Tratensek and Scott Wright for content, and, to make it fun, we picked a city known for its colorful culture and vibrant nightlife: New Orleans.

The 2018 ALLPRO U: Next Gen was the best attended and arguably the most engaging ALLPRO U to date.

Whereas we normally have around 30 to 35 attendees at an ALLPRO U, this year’s event brought in a record 62 attendees. From the dinner function on Sunday night to the community service project on Tuesday, everyone was dialed in and engaged.

We began the event with a buffet dinner, where we

welcomed the group and reiterated the importance of the next generation to ALLPRO and the industry at large. The following morning, we jumped right into it and spent the lion’s share of the day in sessions that covered accounting, leadership and business succession. Dan and Scott did a great job tailoring each breakout to the audience and delivering meaningful content.

Still, the purpose of ALLPRO U isn’t just to impart knowledge. We also want to create opportunities for attendees to interact with one another in an academic capacity. For that we focused on the topic of the success succession and enlisted the help of some of our attendees. We reached out to four attendees was due to the who had either already experienced business professionalism succession or were currently going through the process and asked them to staff a moderated and enthusiasm discussion panel. This panel openly shared displayed by the their succession experiences to help other attendees. They were attendees learn from them. Following the panel, we held roundtable discussions on the extremely engaged various business topics that each table chose to discuss. Throughout the day, each session was and benefited from applicable, informative and, most important, networking with engaging. We wrapped up a long day of training with a casual dinner at the hotel restaurant and one another. a festive night on Bourbon Street. There was a little karaoke, a little dancing and a lot of fun.

It was an early cattle call Tuesday morning for our first-ever community service project. A short bus ride brought us to the ReNEW McDonogh City Park Academy, a middle school in desperate need of some TLC. The team didn’t waste any time getting to work. After several hours of scraping, sanding, trimming and rolling, followed by a photo op in front of the school, we were on our way back.

In retrospect, the event exceeded our expectations, but not just because of the planning, venue or content. Rather, the success was due to the professionalism and enthusiasm displayed by the attendees. They were extremely engaged and benefited from networking with one another. They also had an impact on the ALLPRO team and the prospects for the future of ALLPRO as we evolve with the next generation and ensure that we provide the value needed to maximize their potential.

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Premier Paint Roller Turns 50

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remier Paint Roller, a brush and roller company in Richmond Hill, New York, will celebrate its

5oth anniversary during ALLPRO’s spring show in early March.

Last fall, Premier’s CEO Kevin Leichter announced plans to open an office and warehouse in Mexico City. “The goal is to build relationships with customers there and throughout Latin America,” Aaron Elstein wrote in Crain’s

New York Business. “If things take off as Leichter hopes, he might build a Mexican factory and start manufacturing south of the border.” Leichter told Elstein, “It’s such a compelling opportunity. It’s something we would do with or without NAFTA.”

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Diamond Vogel Expansion Under Way

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Drake’s Paint & Supply in Medford, Oregon is a new member.

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Plaza Paint opened its fourth location in Ukiah, California.

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Ricciardi Brothers opened a new location in Flanders, New Jersey.

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Teknicolor PAINTS opened a new store in Grosse Pointe Woods, Michigan.

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n October of last year, Diamond Vogel announced it had completed phases one and two of a five-year expansion plan. Diamond Vogel is a coatings company in Orange City, Iowa, that was established in 1926.

The company is currently building a 91,000-square-foot addition onto its Peridium Powder Coatings manufacturing facility, according to Mark Mahoney of the N’West Iowa Review.

“At Vogel Paint, our mission statement is ‘Delivering quality coating solutions distinctively,’” said Drew Vogel, Diamond Vogel’s CEO and chairman, during a groundbreaking ceremony in June 2017. “At the heart of what we do is paint and coatings.

Powder coatings have, over the last 10 to 15 years, become a very key part of us fulfilling that mission, and it complements so well the other elements of what we have been doing off and on for the last 90 years.”

