For Immediate Release: January 31, 2017
CONTACT: James Miller, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., (850)701-3015

Georgia residents expected to spend heavily on food, drinks and decorations this year for Super Bowl LI, celebrating the unofficial end to another football season

ATLANTA, GA – The Georgia Retail Association (GRA), the state’s premier trade association representing retailers for over 50 years, says Georgia families will spend an average of $75 per person to watch Super Bowl LI between the Atlanta Falcons and New England Patriots next weekend. The average cost per person is down slightly from last year’s number with total spending nationally expected to reach $14.1 billion.

“Georgia families love football, and with the Super Bowl being the final game of the year, we expect fans to celebrate the end to great seasons in both professional and college football,” said GRA President & CEO Randy Miller. “The Super Bowl is truly a must-see event whether they follow the sport closely or not, and we expect local consumers to load up on food, drinks and decorations for their game watching parties.”

According to GRA’s partners at the National Retail Federation’s annual Super Bowl Spending Survey conducted by Prosper Insights & Analytics, of the 76 percent of those surveyed who plan to watch the game, 80 percent say they will purchase food and beverages, 11 percent will buy team apparel or accessories, and 8 percent will splurge on new televisions to watch the game at home.

According to the survey, the 45 million people hosting a Super Bowl party should expect a full house, with 27 percent of those surveyed planning to attend a party to celebrate the big game. Bars and restaurants can also expect a good turnout with 12.4 million people planning to head out to watch at their favorite local spot.

Over 43 percent of viewers say the most important part is the game itself, 24 percent cite the commercials, 15 percent want to hanging out with friends, and 12 percent of say the half-time show is their top highlight.

The survey also found that 78 percent of viewers watch the commercials for entertainment and 18 percent say they make them more aware of the advertiser’s brand, but only 10 percent say the commercials influence them to purchase products. Sixteen percent say advertisers should save their money and pass the savings along to the consumers, and 10 percent say the commercials make the game last too long.

ABOUT THE GEORGIA RETAIL ASSOCATION
Since 1961, the Georgia Retail Association has been working on behalf of the retail community to unite and pursue the common goal of creating the best environment for retailing in Georgia. Retail supports 1 out of 4 jobs in the state and is directly and indirectly responsible for 78% of Georgia's gross domestic product. The Georgia Retail Association is a division of the Florida Retail Federation.

ABOUT THE NATIONAL RETAIL FEDERATION
As the world's largest retail trade association and the voice of retail worldwide, the National Retail Federation's global membership includes retailers of all sizes, formats and channels of distribution as well as chain restaurants and industry partners from the U.S. and more than 45 countries abroad. In the U.S., NRF represents the breadth and diversity of an industry with more than 1.6 million American companies that employ nearly 25 million workers and generated 2010 sales of $2.4 trillion. www.nrf.com.

NEW YORK — Three years into being a business owner, Becky Davis knew she needed to break the hold technology had on her.

Davis, a marketing and management consultant to other small business owners, was so immersed in emails, texts and social media that she was getting only four or five hours of sleep a night and her husband said he felt invisible. It also hurt her productivity — she'd get distracted reading people's posts and realize she'd lost two hours of work time.

"If you don't set some rules, guidelines and put some technology boundaries in place on using your phone, tablet or computer, they will run your life and can very well ruin your life," says Davis, who's based in Douglasville, Georgia.

Many small business owners in tech overload are putting limits on how much time they spend on ever-growing modes of communication. For some, the antidote is more technology, such as apps or programs that filter emails. Others go low-tech, simply turning their devices off. Some tell clients they're just not available to answer emails and texts at night and on weekends.

Davis now schedules time for social media posting and leaves her computer in another room at night. When she's out to dinner with her husband, she doesn't check email.

For small business owners passionate about their companies, their dedication makes it hard to say no to the email or text that arrives at 10 p.m. The tipping point for many has been the explosion of social media sites that have some owners reading hundreds of posts each day, says Patricia Greene, an entrepreneurship professor at Babson College.

"There are so many streams to manage," she says.

Overload during work hours can also be a problem, Greene says. Owners who get bogged down answering emails and social media posts rather than spending time on strategy can see their work days lengthen.

Justine Pattantyus has turned off most notifications, including email and Facebook alerts. The constant interruptions prevented her from focusing on doing work for the clients of her management consulting business.

"How much time I was losing to responding constantly to those outside influences!" says Pattantyus, owner of Spark Life International.

