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New Webinar Series
A new webinar series available free to MRA members this spring and fall reflects the ‘power of many.’ Page 2
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Strong 2012 Forecasts
Coming off a positive 2011 and a good holiday season, Michigan retailers are projecting a strong 2012. Page 3
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Remote Access
Although remote access to your business computer system is usually a godsend, there is a potential downside. Page 5
® April 2012 Vol. 37 No. 2
Local organizations joining Main Street Fairness campaign Grassroots efforts are growing in support of Main Street Fairness legislation to level the playing field between Michigan-based retailers and out-of-state, online merchants. Local economic development organizations and chambers of commerce are adopting resolutions calling on state legislators to approve the bipartisan Michigan Main Street Fairness Act, House Bills 5004 and 5005. Others are making their voices heard by formally joining the broad Michigan coalition, led by Michigan Retailers Association, that’s pushing for legislative action. “Michigan-based retailers are put at an automatic 6 percent price disadvantage by an onerous and unfair tax loophole allowing out-of-state merchants to avoid collecting the sales or use tax owed,” states the resolution adopted by the Delta Charter Township Economic Development Corporation in Eaton County. The measure then urges the legislature “to act favorably in removing this… loophole.” Similarly, the Rockford Chamber of Commerce adopted a resolution stating the city’s retail sector employers and employees are “threatened by this inequitable price advantage.” The resolution urges lawmakers “to vote in favor of removing this onerous and unfair tax loophole.” Other communities urging action on Main Street Fairness include Gaylord, Sault Ste Marie, Brighton, Coldwater, Hillsdale, Petoskey, and Ingham County’s Meridian Township. “We welcome these resolutions and encourage other communities to take action,” said MRA’s William J. Hallan, vice president government affairs and general counsel.
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Going after organized retail crime Michigan Retailers Association is working with Governor Rick Snyder to provide Michigan law enforcement with better tools to fight the growing problem of organized retail crime. “We applaud Gov. Snyder for taking on this serious public safety issue, and we look forward to assisting his legislative efforts to ensure better laws are enacted,” said James P. Hal-
lan, MRA president and CEO. Calling organized retail crime an “alarming and growing attack on retailers and consumers,” Gov. Snyder included an initiative to target professional theft rings in the anti-crime agenda he set out in his March 7 special message on public safety. “I’ll be sending to the legislature a bill that addresses this situation head
Preaching positive retail all across North America by Jean Eggemeyer
Bob Negen understands the power of positive thinking. He’s seen it in action in business for more than 30 years and can point to the results – sometimes astounding – all over North America.
gies that ignite sales and bring the fun back into retail. As owners of Michigan-based WhizBang! Training, Negen and his wife, Susan, speak to scores of groups each year, providing practical advice and sharing tactics touching on all areas of retail management. Susan also has solid retail experience, having served as an executive at several large and small retailers. Two of Bob’s clients, Jeremy and Melissa Truxillo, who own a hobby store in Lafayette, Louisiana, grew their sales 40 percent in 2011 based on the Negens’ methods. The store’s previous growth had been in the 2-3 percent range. Negen’s explanation for the jump is simple: “They learned what to do.” The Truxillos, however, credit Negen’s common sense advice Bob Negen and MRA will hold a day-long coupled with his contagious Retail Boot Camp on May 24 in Kalamazoo. enthusiasm for the tremendous Once a single store retailer of uptick in sales. kites, Negen now devotes his time to teaching independent retailers in Humble start the U.S., Canada and Mexico strateNegen’s path to retailing evangelism started, humbly enough, in 1981 on the highways leading to northern Michigan. Fresh out of college, he decided to turn his hobby of flying kites into a retail endeavor. “I loved kites and I loved northern Michigan, so I decided to head up and open a store. I was so totally Continued on page 2
on, by providing a more effective and comprehensive law specifically targeting Organized Retail Crime,” the governor said. Hallan, who had discussed the issue in detail with the governor’s office prior to the special message, explained that organized retail crime is responsible for a large and growing share of the estimated $15–30 billion in annual retail theft across the nation. “We’re not talking about conventional shoplifters, we’re talking about sophisticated rings of professional criminals who steal for large financial gain,” Hallan said. “In many instances the stolen merchandise is sold for cash or drugs, which can be used to finance other major criminal activities.” Current Michigan laws are generally limited and deal primarily with personal shoplifting, Hallan said. That means prosecutors are left with a patchwork of criminal statutes that are not specifically applicable to organized retail crime and make enforcement difficult. “Organized retail crime not only hurts retail businesses, it has farreaching effects throughout society,” Hallan said. “We appreciate the governor addressing this problem and we’re prepared to help any way we can.”
Put membership on your website Want to add some instant credibility to your website? Now you can let shoppers and other visitors MEMBER OF know you are a proud part of the naTrusted Business Resource tion’s largest For More Than 70 Years state association of general merchandise retailers and other businesses by putting a “Member of Michigan Retailers Association” seal on your Internet site. Two different sizes are available. To find out more, contact MRA’s Laura Schilling at lschilling@retailers. com or 800.366.3699 ext. 313.