THE COURAGE TO LEAD
2009 ANNUAL REPORT
325 7th Street NW, Suite 1100, Washington, DC 20004
(202) 783-7971 Fax: (202) 737-2849 www.nrf.com
Mission Statement
NRF’s mission is to advance and protect the interests
of the retail industry and to help retailers achieve
excellence in all areas of their business.
The National Retail Federation is the world’s largest
retail trade association, with membership that
comprises all retail formats and channels of distribution
including department, specialty, discount, catalog,
Internet, independent stores, chain restaurants, drug
stores and grocery stores as well as the industry’s key
trading partners of retail goods and services. NRF
represents an industry with more than 1.6 million U.S.
retail establishments, more than 24 million employees
– about one in five American workers – and 2008
sales of $4.6 trillion. As the industry umbrella group,
NRF also represents more than 100 state, national and
international retail associations.
Chairman’s Message
I
’ve been proud to serve as chairman of NRF during the
last two years to help lead our industry’s response to the
formidable economic and other challenges we all face as
retailers. Whether through NRF’s aggressive posture on
Capital Hill as a leading advocacy group or through its
educational conferences, webinars, training, research, and vibrant
committees, NRF has worked hard to make a difference in the
businesses of our members.
Of course, the single biggest concern facing retailers has been
the economic downturn. With consumer spending representing
two-thirds of GDP, NRF argues on Capitol Hill that it would be
difficult to see an economic recovery that was not accompanied
by an increase in consumer spending. Congress and President
Obama responded by passing an economic stimulus bill that
included both payroll tax credits intended to get Americans spending again and massive infrastructure
programs that put money into workers’ pockets and simultaneously improved roads and highways essential to the retail supply chain.
NRF also called for steps to make credit more freely available and helped pass tax legislation that
brought billions of dollars in “carryback” refunds to retailers in time to fully stock and staff stores for the
holiday season. NRF member retail CEOs had a number of face-to-face meetings with Washington lawmakers to warn of the dangers of employer mandates in health care reform legislation and the pro-union
Employee Free Choice Act – both measures that could chill job creation at a time when jobs are needed
most. Individual retailers, meanwhile, trimmed inventory, streamlined supply chains and employed the
latest technology to make their operations as efficient as possible, and traded ideas on best practices in
these and other areas at NRF conferences.
What is ahead as we move into recovery? Some believe we have experienced a transformation that will
create a consumer economy much different than the past. Others argue that the post-recession economy
will rebound much as the unbridled prosperity of the 1950s and 1960s that followed the Great Depression
and World War II. Only time will tell. But there is one thing we can be assured: NRF will be there to bring
together the thought leadership that guides our industry through its greatest challenges.
Myron E. (Mike) Ulman, III
Chairman
National Retail Federation
2
National Retail Federation: 2009 Annual Report
President’s Letter
R
etailers have closed the book on a year that none of
us thought we would ever experience. For nearly all of
2009, Americans pulled back on everything but the
bare necessities, and when they did shop they were
focused almost exclusively on price.
As a result, companies were forced to do more with less – fewer stores,
decreased staff, reduced inventory, and less room for error all around.
In these times, it was more important than ever for retailers to
be in tune with their customers, to deliver what shoppers expect but
also to offer more. The stakes, of course, were high. Without their
customers, retailers are nothing.
The same is true at NRF.
At NRF, we are keenly aware that retailers are our customers, and
every decision is made with our member companies in mind. Much
like retailers, NRF has worked tirelessly to help our customers through the downturn and position ourselves
to be an even greater resource.
Throughout 2009, NRF provided valuable services to members struggling to figure out the “new normal.”
Our powerful consumer intelligence data helped retailers understand what to expect and how to react. In
addition, NRF took educational opportunities to a new level, through relevant conference content, our
SmartBrief daily e-newsletters, STORES Magazine, and free webinars on nearly every subject.
NRF’s aggressive approach on Capitol Hill also elevated the image of retailers in Washington. Our experts
testified more before Congress than any other retail trade group on a variety of issues, from data security to
credit card interchange fees to legislation that let cash-strapped retailers “carry back” current losses to get
billions of dollars in special tax refunds. In addition, NRF continued to educate both lawmakers and reporters on the impact organized retail crime has on sales – and customer safety.
NRF was the retail trade group on the front lines of health care reform, both on Capitol Hill and in the
media. Our health care expert was part of countless closed-door meetings to debate policy and represent
the entire industry’s point of view. While we supported the idea of reform, we took a quick, firm stance
against employer mandates which would have a devastating impact on job creation at a time of unprecedented unemployment.
Like retailers, we understand how important it is to plan for the economic rebound. Along with a
revamped, more intuitive website, NRF dove headfirst into social networks in 2009, launching NRF’s BIG
blog in May; Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter pages this past summer; and even our own YouTube channel.
From initiating relevant marketing campaigns to streamlining inventories or charging ahead on growth
initiatives, retailers have used the recession to become stronger. With a renewed energy and determination,
NRF stands ready to continue our role as an industry leader in 2010 and beyond.
Tracy Mullin
President and CEO
National Retail Federation
The Courage to Lead: www.nrf.com
3
upfr
upfro
Advocacy &
Influence
Using its formidable clout to
benefit the retail industry, in
2009 NRF engaged lawmakers
from both political parties to protect and further retail’s interests
on a wide range of issues. And,
underscoring NRF’s impressive
legislative influence, for the fifth
year in a row, NRF’s Government
Relations department was the
only retail group recognized by
The Hill Newspaper as one of
Washington’s most powerful
trade associations.
Highlights of 2009 included:
• Successfully persuading
Congress to pass the “net
operating loss carryback”
tax legislation.
• Leading industry efforts to rein
in credit and debit card “swipe
fees” (aka interchange).
• Helping to found and chairing
the legislative arm of the
800-plus member Coalition
for a Democratic Workplace
in opposition to the “card
check” bill.
• Being an aggressive opponent
of the employer mandate
provision of health care legislation while other retail trade
associations sat back.
• Partnering with the U.S.
Department of Homeland
Security’s Immigration and
Customs Enforcement (ICE)
to combat organized retail
crime across the U.S.
Uncommon
Membership
Value
As the world’s largest retail
trade association, NRF’s mission
is to help retailers achieve excellence in all areas of their business. NRF’s inclusive philosophy
gives retailers of all formats
and sizes a seat at the table.
In recognition of NRF’s growth,
strength and influence, NRF’s
CEO, Tracy Mullin, was named
one of the top association CEOs
in the country.
• The cumulative value of NRF
retail membership discounts
and non-member pricing
on complimentary services
is valued at more than
$100,000 a year.
• Committee access is offered
as a benefit of membership.
More than 3,000 retailers
participate in the informationsharing, informal benchmarking, and networking benefits of
our committee structure.
• Even in the challenging
environment of 2009, NRF
maintained more than a 90
percent membership retention
rate, there was impressive
membership growth and
membership revenue increased by 35 percent.
Research
and
Education
NRF leads the industry in
providing research and education through a global network of
conferences, trade shows and research partnerships. From small,
intimate leadership summits to
industry-wide global events, NRF
offers networking and solutions
for all retail practitioners.
attendees, boasted 175,000
net square feet of exhibit space.
• The seventh annual Retail
Horizons, released by the
NRF Foundation, surveyed
more than 400 senior level
executives representing 153
companies to provide data
that reflects their thinking in
the midst of fourth quarter
projections and the planning
process for the following year.