The expansion will double the size of Vogel Paint’s current powder coatings manufacturing plant, Mahoney wrote.

The project, which will create 50 jobs at Diamond Vogel, will be completed sometime in the spring. “First phase was build the building; second phase was the first portion of the equipment that we wanted to put in,” the company’s president, Jeff Powell, told KTIV, an NBC affiliate in Sioux City, Iowa. “Phases three and four are additional equipment expansions.” He added that “business is really strong” and “we’ll be wondering what the next expansion plan is going to be” once this one is completed.

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• Cole’s Hardware added a store in Danville, Pennsylvania.

• Spectrum Paint added two new locations, one in Raleigh, North Carolina, and one in Topeka, Kansas.

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1Prize00for Sansin S

ansin Resolution High-Performance Finish was named one of the Top 100 Best New Building Products of 2017 by This Old House. The environmentally friendly, two-part finishing process placed No. 92 on the list. A marine-grade finish, Sansin Resolution is intended for wood surfaces that are exposed to the elements, such as decks and outdoor furniture. Sansin promotes it as durable enough to replace varnish. “Tougher, more beautiful and longer-lasting than varnish, Resolution delivers brilliant clarity combined with chemical, scratch and water resistance,” the company said on its website.

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MEMBER PROFILE

Peninsula Paint Centers

Husband-and-wife team Ray and Diane Donahue leveraged their personal and professional strengths into a five-store chain in the Pacific Northwest.

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n the late 1990s, Ray Donahue was working as an outside sales rep for a paint sundries company. His territory included Seattle and Bellevue, Washington. He loved his job, but something wasn’t quite right.

“We had a nice home in Seattle,” he recalled. “My wife, Diane, and I were both working full-time. We had two kids, who were 6 and 8, but we just didn’t like our lifestyle. The hustle and bustle, working to make a big mortgage payment.”

Donahue made the fortuitous decision to ask his employer for a transfer to the Olympic Peninsula, a bucolic place known for its mountains, rivers and beaches.

“There’s a lot less traffic here,” he said. “A lot of the people have their summer homes and cabins here.

There’s lots of water and mountains.

Diane was able to stay home with the kids. It was a nice change.”

In 2003, an entrepreneurial project presented itself. Benjamin Moore was looking to divest a few company-owned stores to qualified, private owners. Three stores were located “off the hinterlands of the peninsula,” Ray said. He thought his and Diane’s understanding of the community would help make the businesses successful, so the Donahues took a leap of faith.

Their venture became Peninsula Paint Centers. They improved the old stores’ aesthetics, focused on customer service and added inventory, eventually turning three locations into five. In part, the pair attribute that success to their attention to detail. Ray’s years as a sundries rep with more

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than a hundred accounts really helped him understand what he needed to do to succeed.

“I had a unique perspective on what did and didn’t work,” he said. “I watched people. I took lots of mental notes.”

The Olympic Peninsula is separated from most of the rest of Washington state by Puget Sound. “That’s part of the beauty of it,” he said. “We are that one step removed. That was one of the attractions.” Asked if getting one’s shelves stocked there can be difficult at times, Ray replied, “A tad.”

Ray and Diane are partners in the business. “People always ask us how married people survive owning a business together,” Diane said. “We work side by side, I guess,” Ray said. “Our offices are connected with a pocket door in between. So we can have separate spaces and still yell at each other.”

All kidding aside, one of the reasons it works, Ray said, is that they have totally different roles. “Diane and I really work well as a team,” he said. “I have the sales background and the paint background and the hardware background. And Diane is in charge of the accounting side. She runs the business end.” Diane’s accounting background surely helped the business weather the

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We really appreciate the camaraderie at the ALLPRO shows and the opportunities we are given at the stockholders’ meetings to find out what other businesses are going through.