Pattantyus sets other limits. She lives in Lisbon, Portugal, but her clients are five to eight hours behind her in the U.S. If she has clients on Pacific time, they're in the early part of their work day as Pattantyus nears the end of hers. She shuts her computer down at 7 p.m. her time. Clients know that's the rule when they sign on with her.

Kelley Weaver's company, Melrose Public Relations, is in Santa Monica, California, but she's in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, where her husband is in graduate school. Her employees start their days three hours after hers begins, raising the possibility of an extended string of texts and emails encroaching on her evening.

Weaver uses the Slack messaging system with her staff for group and individual conversations that eliminate the stop-and-start rhythm of emails and texts. She also strives to go off-duty technologically at the day's end; she silences her phone and tries not to look at it.

"When we go to dinner, I'll leave it home," Weaver says. But it's not always easy: "Part of it is second nature and breaking habits," she says.

Aaron Norris says he's slowly gotten rid of his laptop at home for work after finding he was reading emails at 5:30 a.m. and spending time in the evening sorting through emails that he estimates were 80 percent spam. Norris, a vice president at his family's Riverside, California-based real estate business, The Norris Group, has also cut back on time spent on email at work and no longer tries to read every social media channel.

"There has to be some peace or I just feel frayed by the end of the day," he says.

Josh Nolan began putting a boundary between work and personal life — his own and his staffers' — about three years after his website design company, Bold Array, was founded. He was working over 100 hours a week as he and his staff of five tried to keep up with clients' questions, requests, emails and texts.

"Things were getting a little difficult to manage," says Nolan, whose company is based in Costa Mesa, California.

His solution: Clients are told Nolan will answer emails, phone calls and have meetings between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. He'll answer texts and emails after 10 p.m. or the next day, keeping evenings clear. Weekend work is billed at a higher rate.

"Once we started setting those limits and communicating expectations, it helped with company morale and not just going insane with the amount of work," he says.

Follow Joyce Rosenberg atwww.twitter.com/JoyceMRosenberg. Her work can be found here: http://bigstory.ap.org/content/joyce-m-rosenberg http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/personalfinance/2016/12/08/time-set-limits-business-owners-suffer-tech-overload/95089174/

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: November 17, 2016
CONTACT: James Miller, Communications Director | (321)229-9266 | This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Ruel Joyner of 24e.Deisgn in Savannah, Linda Lombardi or Phillips Furniture and Susan Costa of Hillsdale Furniture were selected as 2016 GRA Retailers of the Year

ATLANTA, GA – The Georgia Retail Association (GRA), the state’s premier trade association representing retailers for over 50 years, is proud to recognize three Georgia business leaders for their contributions to the state’s retail industry and their communities. Ruel Joyner of 24e Furnishings in Savannah, Linda Lombardi of Phillips Furniture in Warner Robbins, and Susan Costa of Hillsdale Furniture were all selected for different Retailer of the Year awards. Lombardi and Costa were selected on behalf of the Georgia home Furnishings Association (GhFA), which is a division of GRA.

“As the voice of retailing in Georgia, we’re proud to recognize three industry leaders who have made a difference and serve as examples for what retailers do for this state,” said GRA President/CEO Randy Miller. “These winners are representative of the talented, passionate and hard working professionals that make retailing such a great industry to be a part of.”

This is the second year in a row that GRA has presented Retailer of the Year Awards, which recognize outstanding retailers who have demonstrated exceptional commitment and service to their employees, customers and communities. This year’s winners were nominated by their peers and were carefully chosen by a selection committee based upon their outstanding commitment to not only their work and their industry also to their association.

Ruel Joyner | 24e. Design Furnishings – 2016 GRA RETAILER OF THE YEAR
Ruel Joyner is the owner and operator of 24e.Design furnishings located in the Historic District in Savannah. The offerings in 24e range from well-known brands to local artistry, and the store is a haven for the repurposed enthusiast. Ruel is a local community advocate who spends a great deal of his time and energy giving back, through his involvement with many downtown associations and small business groups, as well as supporting and donating to local charity events. Ruel Joyner is everything that a retailer should be: committed to his business, his customers and his community.

Linda Lombardi | Phillips Furniture – 2016 GHFA RETAILER OF THE YEAR
For over three decades, Phillips Furniture has furnished homes and businesses from all over Middle Georgia and currently has three stores in the Warner Robins region. The original store opened in 1983, and Linda has expertly utilized social media to drive traffic and interest to her store in recent years. Linda was also recognized for her commitment to customer service and her desire to personally handle every service issue.