• NRF’s Associate Member
Advisory Council launched
the “Peer Reviewed” Retail
Reference Center, an online,
searchable repository of white
papers and information.
Division
Growth
• For the second year in a row
NRF’s Annual Convention and
Shop.org’s Annual Summit were named two of the
fastest-growing tradeshows by
Tradeshow Week Magazine.
NRF divisions continued to expand their reach in 2009, giving
NRF the ability to build smaller
communities focused on key
issues including marketing, chain
restaurants, technology standards, digital retail and more.
• For the third year in a row,
NRF’s BIG show, the industry’s
premier event for retailers
across the world, earned a
spot in Tradeshow Week’s
2008 Top 200 Annual Directory. The Big Show, which
welcomed more than 18,500
• The National Council of Chain
Restaurants (NCCR) conducted its first ever Chain Restaurant CEO Leadership Summit
giving CEOs the opportunity
to discuss major public policy
issues with Congressional
leaders.
your voice in retail worldwide...
4
National Retail Federation: 2009 Annual Report
ont
• STORES Magazine became
STORES Media in 2009, offering a mix of print and digital
products that deliver thoughtprovoking content to the retail
industry.
• NRF Foundation (NRFF) began
international expansion into
China and Egypt to deliver
retail training and industry
credentials, based on NRFF’s
industry skills standards for
retail management.
• Shop.org, NRF’s digital division, held its second annual
Global E-Commerce Summit
in Monaco to rave reviews.
• NRF’s Association for Retail
Technology Standards (ARTS)
unveiled its RFP for Business
Intelligence; published the first
white paper on Cloud Computing for Retail; and tackled
mobile commerce.
Contents
2
Chairman’s Message
3
President’s Letter
4
Up Front ‘09
6
Officers and Board Of Directors
8
98th Annual Convention and Expo
10
Government Relations
13
General Counsels Forum (DecisionMaker Series)
14
CEO Washington Summit (DecisionMaker Series)
15
Finance
16
Communications
20
Membership
22
Human Resources Executives Summit (DecisionMaker Series)
23
International
24
Business Partners
25
Associate Member Advisory Council
26
Loss Prevention
26
LP Senior Executive Summit (DecisionMaker Series)
28
Information Technology
28
Fair Factories Clearinghouse
29
NRFtech (DecisionMaker Series)
NRF Divisions
09
30
Shop.org
32
RAMA
33
CMO Summit (DecisionMaker Series)
34
NCCR
36
ARTS
38
NRF Foundation
40
STORES Media
42
Advisory Boards, Councils and Committees
48
Financial Overview
The Courage to Lead: www.nrf.com
5
NRF 2009
NRF is indispensible
for two reasons.
On one front, NRF
provides a forum
for retailers to work
together to raise
the standards in our
industry. On the other, NRF allows our
industry to advance a cohesive point
of view and speak with a loud and
clear voice to elected officials and
opinion leaders on the important
issues of the day.
Terry J. Lundgren
Chairman of the Board and
Chairman of the Executive
Committee
First Vice Chairman of the
Board and Chairman of the
Finance Committee
Myron E. (Mike) Ullman III
Philip L. Francis
Chairman and CEO
J.C. Penney Company, Inc.
Executive Chairman
PetSmart, Inc.
Thomas G. Bata Jr.
Brian K. Devine
Chairman and CEO
BataCorp SA
Chairman
PETCO Animal Supplies,
Inc.
Chairman, President and CEO
Macy’s, Inc.
(Member Since 1934)
...the
courage
to lead
Robert M. Beall II
Chairman
Beall’s, Inc.
Artem A. Bektemirov
President
California Retailers
Association
CEO
Pharmacy Chain 36.6
Roger N. Farah
Robert M. Benham
NRF plays an important role for Saks.
It is our link to
what is going on in
Washington and has
an important voice
in shaping policy. It
is also instrumental in serving as a
means for us to stay abreast of what
is happening within the industry. The
conferences and functional expertise
are invaluable to us. NRF has both
functional experts and the ability to
facilitate best practice sharing.
Stephen Sadove
Chairman and CEO
Saks Incorporated
(Member Since 1948)
President and CEO
Balliet’s LLC
National Retail Federation: 2009 Annual Report
President and COO
Polo Ralph Lauren
Corporation
Joe Flannery
Byron L. Bergren
President and CEO
The Bon-Ton Stores, Inc.
President
Weaver’s, Inc.
Mindy F. Grossman
Cem Boyner
Vice Chairman and CEO
Boyner Holding A.S.
President and CEO
HSN
Philippe Houzé
Jan de Jong
Global Industry Manager,
Retail
Microsoft Corporation
Chairman of the Executive
Board
Galeries Lafayette
Elliot S. Jaffe
Claudio Del Vecchio
Chairman and CEO
Retail Brand Alliance, Inc.
6
William Dombrowski
Chairman and Founder
The Dress Barn, Inc.
09
Officers
Second Vice Chairman
of the Board
Corporate Secretary
President and CEO
Chairman, NRF Foundation
H. James Baum
Tracy Mullin
Arnold B. Zetcher
Stephen I. Sadove
CEO
BGH “Here’s Hallmark”
Shops
President and CEO
National Retail Federation
Chairman and CEO, Retired
The Talbots, Inc.
Chairman and CEO
Saks Incorporated
Board of Directors
M. Farooq Kathwari
Jon L. Luther
Daryl Routzahn
J. Hill Stockton
Chairman, President and
CEO
Ethan Allen Interiors Inc.
Chairman
Dunkin’ Brands
President and CEO
Routzahn’s
President and CEO
Norman Stockton, Inc.
Lovro Mandac
Matthew E. Rubel
Trudy F. Sullivan
CEO
Kaufhof Warenhaus AG
President and CEO
Collective Brands Inc.
CEO
The Talbots, Inc.
William L. McComb
Chuck Rubin
Burton M. Tansky
CEO
Liz Claiborne Inc.
President, North American
Retail
Office Depot, Inc.
President and CEO
The Neiman Marcus Group,
Inc.
Ron Sacino
Kip Tindell
President and CEO
Sacino’s Formalwear
Chairman and CEO
The Container Store
Gordon I. Segal
Gary White
Chairman
Crate and Barrel
CEO
United Retail Group, Inc.
Jeffrey B. Sherman
James F. Wright
President and CEO
Hudson’s Bay Trading
Company
Chairman and CEO
Tractor Supply Company
Daniel S.C. Koo
Chairman
Shui Hing (HK) Limited
Kay Lawther Krill
President and CEO
Ann Taylor Stores
Corporation
Chris McCormick
Howard R. Levine
President and CEO
L. L. Bean, Inc.
Chairman and CEO
Family Dollar Stores, Inc.
Robert McFarland
Keith Lipert
SVP and General Manager
SAP Retail
President
Keith Lipert Gallery
Mitchell B. Modell
Walter F. Loeb
CEO
Modell’s Sporting Goods
President
Loeb Associates
Jorge Pont
Terry J. Lundgren
Chairman, President and
CEO
Macy’s, Inc.
Assistant to the Chairman,
Sr. Director, International
Affairs
El Corte Inglés, S.A.
Edward W. Stack
Chairman and CEO
Dick’s Sporting Goods, Inc.
The Courage to Lead: www.nrf.com
7
NRF 2009
C
98th Annual
onvention
and
M
ore than 17,000 retail
executives and vendors from
nearly 70 countries took advantage
of the educational and networking
opportunities at NRF’s 98th Annual
Convention and EXPO themed
“Inspiration Starts Here.”