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Top: Ray and Diane Donahue won business of the year in 2017 from the Poulsbo Chamber of Commerce in Poulsbo, Washington. Center: Their stores are located in Washington state adjacent to Olympic National Park, where this column of rock off of Second Beach to the park’s west is characteristic of the area’s rugged beauty.

recession. The Donahues endured by focusing on fundamentals. Diane said it was a tough couple of years.

“We tightened our belts,” Ray added. “It made us really look at every little detail again.”

The recession was actually a boon to the business in a couple of respects. Before the recession hit, the Donahues were negotiating to acquire two more stores, but they couldn’t come to terms with the owner. After the recession, it was somewhat easier to come to terms.

Ray said the recession also drove away all the “riffraff contractors.” These days, the stores’ clientele is divided more or less equally between professionals and retail customers, with the Gig Harbor and Bainbridge Island stores attracting more high-end retail customers.

Another big component of the stores’ success over the years has been ALLPRO, the Donahues said. “We really

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Michelle Donahue, who is Ray and Diane’s daughter and the assistant manager at the Gig Harbor location, stands with retail associates Houston Roush (middle) and Coleman Rush.

appreciate the camaraderie at the ALLPRO shows,” Diane said. “We appreciate the opportunities we are given at the stockholders’ meetings to find out what other businesses are going through.”

“Yes, the camaraderie is great,” Ray said. “I know I can pick up the phone and call any member in the country. And even if I don’t know them personally, I can just say I’m with ALLPRO and that person will be all ears, all help, and we’re all

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in this together. I don’t how we’d get along without them.”

Because of the weather in the Pacific Northwest, the window of maximum profitability for Peninsula Paint Centers is smaller than it might be elsewhere. “Weather is always a challenge,” Ray said. “It is very rainy up here. At one point we figured that 40 percent of our business was in 90 days.”

As they are both nearing retirement age, the Donahues may not have to worry about making the most of those 90-day periods for much longer. But they said they have no concrete retirement plan in place. “We’re 60 going on 25,” Ray said.

Nevertheless, they discuss retirement details frequently.

“What are our options and possibilities?” Ray said. “We always say, ‘There is a number.’ Five, six, seven years. It all depends.”

The Donahues’ daughter, Michelle, manages the Gig Harbor store, but her parents say it’s far too early to predict if she will end up doing more with the business than that.

Ray admits that even further expansion is not out of the realm of possibility. “We get asked all the time about other markets. After going through the most recent changes, we’re a little exhausted.” But Diane said they never say never, and Ray agreed. “I don’t have it in me to give it much thought at the moment. It always takes quite a few years to get these things off the ground. It’s a tremendous investment. But I don’t want to say no.”

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INDUSTRY FEATURE

A Big Investment

Corona Brushes is in the midst of a seven-figure expansion designed to grow its manufacturing capacity and broaden its administrative abilities.

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eff Gray, of Gray’s Paint Stores in northern California, figures he has sold 100,000 Corona brushes in the past 20 years, and he said he can count on the fingers of one hand how many product failures he’s had to deal with. “And in every single case,” he said, “I have looked at that brush and said, ‘What happened to this brush? Did it get run over by a van? Did someone soak it in water and store it in a freezer?”

Corona Brushes can’t prevent the maltreatment of its products by the occasional do-it-yourselfer, but it will surely be able to cover every other base after a facilities expansion

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in Tampa, Florida. The company recently completed the production phase of the expansion, and the next phase will involve increasing the space allotted to Corona’s administrative and marketing offices, according to Corona marketing director Michael Waksman. The expansion added 10,000 square feet to production and will double the current office space. Ground was broken on the project in February 2017, he said.

“In order to meet growing demand, we’re expanding to increase our ability to produce and ship,” he said. “We aim to increase our capacity to meet both present and future volumes of business. The expansion will enable us to significantly

Walls are set in place for Corona’s production and warehouse expansion in Tampa, Florida.

increase our production for both paintbrushes and paint rollers.”