Susan Costa | Hillsdale Furniture – 2016 GHFA REP OF THE YEAR
Susan is a very diligent and customer service oriented representative at Hillsdale Furniture for over 16 years. Her knowledge of the industry and professional interactions with retailers and sales associates are well known throughout the industry.

ABOUT THE GEORGIA RETAIL ASSOCATION
Since 1961, the Georgia Retail Association has been working on behalf of the retail community to unite and pursue the common goal of creating the best environment for retailing in Georgia. Retail supports 1 out of 4 jobs in the state and is directly and indirectly responsible for 78% of Georgia's gross domestic product. The Georgia Retail Association is a division of the Florida Retail Federation.

For Immediate Release: November 15, 2015
CONTACT: James Miller This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., (850)701-3015

With Georgia’s economy continuing to strengthen and more residents feeling good about their own economic situation and willing to spend money, the holiday shopping season looks bright for retailers

ATLANTA, GA – The Georgia Retail Association (GRA), the state’s premier trade association representing retailers for over 50 years, announced today that the upcoming shopping season looks very bright for Georgia’s retailers. Thanks to a state economy that continues to grow, more residents employed thanks as evidenced by a low unemployment rate and increased consumer confidence, which means more consumers feeling comfortable about spending money, GRA is predicting a successful holiday shopping season for Peach State retailers.

“Georgia’s economy remains strong, plus a low unemployment rate and increased financial confidence among consumers should lead to a successful holiday shopping season for our 121,000 retailers statewide,” said GRA President/CEO Randy Miller. “Smart and savvy retailers will seize on this positive momentum by incorporating discounts, sales and other perks to stand out from the crowd this season.”

Consumers are expected to spend an average of $935 on gifts, which is down slightly from 2015’s average of $952 according to GRA’s partners at the National Retail Federation, but the total spending is expected to increase to more than $655 billion, up from $630 billion last year thanks to the continued growth and spending of Millennials. The holiday shopping season accounts for 20-40 percent of a retailer’s annual sales and steady year-over-year sales shows increasing economy stability. Georgia’s retail industry totals more than 121,000 businesses which employ 1.3 million Georgians, and is responsible for one out of every four jobs.

In an effort to attract shoppers of all types, retailers will be offering exclusive incentives, low prices, price-matching options, hot-selling toys and free shipping, which continues to be one of the most popular requested promotions each year.

Peach State shoppers will load up on the most popular items this year, led by gift cards for the 10th year in a row, followed by apparel and footwear, toys and games (not including apps or video games), men’s and women’s accessories, cosmetics and fragrances, and electronics. The most popular toys this holiday season will include Nerf items, LEGOS, toys from Disney Junior channel cartoons, microphones, drones and merchandise from two movies expected to drive millions to the theaters: Trolls and Star Wars: Rogue One. The big ticket items include smartphones and tablets, TVs, video games and video game systems. The stores that will see the biggest increases in 2016 include health and personal care stores, building material, garden equipment and supply stores, and electronics and appliance stores.

One piece of advice to shoppers is if you see a good deal on an item early on in your shopping, make sure to buy it then as opposed to waiting and hoping for a better deal. Just as technology has made shoppers smarter and more savvy, it has also allowed retailers to better respond to demand by matching their inventory and not overstocking their merchandise. Speaking of early shopping, 40 percent of shoppers began their holiday shopping before Halloween to help spread out their spending with 29 percent complete by Black Friday.

“Shoppers shouldn’t be surprised to see Christmas decorations already up in stores, as retailers want to give that festive and fun holiday shopping experience to those consumers who want to complete their shopping early,” said Miller. “Retailers continue to respond to what their customers want, which is to see Saint Nick and holiday themes in their favorite stores in November and even October.”

One of the positive impacts of the holiday shopping season is the increase in employment. These jobs include workers stocking inventory, customer service, warehousing and even management. Nationally, the industry is expected to see between 640,000-690,000 seasonal jobs. The increase in hiring and the increase in economic activity during the holiday season have a positive impact on industries outside of just retail.

“The holiday shopping season means tens of thousands of jobs for Georgia residents, and much needed income for families this time of year,” said Miller. “Every temporary job has the possibility to turn into a permanent one, and retail still remains the best industry for young, new or returning workers to find employment, learn valuable skills and grow themselves professionally.”

Shoppers will spend around $935 per person this year, and this breaks down to:

• $590 on gifts for family, friends and co-workers
• $207 on decorations, flowers and greeting cards,
• and $140 on themselves.