NRF Directors rang the closing bell
at the New York Stock Exchange on
January 12, 2009.
Expo
NRF Board Rings the Closing Bell
NRF directors took a quick break from
Convention activities to travel down to New
York’s financial district to ring the closing
bell at the New York Stock Exchange,
marking NRF’s 98th Annual Convention.
Lululemon Athletica CEO
Christine Day addresses
delegates at the BIG Show.
The EXPO Hall Floor Expands
Iconic retailers address attendees
at the BIG Show
Convention attendees saw an impressive
line up of speakers at the BIG Show
in 2009.
The keynote speaker, Wal-Mart President
and CEO Lee Scott, spoke to a standing
room only audience about Wal-Mart’s
efforts to create a more ethical and
environmentally-friendly supply chain and
their overall commitment to being more
sustainable while staying true to Wal-Mart’s
mission of “helping people save money so
they can live better.” His formal remarks
were followed by a candid Q&A with NRF
President and CEO Tracy Mullin.
J.C. Penney Chairman and CEO Mike
Ullman shared a podium with economist
Mark Zandi and investment banker
Peter J. Solomon in a thought-provoking
conversation about the economic
downturn. Burt Tansky, CEO of Neiman
Marcus, Roger Farah, President and CEO
of Polo Ralph Lauren, and The Container
Store Chairman and CEO Kip Tindell
discussed the impact of inspirational
leadership on business. Lululemon CEO
Christine Day talked about the secrets
of sustainable, profitable growth and
Annette Verschuren, CEO of The Home
Depot Canada and Asia, tackled the topic
of international expansion and the global
supply chain.
8
National Retail Federation: 2009 Annual Report
The EXPO Hall floor featured 175,000
square feet of exhibit space and showcased
unique, interactive pavilions: Seeing
Green, an environmentally friendly
concept store; the Customer Experience
Concept Store that combined the latest
in technology, digital signage, lighting, and
sound and smell; The ARTS Pavilion that
demonstrated how technology standards
can help retailers improve their efficiency
while achieving cost savings; The Supply
Chain Hub with the latest in logistics and
transportation; and the NRF Foundation,
our industry’s primary source for retail
training and career information.
DESiGN STUDiOFor the third year, the NRF DESiGN
STUDiO brought together retailers
and store design firms and vendors in
a unique networking and educational
experience. Among the many notable
education sessions held in the STUDiO,
designer/author Mark Gobe and
internationally known store designer
Giorgio Borruso were featured. Blogging from the BIG Show
This year, NRF launched an official blog
that captured many of the education
sessions, scenes from the EXPO floor,
and unique moments at the BIG Show.
www.annual09.nrfblogs.com.
Wal-Mart CEO Lee Scott
keynotes the BIG Show.
CONVENTION AND EXPO
The Annual Luncheon provided a
great networking opportunity for
hundreds of retail professionals.
Retailers gather for the Convention’s
opening keynote address.
The Opening Night Gala Reception at
Gotham Hall.
Retailers pack the exhibit floor
at the National Retail Federation
98th Annual Convention.
The Green Concept Store focused on environmental sustainability, featured green products
and technologies such as lighting, flooring, surfacing, HVAC reduction and technologies.
The Customer Experience Concept Store showcased the latest products
and technologies allowing retailers to enhance the customer experience by combining
interactive scenarios such as social networking and gaming with lighting and digital signage.
The
The Courage
Courage to
to Lead:
Lead: www.nrf.com
www.nrf.com
99
NRF 2009
NRF is the Voice of Retail on
Capitol Hill
NRF’s long held reputation as retailing’s
most effective advocate in Washington
is based on several well-defined factors:
• No other organization represents
the breadth, depth and diversity of
membership as does NRF;
• No other organization offers staff
expertise in areas including tax,
trade, health care, labor management relations, loss prevention,
IT and retail operations;
• No other organization has the ear
of policy makers in Washington who
have long recognized NRF as the
voice of retail in the nation’s capital;
• And no other organization actually
delivers the goods – time after time.
GOVER
presented unusually daunting challenges: an historic recession, a chilly
retail environment, legislative issues of
monumental significance, and a bitter
partisan divide on Capitol Hill and
across the country.
Health Care
Debate over health care reform
consumed much of the Congressional agenda in 2009. NRF was ready.
We had formed a Board-driven CEO
Health Care Task Force in 2006 which
had worked to craft retailers’ Vision
for Health Care Reform, articulating
our industry’s goals: cost reduction;
expanded access to coverage; malpractice reform; group purchasing
arrangements; and health IT. And we
had long established relationships with
those legislators who would be defining the legislation, including Senator
Ted Kennedy (D-MA), who had made
this issue his life’s work, and Senator
Max Baucus (D-WY), Chairman of the
powerful Finance Committee. In fact,
it was Senator Baucus who took on the
responsibility of drafting a Senate compromise bill. For weeks, he met privately around the clock with a handful
So, it’s no surprise that NRF is the
group retailers and elected officials
turn to when they need results.
To underscore NRF’s successful legislative track record, for the fifth year in
a row, NRF’s chief lobbyist, Steve Pfister,
was named one of the most powerful
business advocates in Washington.
Fighting the Good Fight
Protecting retailers’ interests in
Washington is never easy, but 2009
10
Senator Orrin Hatch, R-UT, left, speaks with National Retail Federation Senior Vice President for
Government Relations Steve Pfister, center, and NRF Senior Vice President and General Counsel
Mallory Duncan, right, at the NRF Washington Leadership Conference, held at the National Press
Club in Washington, D.C.
National Retail Federation: 2009 Annual Report
NMENT RELATIONS
House Majority Whip James Clyburn, D-SC,
speaks at the NRF Washington Leadership
Conference, held at the National Press Club
in Washington, D.C.
of senators representing both parties
seeking middle ground. Yet, he insisted on meeting with the NRF Board of
Directors when they arrived on Capitol
Hill during the mid-year Board meeting. Senator Baucus recognized (as do
many legislators) that retailers employ
one fifth of the nation’s workforce,
and have a valuable point of view on
anything that affects employees. In
that meeting, NRF directors made
clear that they supported health care
cost reduction and expanded health
care coverage, but they made a strong
case against an employer mandate
that would dictate retailers’ business
and benefits policies into the future.
That same point of view was communicated religiously to members of both
parties through CEO visits to Capitol
Hill, organizing and leading coalition
lobbying, engaging in wide ranging
news media outreach and supporting
advertising campaigns that explained
how mandates could create retail job
losses.
But as the debate continued through
much of the year to heightened
controversy and divisive rhetoric, it
became clear that politics – not policy
– would be the guiding principle
of the legislation. By the end of the
year, partisanship had won out and
NRF continues
to move issues
critical to all retailers – such as the
recasting of the U.S.
interchange system
– through Washington’s complex legislative, regulatory
and judicial systems under the leadership of NRF senior staff. Without
such coalescing leadership, the voices
of individual retailers would be lost.
Through the NRF we are being heard
– loudly and clearly.
Dean Sheaffer
Senior Vice President Financial Operations
Boscov’s, Inc.
(Member Since 1961)
acrimony pervaded Capitol Hill. NRF
will continue to press the industry’s
point of view aggressively as the
legislation continues to unfold, and
will push hard in the hope that 2010
will bring a better, final result.