The expansion will cost “close to $2 million,” he added.

Corona Brushes Inc. was established in Tampa by the Waksman family on Aug. 21, 1961, a few months after they left their homeland of Cuba. Over the past 56 years, it has developed an exceptional reputation in the applicator industry for its craftsmanship and customer service. The company’s expanded facilities should improve both aspects of the company’s business, Waksman said. “We’ll be able to accommodate more brush and roller makers, thereby increasing the amount of production and the speed of shipping. We

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It’s just going to enhance what they do well already. I think it’s going to help them get the brushes to us quicker and help them expand their line, which is going to help retailers.

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Steel beams are placed at the tops of walls during construction.

will be able to hire more administrative staff and expand our marketing department, which will increase our customer service capabilities.” Walter McDermott, of McDermott Paint and Supply in Greenwich, Connecticut, was pleased to hear about the expansion and said that Corona brushes have been

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enormously important to his business. “We’ve had them at least since 1979,” he said. “They’ve always been very good quality.” Any store owner who has the opportunity to tour the Corona plant really should do so, McDermott said. “It is phenomenal,” he said. “[The brushes] are handmade. You

see the people creating them, choosing the filaments, which sleeves they use, which handles they use. They show you how they use the glue, how the filaments are set together, how they’re measured, how they’re cut and how they’re sized.”

One thing expansion will not do, Waksman said, is affect his company’s commitment to independent retailers. He said Corona’s products will never be available for sale in the big-box stores because the trade-off for the company would be too dear. “[Selling to independent retailers] allows us to not take any shortcuts and make the best product we can,” he said. “It’s the best way to market a high-quality product.

You don’t have to cut any corners, and you don’t have to mass produce.”

Barb Pruden, of Creative Paints in Ohio, said that even before the expansion, Corona was a great company to deal with, but the new construction should make it even better.

“It’s just going to enhance what they do well already,” she said. “I think it’s going to help them get the brushes to us quicker and help them expand their line, which is just going to help retailers.”

Waksman said Corona’s customers will definitely feel the results of the company’s investment. “This is going to aid us in producing our products. We’ll be able to produce more.

We’ll be able to increase our shipments. This is going to streamline the process, so we’ll be able to ship faster.”

Concrete pours into a narrow ditch that will be the foundation for Corona’s expanded office facility.

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A crane does the heavy lifting as workers guide walls for Corona’s warehouse expansion project.

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He added that the expansion of the office space will allow Corona to enhance its already highly regarded customer service. “We’ll be able to add more staff,” he said. “We’ll have more room for people.”

While many companies provide good customer service, Corona’s is a cut above, according to Gray.

He said he can’t get the owners of the big applicator companies on the phone, but he can always reach the Waksmans. “I have sat down with the Waksmans.

They always make themselves available. What we expect in our own business is what we get from their business. There’s not always that relationship between retailer and manufacturer.”

Pruden agreed, adding that Corona doesn’t just excel at making applicators. The company knows how to nurture relationships with customers. “Good relationships make a good company, and they’re very good at it,” she said.

The substantial investment Corona has made in the expansion of its facilities should be a boon to the retailers who carry its products—many of whom are also family enterprises. That’s a point that isn’t lost on the company’s customers, including Walker Tanner, of Tampa’s Tanner Paint Company. “They’re fighting the good fight,” Tanner said, “and it’s a wonderful thing to see.”

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A Private-Label

Experience

Tower Sealants is working with Oregon’s Rodda Paint to re-energize its caulk program.

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1930, Art Rodda and Morey Braden worked at Rasmussen Paint in Portland, Oregon. In the years to come the two men would start their own paint business, shepherding it through World War II and beyond. Today, Rodda Paint is the largest paint manufacturer in the Pacific Northwest and its stores are one of the region’s best known resources for paint, wallcoverings and expert design advice. The company operates 55 locations in Oregon, Washington, Alaska, Idaho and Montana.