The top five categories for items being purchased this year are:

• Gift cards
• Apparel and footwear
• Toys and games (not including apps or video games)
• Men’s and women’s accessories, cosmetics and fragrances
• Electronics

The most popular toys this holiday season include:

• Trolls dolls and figurines
• Hatchimals
• Nerf items
• Legos
• Disney Junior cartoon merchandise such as Paw Patrol and PJ Masks
• Microphones
• Shopkins
• Drones
• Star Wars: Rogue One movie merchandise

Online sales are forecast to increase between 7 and 10 percent over last year to as much as $117 billion. Top 5 reasons a consumer chooses a store:

• Sales or discounts
• Quality of merchandise
• Selection
• Free shipping or shipping promotion

Nationally, the industry is expected to see between 640,000-690,000 seasonal jobs, which is in line with last year’s total.

For the tenth year in a row, gift cards are the most popular requested and given holiday gift, with 61 percent saying they would like to receive gift cards.

ABOUT THE GEORGIA RETAIL ASSOCATION
Since 1961, the Georgia Retail Association has been working on behalf of the retail community to unite and pursue the common goal of creating the best environment for retailing in Georgia. Retail supports 1 out of 4 jobs in the state and is directly and indirectly responsible for 78% of Georgia's gross domestic product. The Georgia Retail Association is a division of the Florida Retail Federation.

During the recent Fall Meeting and Retail Summit, Linda Edwards, Esq., a member of the Employment & Labor team of Rumberger, Kirk & Caldwell, hosted a session focused on the recent federal Department of Labor overtime regulations to clarify the issue for members and what it could mean for your business. We felt her presentation, and the implications on Georgia businesses, were important enough for us to record and share with our entire GRA membership. So below is a link to her comments, powerpoint and questions from membership. We hope you’ll find this helpful as you prepare your business accordingly:

What is covered?

• The Major provisions of the FLSA
• How to properly classify employees
• Major misconceptions about the FLSA
• Best practices for complying with existing and new rules
• The benefits of an proactive FLSA audit.

Basic Tip: Inventory prep is one of the most important steps in the inventory cycle to ensure that the physical inventory is a success. At minimum - ensure that all items have SKU tags/barcodes, items are properly placed either on the sales floor or stock room, and “Do Not Inventory” tags are used for items that do not need to be inventoried.

Advanced Tip: During inventory prep you will want to open up every box and inspect them to ensure any/all sellable merchandise is identified and placed where it can be inventoried. Come up with a sign off process (For example: date/time and name of employee) to place either in the stock room area or box to ensure ALL employees know what has and has NOT been checked prior to inventory.

Basic Tip: Customer safety is a top priority for all retailers. Ensure all aisles are clean and free of any obstructions that may lead to a customer accident.

Advanced Tip: Ensure that the fixture design, fixture placement and/or fixture lifespan are reviewed prior to either implementing or replacing.

Basic Tip: Added fitting room controls are a tool to use to deter shoplifting – such as closing/locking doors when rooms are not in use, maximum limit of items that can go into the room, employees must place merchandise and customer in room – are all good ideas of how to maintain control of the fitting rooms.

Advanced Tip: If your employee is the person to place both the customer and merchandise in the room, the employee will have a great idea of what is in the room. This is an opportunity to not only deter shoplifting or possibly recover the concealed merchandise – but also for the selling opportunity as well.

Basic Tip: If not controlled/reviewed, using your stores’ capabilities and resources to ship from the store is an easy way for an employee to move unpaid-for merchandise out of your store. To combat/deter this – review any and all shipments made from stores and cross reference them to employee address files, receipts of sales made and/or known addresses to ensure no fraud has taken place.

Advanced Tip: If shipping from your store is a shared responsibility amount employee, one warning sign of possible fraud is the consistent request or action of a single associate to complete the task. To combat/deter this – ensure multiple associates share the responsibility of shipping from your store to your customers or add an approval/sign off at the end of the process before pickup is made at the store.

Basic Tip: During the holidays, shopping centers will have increased foot traffic and thus an increased exposure to crime. Ensure that your stores and teams are prepared to face the physical security challenges such as: Emergency contacts are updated and accurate, emergency evacuation plans are reviewed, associates are not leaving stores/walking to vehicles alone (“Buddy System”), and/or emergency closing/opening procedures are reviewed.

Advanced Tip: Mall/center security can be utilized, when requested, to do walk through of stores and/or escorts of associates to/from vehicles. This can be beneficial in the event of an incident occurring at the store with a problem persons/customer.