Stimulus Bill
With retailers facing one of the
most challenging years in decades,
NRF warned Congress early in
2009 that it would be “difficult,
if not impossible” to foresee an
improvement in the economy
unless lawmakers included major
incentives for consumer spending in the $787 billion stimulus
bill signed into law by President
Obama. The measure ultimately
included a $116 billion payroll
tax credit that amounted to
$400 per individual or $800
per couple, but the funds were
not enough to keep consumer
spending from sliding.
NRF Helps Bring Cash Influx
to Struggling Retailers
Faced with weak sales and an
ongoing credit crunch, many
retailers headed into the holiday season significantly short
(continued on next page)
The Courage to Lead: www.nrf.com 11
NRF 2009
of the operating cash needed to fully
stock shelves and staff stores. But NRF
was able to convince Congress to pass
legislation that brought retailers and
other businesses more than $10 billion by allowing them to “carry back”
losses suffered during the recession
in order to reduce tax liabilities from
profitable years as long as five years
ago rather than the usual two years.
Passage came after NRF testified on
Capitol Hill and brought retailers to
Washington to tell lawmakers they
might be forced to lay off workers,
close stores or even go out of business without the funds.
“Card check” union organizing
legislation: After fast-track treatment in 2007 and labor-backed
victories in the 2008 elections,
supporters of the Employee Free
Choice Act expected swift congressional passage in 2009. But
NRF helped lead a broad-based
coalition of business groups
opposing the legislation, arguing that taking away secret
ballots in union elections and
allowing government arbitrators
NRF Vice President, Tax Counsel
Rachel Bernstein speaks on
Capitol Hill.
12
NRF provides small,
independent retailers
like Balliet’s a voice in
public policy issues
that would otherwise
be unobtainable.
NRF and its government relations staff
is masterful at building public policy
consensus among its diverse retail
membership and forcefully representing
our interests on Capitol Hill.
Robert Benham
President and CEO
Balliet’s LLC
(Member Since 1967)
to unilaterally impose union contracts
would have an adverse impact on the
rights of employees and the ability
of employers to create jobs. The bill
has stalled, but continues to be a top
priority for organized labor in 2010.
Credit Card “swipe” Fees: Retailers
spent nearly $50 billion in unnecessary credit and debit card interchange
(aka “swipe”) fees in 2009. In our
ongoing efforts to bring these soaring
fees under control, NRF convinced
Congress to include a Government
Accountability Office study of interchange fees charged to merchants in
the Credit CARD Act reform bill. The
study found that the fees are rising,
driving up costs for consumers, and
that consumer prices could be reduced if the fees were reduced. Those
findings provided needed ammunition
that should ultimately help convince
Congress to pass pending interchange
legislation.
Instant Credit: NRF asked the Federal
Reserve to reconsider proposed new
rules that threaten retailers’ ability to
offer customers instant credit. Under
the Credit CARD Act, retailers would
be required to “consider” customers’
ability to pay. That’s currently done by
a quick computerized check of credit
National Retail Federation: 2009 Annual Report
House Ways and Means Committee Chairman
Charles Rangel, D-NY, left, speaks with Gene
Nicholas of Nicholas Luggage and Gifts of Kansas City, Mo., during NRF’s annual Washington
Leadership Conference.
bureau data, but the Fed has interpreted the language to require retailers
to examine customers’ income, assets
and current obligations at the point of
sale – an onerous process that could
take days because the information isn’t
included in credit bureau databases. A
decision is expected by February 2010.
Gift cards: After years of watching
often-conflicting legislation passed
at the state level, Congress in 2009
passed the first federal regulations for
gift cards as part of the Credit CARD
Act. The new law bars expiration dates
that take effect less than five years after
a card is issued and dormancy fees
that kick in after less than a year. Most
major retailers have already dropped
expiration dates and dormancy fees, so
the legislation will require bankissued “mall” cards to more closely
match what retailers have already
done voluntarily.
Estate tax: The House voted to make
2009 estate tax levels permanent rather
than allowing the tax to be temporarily repealed in 2010 and then return
to exorbitant rates in 2011. The vote to
freeze the rate at 45 percent and the
exemption level at $3.5 million per
individual would make estate planning
simpler and hold down rates going
GOVERNMENT RELATIONS
forward. Without congressional action,
the rate is currently set to drop to zero
in 2010 but go back up to 55 percent in
2011 with an exemption of only $1 million. NRF has supported a permanent
solution because estate taxes make it
difficult for family owned businesses to
move from one generation to the next.
Washington Leadership
Conference
In 2009, NRF convened its 74th annual Washington Leadership Conference
which brings together top retail government affairs specialists from around
the country for two days of intensive
discussions about key legislative
proposals and one-on-one visits with
members of Congress. This year, perhaps because of the critical nature of
the issues, retailer attendance skyrocketed to new highs. At the conference,
the three most pressing concerns, the
economy, health care, and “card check”
legislation were addressed by the
speakers and in lobby visits.
We continue to
rely on NRF to
represent the
interests of the
retail industry. In
this past year, NRF
has spoken on
behalf of retailers on such important
issues as EFCA, health care, the CIT
crisis and many others. NRF is also an
important source of information and
guidance on regulatory developments
affecting retailers such as the CPSIA,
Red Flags, etc. Bottom line: The NRF
helps me do my job more effectively.
Paul Tang
EVP, General Counsel
Burlington Coat Factory
Warehouse Corporation
(Member Since 2007)
General Counsels
Forum
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood speaks
at the National Retail Federation Washington
Leadership Conference.
Transportation Secretary Ray
LaHood was the keynote speaker and
addressed attendees about the recently
enacted economic stimulus bill. LaHood said the retail industry would
benefit from the nearly $50 billion in
infrastructure spending included in
the stimulus bill signed by President
Obama because the new highways,
bridges, rail, port, airport and other
transportation projects would make
it easier to get merchandise to stores,
making retail supply chains more efficient. And construction workers hired
to build those projects would have
more money in their pockets
that would be spent in retail stores,
he added.
Retailers also heard from House
Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-SC),
who suggested that high health care
costs are a financial drain on businesses and that health care reform is essential “if we’re going to get this economy
going.” Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT)
also addressed the group, and urged
retailers not to compromise in their
opposition to “card check” legislation
that would make it easier to unionize
retail store workers. Hatch said passage
of the bill – the Employee Free Choice
Act – could open the floodgates for
other pending labor-backed legislation.
NRF’s General Counsels Forum
is an invitation-only committee made up of the most senior
legal officers among NRF’s retail
membership. The committee
discusses trends in areas such as
antitrust, securities law, wage and
hour regulations, pricing accuracy,
alternative dispute resolution,
advertising, and benchmarking of
legal programs. In 2009, Forum
members shared insights on issues
including health care reform, the
Employee Free Choice Act “card
check” bill that would make it
easier for unions to organize retail
workers, and credit card interchange fees.
At the Forum’s summer meeting,
Federal Trade Commission member Pamela Harbour discussed
the FTC’s agenda under the
Obama Administration, particularly the renewed focus on privacy,
data security, and antitrust. Also
discussed at the meeting were the
enhanced role of the Securities
and Exchange Commission, new
regulations under the Consumer
Product Safety Improvement Act,
“say-on-pay” legislation that would
give shareholders a non-binding
vote on executive compensation,
and regulations under the Americans with Disabilities Act.
The Forum meets at least
twice a year to share strategy and
exchange ideas on cutting edge
legal and management issues of
concern to retail law departments.
The Courage to Lead: www.nrf.com
13
NRF 2009
CEO WASHINGTON SUMMIT
NRF Board Discusses Health Care Reform with
Congress during CEO Summit
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, left,
meets with the NRF Board of Directors, on health
care reform.