Rodda’s current director of store facilities, Steve Holbrook, knows he must be vigilant about discovering new strategies for Rodda to continue its success. So when he saw a chance for the company to expand its line of caulk with a private-label program from Tower Sealants, he took it. A new caulk called Rodda Pro Plus, a siliconized acrylic sealant that can be used on a variety of interior and exterior surfaces, is part of that program. Aimed at contractors, the caulk comes with a 50-year

durability guarantee. “They did a fantastic job on the label,” Holbrook said, “and we definitely anticipate a sales and margin increase in the category with the addition of this new item.”

Tower’s vice president of marketing, Ray Heck, said Tower followed the paint company’s lead in developing the Rodda program. “Rodda has been guided by their core values since the beginning: service, innovation, quality, value and integrity. Their brand is known throughout the market. It’s a name that commands respect.”

To capitalize on the strength of that brand, Tower’s privatelabel program consists of more than just a new label. Throughout 2018, Heck said, the paint company’s stores will have their entire caulk and sealant sections updated to coordinate with the brand identity. “We were able to develop a unique caulk and sealant center planogram that will promote an enhanced customer experience.”

The marketing team at Tower collaborated with Rodda to incorporate the Oregon company’s logo and its traditional yellow color. “Rodda Paint has been known for its use of yellow paint buckets,” Heck said. “Walk onto one of their sites and you will see the yellow Rodda one-gallon and five-gallon pails. The yellow color has become synonymous with the brand, so each store will be set up with new custom yellow painted Rodda baskets. Products will be easier to keep organized and will be clearly labeled to assist customers and store associates in navigating the caulk category.” The messaging continues on cartons and shelf merchandising, Heck said.

Holbrook is impressed by the overall quality of the products and marketing materials.

“Our private-label caulk arrived in December and is currently being rolled out to all stores,” he said.

“We are also planning a department reset

Tower’s marketing team collaborated with Rodda to incorporate the Oregon company’s well-known yellow color into a private label program that includes a specialized planogram and redesigned caulk and sealant centers.

complete with all new caulking racks that were custom made

by Tower to match our company colors. They look amazing!”

Tower has successfully launched private-label caulk programs with numerous ALLPRO member companies.

“The goal is to foster brand loyalty,” Heck said. “Tower private products are not some generic equivalent. All private labels are manufactured utilizing proprietary Tower technology on state-of-the-art equipment.”

Holbrook praised Tower as a vendor. “Ray Heck and [sales manager] Kent Crowley have been awesome to work with. They support us in so many ways. Our current plan to reenergize our caulking and sealants category is just another example of how great they have been for our business.”

Heck said he’s confident the program will be a success because the two businesses’ goals are closely aligned. “Tower’s goal is the same as Rodda’s goal. We want to keep our customers. This year is going to be a breakout year for the Rodda caulk and sealant center, and we’re glad to be a part of it.”

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ounded in 2006, Tower Sealants is a manufacturer of top-quality, American-made caulks and sealants for professional painters in the U.S. and Canada. In 2017, Tower Sealants announced plans to grow operations and modernize facilities. Its water-based caulking technology sets the business apart from competitors allowing the 17 March/April 2018 ALLPROby Independent company to develop and deliver high-quality formulations that improve productivity and efficiency for the pro painter.

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SUPPLIER PROFILES

Fine Paints of Europe

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Gator Grit

Granite Telecommunications

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Vermont President: John Lahey III finepaintsofeurope.com

n the mid 1980s, John Lahey III’s father was looking for a new line of work after years in the wine business. Following an awe-inspiring nocturnal view of a painted facade in Amsterdam, he found one. He discovered Dutch paint. Three decades later, his son sustains the family business with a passion for the same high-end coatings that inspired his father so many years ago. “The Dutch make the best paint in the world,” Lahey III said. “A country the size of Connecticut makes about a quarter of the world’s coatings. It’s not just tulips and chocolate.”