NRF Chairman Myron
E. “Mike” Ullman III,
chairman and CEO of
J.C. Penney, left, speaks
with Senator Kay Bailey
Hutchison, R-TX.
Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Ranking Member Mike Enzi, R-WY., left, speaks to
the National Retail Federation Board of Directors during
a meeting at the U.S. Capitol. Listening at right is NRF
Chairman Myron E. "Mike" Ullman III, chairman and CEO
of J.C. Penney.
NRF First Vice
Chairman Philip L.
Francis, Executive
Chairman of PetSmart,
left, listens to House
Minority Whip Eric
Cantor, R-VA., during
a meeting at the
U.S. Capitol.
14
National Retail Federation: 2009 Annual Report
As the governing body of NRF, one of the key roles of the Board of
Directors is to help craft public policy strategy and tactics on the
key issues of concern to retailers. Directors take this responsibility
seriously and in 2009 were actively involved in some of the most
pressing issues facing Congress in decades.
Getting health care reform right was the top concern for the NRF
Board of Directors as retail executives gathered in Washington for
their mid-year meeting and CEO Summit.
Board members met at the U.S. Capitol with House and Senate leadership and other key players, telling lawmakers NRF strongly supports
health care reform, but that legislation under consideration would
drive up labor costs while doing little to make health coverage more
affordable. The Board warned that employer mandates requiring companies to either provide health coverage for workers or pay huge financial penalties would be a “job killer” that could force layoffs by retailers
unable to raise prices in this economy to cover the added expense.
The Board asked that Congress instead focus on steps to make
health coverage more accessible by reducing costs, including recommendations made in the NRF Vision for Health Care Reform on group
purchasing of insurance, wider use of computerized medical records,
malpractice reform and other steps.
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, (D-MT), one
of the most pivotal figures in the reform debate – interrupted his intense, closed-door meetings with a core group of senators working on
compromise legislation to meet with NRF directors. He acknowledged
retailers’ concerns and asked CEOs to continue to work with him as he
sought a way to expand coverage without driving up costs for employers. The Board also met with Senate Health, Education, Labor and
Pensions Committee Ranking Member Mike Enzi, (R-WY) Senate
Minority Whip Jon Kyl, (R-AZ) Senator Ben Nelson, (D-NE) House
Minority Whip Eric Cantor, (R-VA) and Blue Dog Democrats leader
Jim Cooper, (D-TN) among others.
While at the Capitol, Board members also raised the controversial
Employee Free Choice Act, which would make it easier for unions to
organize workers in retail stores. CEOs told lawmakers they would
oppose the measure even if its central “card check” provision were
stripped out of the bill. Without card check, the legislation would still
allow for “quickie” elections and force employers to submit to binding
arbitration if agreement on a first contract with a union could not be
reached in 120 days.
In other Board action, directors formed a search committee to
seek a new chief executive for NRF. Current president and CEO
Tracy Mullin is scheduled to retire at the end of June 2010.
FINANCE
The NRF Financial Executives Council,
Internal Audit and Compliance Council, and IT Audit Council provide a
unique opportunity for peer-to-peer
exchange of information and enable
members to benchmark themselves
against industry competitors; share
best practices and explore the impact
of emerging issues through presentations and discussions with thought
leaders. In addition, the councils
address and advocate on behalf of
the industry those issues that affect
the business (tax, FASB, homeland
security; banking).
Council members participate in
online surveys on topics such as background checks, corporate gift policies,
customer identity theft protection,
evaluating store remodels, employee
discounts, and audit committee meetings to provide immediate, confidential access to a wealth of industry
knowledge. These Councils were
accredited providers of more than
70 industry specific continuing
professional education credits (CPE)
at no cost to members.
Economic Challenges Encourage
a United Front
Few in retail can remember a time when
the industry faced challenges as severe
as those seen in 2009. NRF brought
together its members to identify strategies to deal with the fallout of the CIT
bankruptcy, to discuss the impact of
interchange on retailers and to work
with the settlement trustees of the VISA
lawsuit to ensure recipients were identified and funds distributed efficiently.
Finance Councils Grow in 2009
During 2009, participation in NRF’s
Finance Councils grew to 90 retail
companies and Council activity
increased significantly to address hot
topics including enterprise risk management; emerging issues in financial
reporting; effective practices in cost
recovery, and managing the business in
a no-growth environment. The Council’s list serve continued to be one of
its most valued resources. During the
year members exchanged information
on topics including sales tax, capitalization policies, the 4-5-4 calendar,
store maintenance and store openings.
I find the information exchanged
through the Financial Executives
Council to be very helpful and the
topics discussed extremely relevant.
The opportunity to just get together, find solutions to common
challenges with my peers, and forge
relationships has become a very
valuable part of my every day
work environment.
Members of NRF’s Internal Audit and
Compliance Council meet at American Eagle
Outfitters in October.
Standards by U.S. Issuers, NRF noted
that the reporting requirements would
be uniquely burdensome and costly
to the retail industry. NRF explained
that retailers have significant investments in Property, Plant, and Equipment (PP&E) and the systems that
track them. The proposed requirement
to account for PP&E on a component
basis would require substantial investments in time and expenses to reconfigure the systems. We also expressed
concerns that current widely-used
inventory methods would be disallowed again resulting in significant
system and process conversion costs
and noted that such changes would
have little value add from a profitability
and efficiency perspective.
Natalie Levy
VP, Accounting
The Container Store
(Member Since 1997)
Financial Executives Voice Industry
Concerns to Regulatory Bodies
Throughout the year, NRF’s Financial
Executives Council closely followed
regulatory efforts to conform financial
reporting practices to international
standards. In response to the SEC’s
Roadmap for the Potential Use of Financial Statements Prepared in Accordance
with International Financial Reporting
Also in 2009, the FASB released a
highly-anticipated Discussion Paper on
Lease Accounting requiring companies
to capitalize a majority of their leases,
a significant change for the retail
industry. In comments, NRF noted
that many retailers have hundreds, if
not thousands, of stores, each with its
own unique lease agreement. Under
the proposal, each of the leases would
have to be evaluated and recorded,
and we questioned whether the cost
of implementation could outweigh
the benefits.
The Courage to Lead: www.nrf.com
15
NRF 2009
CommunicAtions
A Strong Voice in the Retail Industry
As the voice of retail worldwide, NRF
takes seriously its role of educating
the public, the media and elected officials about the important role that
retailing plays in the global economy
and the effects of policy decisions on
retailers’ ability to serve their customers. In 2009, the NRF public relations
team worked diligently to represent
the retail perspective on both advocacy and industry initiatives. Regardless of the issue, NRF ensured that the
retail industry’s voice was heard.
From a media standpoint, 2009
was a banner year for NRF with more
than 47,000 hits in media outlets
worldwide, compared to 32,627 mentions in 2008. NRF was front and
center, expressing retail’s views on
important issues like the impact of
the economy on consumer spending,
health care reform, CIT, the Employee
Free Choice Act, swipe fees and
organized retail crime.
engage the industry differently,
integrating social media tools such
as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn
to provide NRF members with a new
forum to connect with each other and
thought leaders throughout retailing.
NRF also created Retail’s BIG Blog, a
powerful resource for the retail community that features posts from NRF
experts on policy, retail trends, event
speakers, and retail companies. Since
its launch in May, Retail’s BIG Blog has
become a valuable news source
for many in the industry.
NRF has been a great resource to
L.L. Bean on a number of levels.
Personally, I have found industry
trend information to always be on
target, and the networking opportunities have been invaluable. Other
L.L. Bean executives participate in
topic specific forums that provide
up-to-date education and issue
information that is timely and
relevant to our business.
Chris McCormick
Expanding NRF’s Reach with
Social Media
A variety of new communications tools
launched in 2009 enabled NRF to
President and CEO
L. L. Bean, Inc.
(Member Since 1976)
NRF Senior Vice President Steve Pfister on
CNBC explains how employer mandates can put
the squeeze on small and mid-sized retailers.
Other NRF communications
vehicles leveraged by retailers include
NRF, Shop.org and NRF Global
SmartBriefs; STORES Magazine and
its media outlets; Washington Retail
Insight and NRF Update.
With more companies facing
travel constraints, NRF webinars have
provided a useful means of extending
NRF educational opportunities. In
(continued on next page)
“Long-term economic stimulus is critically important,
but immediate stimulus is absolutely essential.”
Steve Pfister
NRF Senior Vice President, Government Affairs discusses the
need for immediate action to address the spiraling economy.
New York Times, February 6, 2009
16
National Retail Federation: 2009 Annual Report
COMMUNICATIONS
“The unfortunate economic events of the
past year have played an intricate role in how
criminals continue to rip off the retail industry.”
Joe LaRocca
NRF senior asset protection adviser, on how the economy
is contributing to a rise in organized retail crime
Washington Post, June 11, 2009
“People are really paying attention to these
articles, and the effects are extremely damaging.”
Tracy Mullin
NRF President and CEO, explaining why
news reports citing unfounded remarks from
retail critics pose problems for companies
USA Today, April 14, 2009
Shop.org Executive
Director Scott Silverman on
the Today Show discussing
online holiday shopping tips.
CNBC’s Erin Burnett
interviews NRF Vice
President Scott
Krugman about
last minute holiday
shopping.
Fox talks to NRF Vice President Ellen Davis about Black Friday and
Cyber Monday expectations.
Dan Butler, NRF Vice President for
Retail Operations discussed the
holiday season with FOX.
The Courage to Lead: www.nrf.com
17
NRF 2009
Media outlet hits:
2008: 32,627 hits worldwide
2009: over 47,000
2009, NRF hosted more than 40 webinars on topics such as holiday trends,
PCI compliance, health care reform,
social media and eCommerce. Additionally, NRF increased the number of
analyst and media briefings in 2009.
Internet Strategies Revamps
NRF Websites
As the Internet became a more and
more essential communications tool,
NRF’s Internet Strategies Team focused
considerable time and resources to
update the look and functionality
of NRF’s home page and individual
websites. In 2009, the team revamped
websites for NRF Divisions including the National Council of Chain
Restaurants, the Retail Advertising
and Marketing Association as well as
the NRF Foundation. In addition, a
site was built for FIRAE, the Forum
for International Retail Association
Executives.
Convention Press Coverage
Increases
In 2009, NRF’s public relations team
welcomed more than 300 reporters
and analysts to NRF’s BIG Show in
New York City. During the Annual
Convention, many prominent reporters and CEOs attended the invitationonly Press and Executives reception.
The exceptional line-up of guests
included CEOs from Macy’s, JCPenney,
lululemon athletica and Urban Outfitters along with retail reporters from
The New York Times, Dow Jones and
USA Today.
News Date Chart
40,000
20,000
2005
2006
Number of News Clips
01/01/2006 to 12/31/2009
NRF press coverage continued
to grow steadily in 2009.
“Quite simply, mandates don’t work well for retailers.
You can be for reform and against employer mandates.”
Neil Trautwein
NRF Vice President and Employee Benefits Policy Counsel, reacting to Wal-Mart’s
support of employer mandates in health care coverage
Women’s Wear Daily, July 2, 2009
18
National Retail Federation: 2009 Annual Report
2007
“There are many paths to heaven. Our
heaven is a transparent, competitive market,
so we’re happy no matter how we get there.”
COMMUNICATIONS
Mallory Duncan
NRF SVP and General Counsel, discussing
interchange legislation being considered by Congress
BusinessWeek, October 19, 2009
“If retailers can’t find a way to finance
inventories for the 2009 holiday season,
many could be forced to close stores, lay off
workers or even go out of business… this
will help keep that from happening.”
2008
2009
2010
Rachelle Bernstein
NRF Vice President, Tax Counsel praises the passage of legislation
that will allow retailers to carry back net operating losses.
Washington Post, November 6, 2009
NRF expanded its social media
strategy with the launch of Retail’s
Big Blog as well as new LinkedIn and
Facebook communities.
The Courage to Lead: www.nrf.com
19
NRF 2009
2009
NRF
Membership
Despite a tough economic environment
in 2009, NRF’s membership remained
strong and growing. Members from all
formats of retail, representing six continents and 60 countries, continued
to look to NRF for information and
resources to help them weather the
economic downturn. Whether through
NRF’s original research, benchmarking
or consumer trend information, through
participation in the multiplicity of NRF
committees and councils, or because
of NRF’s aggressive retail representation before Congress, members sought
out NRF for information, guidance and
perspective. NRF responded, providing
members with cost-effective ways to instantly access industry data, resources,
and networking opportunities—all the
while delivering world-class advocacy
on the issues that matter most.
Over the course of the year, NRF:
• Conducted
more than 40 webinars
and 120 conference calls on topics
ranging from the Employee Free
Choice Act, to healthcare reform, to
retail sustainability. Webinars are
archived on NRF’s website for up
to one year and are accessible by
members 24/7.
• Utilized its member-only committee
structure to provide retail members
with access to instant benchmarking on operational practices. NRF
offers its members the ability to
participate in more than 50 subjectmatter specific committees and task
forces—included as a benefit of
membership.
• Launched the NRF Retail Reference
Center—a searchable one-stop
shop for white papers, NRF original
research, and other resources.
Content is organized by functional
area in retailing and is downloadable for portability and sharing.
• Visited with its members to discuss
their current challenges, demonstrated how NRF can assist them,
Retailers gather for a Boston area networking dinner, sponsored by SAS Institute.
20
National Retail Federation: 2009 Annual Report
and provided them with local networking opportunities through NRF
Networking Nights dinners in nine
cities throughout the US.
NRF’s diverse membership has resulted in a vibrant, secure association, one
that reflects the multi-faceted industry
it represents and serves.
NRF Welcomes its Newest Members
Among other new members, NRF
is proud to welcome the following
retailers and consumer brands to
its membership:
• Aeropostale, Inc.
• Avenue You Beauty Store
• Big 5 Sporting Goods
• Bob Evans Farms, Inc.
• Colombian Emeralds International
(Bahamas)
• Cortefiel, S.A. (Spain)
• Donatos Pizza
• DSW Inc.
• Guitar Center, Inc.
• H&O (Israel)
• j.jill
• Jos. A. Bank Cothiers, Inc.
• Kirtilal Kalidas Jewellers Private Ltd.
(India)
• Loehmann’s Holdings Inc.
• Louis Vuitton North America, Inc.
• Meijer, Inc.
• O’Charley’s Inc.
• Ratner Companies
• rue21, Inc.
• Wendy’s/Arby’s Group
The NRF is an
invaluable organization to us. The NRF
facilitates knowledge sharing and
interaction among
retailers and their
legal departments. I can’t even begin
to list the number of times the NRF has
put us in touch with experts on matters
or helped bring clarity to an issue.