Ohio President: Terry Ali gatorgrit.com rank Ali was running a new business out of his Ohio garage in 1961 when President John Kennedy promised that an American would soon walk on the moon. At the time, Ali made specialty abrasives for aerospace-industry clients, including industry titan McDonnell Douglas.

Later, he diversified into the consumer hardware market with his Gator Grit brand.

Today, the company holds more than 40 patents and makes a wide variety of tools for the consumer and automotive markets, including sandpaper sheets, fiber discs, grinding wheels and many more.

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Finland President: Matthew Hicks mirka.com/en-US/us elsinki engineer Onni Aulo founded abrasives company Mirka in 1943, but production didn’t start until January 1946, thanks to delays caused by the events of World War II. But by the 1960s, the company was exporting a considerable number of its products to the United States and Great Britain. In the 75 years since its inception, the Finnish company has endured numerous relocations, mergers and breakups to become an international business with operations in the U.S., Sweden, France, Italy, Spain, Malaysia, China and Denmark.

Massachusetts President: Robert T. Hale Sr. granitenet.com

ounded in 2002, Granite Telecommunications provides one-stop wholesale solutions for voice, data, wireless, mobile devices and more in the U.S. and Canada. The company knows no two business are run the same and tailors its services to suit each customer. Since 2006, the Quincy, Massachusetts, company and its employees have given more than $80 million and 16,000 volunteer hours to area charities. It has been recognized by Inc. Magazine as one of the top 500 fastest growing companies, and for six consecutive years it has been cited as a top charitable company by the Boston Business Journal.

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• Thumbs Down for Banks INDUSTRY NEWS

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mall businesses are not too happy with their banks, according to the recently released J.D. Power 2017 U.S. Small Business Banking Satisfaction Study.

The study found that “22 percent of the fastgrowing small businesses have switched banks in the past 12 months, compared with only 5 percent of slower-growth firms,” wrote Jim Marous, copublisher of the website The Financial Brand. “In addition, 25 percent of owners of fast-growing small businesses indicated they intended to switch financial institutions within the next year, while only 7 percent of other small businesses indicated the same.”

Small-business banking is one of only two financial services industries measured by J.D. Power to show year-over-year

declines in customer satisfaction in 2017, according to Bob Neuhaus, a financial services consultant at J.D. Power.

“The performance gaps we’re seeing are pervasive, affecting virtually every customer touch point with the bank,” he said.

“Customers without an account manager and non-borrowers are especially vulnerable to competitive poaching.”

$26.38

The average hourly wage paid by small businesses in January. It represents an increase of $0.72 over last January’s number.

Trends to Watch

- Source: The Paychex IHS Markit Small Business Employment Watch

Small Business Hiring Slows

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mall businesses in the U.S. added 58,000 jobs in January, according to a report from payroll provider ADP. That’s down from the 93,000 added in December. Data for the report came from information provided by the company’s small-business customers, which ADP defines as businesses with one to 49 employees. A January report from ABC News about the ADP numbers said the hiring slowdown isn’t necessarily bad for small business or the overall economic outlook: “The fact that smallbusiness hiring fell doesn’t necessarily mean companies are struggling or their owners are anxious. Surveys have shown that many owners plan to add staffers only when needed, and many won’t expand their payrolls unless they have a significant revenue increase.” Employers of all sizes added a robust 234,000 jobs in January.

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Artificial intelligence. No, robots aren’t taking over the world Terminator-style … yet. But digital assistants like Amazon’s Alexa and Google Home are already changing the way people find and buy all sorts of products.

Alternative payments.

Mobile payments will become more popular with professional and DIY customers alike as digital wallets by Apple, Samsung, Google and others make strides toward mass acceptance.

Company culture.

The idea of company culture once seemed like a concern exclusive to big corporations. But independent retailers are catching on to the benefits, such as stronger morale and increased productivity.

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4946 Joanne Kearney Blvd.

Tampa, FL 33619

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