2009 Global Retail
Membership
by Annual Sales
Over $5 billion
8%
Michael Brizel
Executive Vice President &
General Counsel
Saks Incorporated
(Member Since 1948)
$500 million to
$1 billion
9%
$1 billion to
$5 billion
14%
$100 to
$500 million
15%
Up to $1 million
28%
Consumables
Miscellaneous Hardlines
(C-Store, Cosmetics
(Auto, Books, Gifts,
Home/
Grocery, Restaurant,
Office, Pet, Toys)
Housewares,
Pharmacy)
13%
Hardware, Furniture
12%
8%
Jewelry
3%
$1 to $10 million
14%
$50 to
$100 million
4%
$10 to
$50 million
9%
Discount Stores
2%
Department Stores
9%
Consumer
Electronics
2%
Accessories
(inc. Luggage, Shoes)
22%
2009 Global Retail
Membership
by Type
The value we receive from membership in NRF is
tremendous. NRF
represents our
interests in Washington with all the
weight that such a highly-respected
trade organization with so many
members can bring. In addition,
they are one of our most valuable
resources for keeping on top of the
ever-changing landscape of regulations and policies that affect our
business. Facilitating this ongoing
communication between our company and the many U.S. and state
regulatory agencies is one of the
most important reasons why we value
our NRF membership so highly.
Virginia Thompson
Director of Import/Export
Operations and Intl. Trade Compliance
Crate and Barrel
(Member Since 1990)
Apparel
24%
Entertainment
2%
Sporting
Goods
3%
MEMBERSHIP
There is no question that the NRF
is essential, as a unified voice for
all retailers, regardless of their size.
Trying to go it alone in today’s retail
environment, or anytime, just cannot
be as productive as with the NRF. It
seems even more important with the
current unprecedented happenings
in Washington.
Terrance Jarvis
President and CEO
Strasburg-Jarvis, Inc.
(Member Since 2000)
The Courage to Lead: www.nrf.com
21
NRF 2009
NRF’s Erik Autor and Steven Glover
toured the Jiangsu Hongliu Bedsheet Co.,
Ltd. Factory following their participation
in the 2009 Intertextile Shanghai Home
Textile Conference. Pictured are from
Left to Right: Grace Zhu, Jian Jun Huang,
Erik Autor, Steven Glover, Larry Huang.
Human Resources
Executives Summit
At NRF’s Human Resources Executives Summit in 2009, more than
70 of the retail industry’s senior
level HR professionals and employment law executives came together
in San Diego for the high-level
event. Speakers included H&M
General Counsel Laura Brandt
who reviewed Occupational Safety
and Health Administration considerations that every human resource
executive needs to know. David
Lansky, a nationally recognized
expert in accountability and quality
measurement, and a leading driver
of quality and value-focused health
care, discussed the state of health
care in an economic decline. Other
topics included retail management,
practical considerations of COBRA
Administration, and the Do’s and
Don’ts in Layoffs.
22
National Retail Federation: 2009 Annual Report
International retailers enjoy an evening at
NRF’s 2009 International Retail Reception in
New York City.
Executives from 13 international retail
associations gathered at the 2009 Forum for
International Retail Association Executives
(FIRAE) meeting, held in New York in
conjunction with NRF’s Annual Convention &
EXPO. NRF serves as the FIRAE Secretariat.
MEMBERSHIP
INTERNATIONAL
Providing a Global Perspective
Increasingly more retailers are seeking
international growth opportunities.
To meet the challenges surrounding
international retailing, more companies turn to NRF for information and
assistance. Nearly twenty percent of
all NRF members are now based outside
of the United States. In fact, international attendees represent the fastest
growing segment at the NRF Annual
Convention & EXPO, with nearly
3,000 individuals from 62 countries
attending the 2009 BIG Show.
NRF continued to provide a
forum for international retailers
in 2009 and:
•
Conducted the 7th Annual
European Retail Technology Summit
in Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Produced in partnership with
Germany’s EHI Retail Institute,
the Summit provided executives
a chance to test and redefine a
strategic assessment of Europe’s
retail IT landscape through real-
world case studies presented by
leading practitioners and experts.
• Conducted the 2009 Global
E-Commerce Summit in Monaco,
through a partnership between
its digital division, Shop.org, and
EMOTA (European E-commerce
and Mail Order Trade Association).
The Summit provided executives
from more than 24 countries
with strategies and tactics to
achieve cross-channel synergies,
expand globally, and integrate
new technologies such as social
networking and mobile marketing.
•
Launched the LinkedIn FIRAE
International Retailing Group
on behalf of the Forum for
International Retail Association
Executives (FIRAE), for which
NRF serves as the secretariat.
The LinkedIn group offers retail
executives and industry service
providers engaged in international
retailing an opportunity to network
and share information and ideas
with each other and the leader­
ship of more than 30 retail trade
associations from around
the world.
International Retail Member Distribution
Canada
34%
Europe
21%
Caribbean
& Latin America
20%
Middle East
& Africa
13%
Asia-Pacific
12%
The Courage to Lead: www.nrf.com
23
Business Partners
A special thanks to our business partners who support NRF
and its divisions throughout the year and around the globe.
Datavantage + CommercialWare + eOne + Fry
In this era of blogs, tweets and LinkedIn, nothing compares
with the opportunity to listen, speak and connect face-to-face
at the NRF STUDiO. Each year, the unique opportunity the show
provides to meet in person, be it through chance encounters or
planned connections with old friends or international clients,
creates an event not to be missed. The NRF Big Show is unique in
its bringing together decision-makers across all aspects of retail:
logistics, operations, technology, marketing and design. While
there are many shows that speak to each of these constituencies,
it is the dynamic interaction between all aspects, both domestic
and international, that makes the NRF Big Show the most important show for professionals on the creative side of retail.
Ken Nisch
Chairman
JGA, Inc.
(Associate Member Since 2004)
24
National Retail Federation: 2009 Annual Report
CONVENTION AND EXPO
AMAC
Board of Directors
Associate Member Advisory Council
Incoming Chairman
Jay Heavilon
President
ARS Interactive
Richard Arnold
VP, Marketing - Retail Solutions Division
NCR Corporation
NRF’s Associate Member
Advisory Council launches
new online member benefit:
The NRF Retail Reference Center
The NRF Associate Member Advisory
Council (AMAC) launched a new
associate and retail member benefit
in 2009, the NRF Retail Reference
Center. Featuring a “peer reviewed”
component, the Retail Reference
Center is a one-stop shop for white
papers, NRF original research, and
other resources. Content, which
is organized by functional area in
retailing, is both searchable and
downloadable.
Within three months of the launch
of the Retail Reference Center, more
than 1,000 users had searched for
articles, with 20 percent of visitors
viewing the “Peer Reviewed” section
first. In addition, 12 percent of visitors
to the “Industry Information” page on
NRF’s website clicked through to the
Retail Reference Center.
“The NRF Reference Center not
only allows us to share our points
of view with others in the retail
community, but we also received
valuable feedback from our peers.
The process of submitting an article
was simple and NRF responded
quickly to questions, keeping in
constant contact, right through to
the final approval. We will continue
to use the NRF Reference Center as
a way to communicate with our partners, peers, and industry leaders.”
Leslie Dodwell
Marketing Manager
Torex
(Associate Member Since 2006)
Anne Brouwer
Senior Partner
McMillanDoolittle
Joseph F. Coradino
President
PREIT Services
Ann Cunningham
Director, Industry Marketing
ACI Worldwide, Inc.
James E. Dion
President
Dionco Inc.
Beth Howard
Director, Marketing and Store Systems Sales
PCMS Datafit, Inc.
Stacy Janiak
Vice Chairman - National Sector Leader, Retail
Deloitte
Larry Mullen
Continuing its core mission of
representing the trading partner
component of NRF’s membership,
AMAC conducted a “Town Hall”
meeting at the Annual Convention
as well as one-on-one interviews with
members. New initiatives for 2010
include a buddy program for new
members.
Deputy Practice Leader, Retail/Wholesale
Practice
Marsh Inc.
Janet Murphy
President
Ogden Associates, Inc.
Lindsay Parker
Director, Global Retail Vertical Solutions
Marketing
Cisco Systems, Inc.
Frank Riso
Senior Director, Retail Industry Solutions Group
Motorola
Adel Sayehg
President and CEO
Universal Surveillance Systems (USS)
Stephen Sparrow
Retail Industry Marketing Manager
Microsoft Corporation
James R. Tippmann
CEO
FRCH Design Worldwide
Immediate Past Chair
Walter F. Loeb
President
Loeb Associates
Jay Heavilon, President, ARS Interactive, reviews the results
of the “Talk Back to AMAC” feedback with attendees at the
2009 Associate Member “Town Hall” Meeting.
The Courage to Lead: www.nrf.com
25
NRF 2009
Loss Prevention
With the growing recognition by senior management of the critical role
LP executives play in retail, there has
been an increasing need for programs
and activities that can meet the demands of this community and enable
them to expand their expertise. NRF
has enhanced its LP offerings dramatically in recent years to address these
requirements, with more and more LP
executives taking advantage of NRF
programs.
Premiere Educational and
Networking Opportunities
The 2009 NRF LP Conference provided a premiere networking and learning
event for all levels of LP professionals
in all sectors of the retail industry.
More than 2,400 LP executives and
professionals attended, with expert
speakers conducting presentations on:
I have participated
in the NRF conferences and events
from the very beginning (dating back
to NRMA of the
1970’s). NRF has
proven to be an
outstanding resource for information,
education, product knowledge, professional development programs and the
most important one: peer networking.
NRF is the go-to place when you need
to know what is happening in our industry and is the most credible and
reliable resource in retailing today. Larry Senn
VP, Asset Protection
The Dress Barn, Inc.
(Member Since 1996)
26
to Manage Generation Y
• The Evolving Role of Loss
Prevention
• Simple Solutions to Protect
Independent Retail Stores
• How
EXPO Hall – Cutting Edge
Technologies
Featuring more than 175 leading LP
solution providers, the EXPO hall showcased technologies at work. The NRF
Fusion Center provided a networking venue while the LP Secure Store,
a prototype retail store on the EXPO
floor, showcased the integration of numerous LP products and technologies.
Loss Prevention Committees
Connecting the Dots and Forging
Key Partnerships
The Loss Prevention committees were
very active in 2009, as follows:
• NRF Investigator’s Network
The NRF Investigator’s Network brings
together retail LP executives, shopping
center security and law enforcement
officials to network and discuss critical industry challenges. In 2009, the
Investigator’s Network held 13 meetings
in seven regions. With more than 1,250
members, these regional meetings
have helped connect the dots on key
criminal cases throughout the country.
• Joint Organized Retail Crime
Task Force
In 2009, NRF’s Joint Organized
Retail Crime Task Force (JORCTF)
announced a key partnership with the
Department of Homeland Security’s
National Retail Federation: 2009 Annual Report
Loss Prevention Senior
Executive Summit
LP professionals descended on
Dallas for the Annual NRF Loss
Prevention Senior Executive
Summit. The high-level event
provided for an open exchange
of ideas on economic contingency plans, crowd management,
recruiting/developing the talent
pool, H1N1 pandemic preparedness and other key issues.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), centered around a
six month pilot program designed by
ICE. The program assesses the threat
level of organized retail crime in several cities and worked with the Investigator’s Network, JORCTF and LERPnet
to generate leads and information.
LP Committees Expand
In October, the NRF LP Advisory
Council announced the formation of
two new committees: Loss Prevention
Diversity Committee and the NRF LP
Research Committee. The Diversity
Committee will work alongside the
Women in LP Caucus to continue forging diversity in the retail LP industry
and the Research Committee will coordinate and produce regular benchmarking and survey publications.
LOSS PREVENTION
Los Angeles Police
Department Chief
William Bratton delivered
the opening keynote
presentation and discussed
retail-law enforcement
partnerships.
Inside the numbers
92%
Law Enforcement Retail
Partnership Network (LERPnet) –
Powerful Tool for Retail LP Teams
The Law Enforcement Retail Partnership Network (LERPnet) is a secure
national database for the reporting
of retail theft and serious incidents,
allowing retailers to share information
with each other and law enforcement.
It is fast becoming a national standard
for sharing retail crime information
in a secure and confidential manner
and fighting back against illegal activity including organized retail crime,
burglaries, counterfeiting, and online
auction fraud.
This year, LERPnet launched a
direct connection between LERPnet
and the FBI’s Law Enforcement Online
web portal, LEO.gov, which grants
law enforcement officers access to the
system. Additionally, GeoMapping
Analytical reports were instituted
along with regular analysis of LERPnet
data by leading law enforcement
agencies nationwide.
Percentage of retailers who say their
company has been a victim of organized
retail crime in the last 12 months
101,000
Number of criminal incidents that have
been reported through the Law
Enforcement Retail Partnership Network
50%
Percentage of “new, in-box” items sold
through auction sites that are likely
stolen or fraudulently obtained,
according to retailers’ estimates
$9.59 Billion
Amount of fraudulent
returns in 2009
Loss prevention professionals visit with
exhibitors on the EXPO Hall Floor at the
2009 LP Conference & EXPO.
Crowd Management
As the retail industry continues to offer
in-store events for customers, retailers
have a new challenge: crowd management. NRF issued a white paper on
crowd management guidelines and
considerations for retailers that
included tips for partnering with
mall management and local law
enforcement.
This year I brought 11 members of
the GameStop Loss Prevention team
to the NRF LP Conference in Los
Angeles. I believe this is the best
industry training and vendor exhibit
event in the nation and I want to
share it with as many of my team
members as possible. I continue to
be thankful to NRF for recognizing
the need for this event and bringing
high quality content for all levels of
LP professionals.
Tina Sellers
VP, Loss Prevention
GameStop Corp.
(Member Since 2006)
Marcy Forman, Director, Office of
Investigations for U.S. Immigration and
Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced
at the June NRF LP Conference a pilot
program between ICE and the NRF’s Joint
Organized Retail Crime Task Force.
Industry experts inducted into the Ring of
Excellence for lifetime achievements in loss
prevention and the retail industry.
The
TheCourage
Courageto
toLead:
Lead: www.nrf.com
www.nrf.com
27
27
NRF 2009
INFORMATION
TECHNOLOGY
It is not possible to overstate the
importance of technology in the retail
industry. While retailing may drive the
economy, technology drives retailing.
Whether it is at point of sale, throughout the supply chain, in warehouse
management, inventory control, loss
prevention, on the Internet or with
social media, most successful retailers
rely on modern technology.
NRF CIO Council
NRF has a long history of recognizing
the value of technology and offering
members an opportunity to share
technology information, best practices, benchmarking or learn about
emerging trends. In 2009, NRF’s
CIO Council, a community of 50 of the
best and brightest IT leaders in the retail industry, met to discuss the issues
and challenges faced by retail CIOs
including PCI DSS (Payment Card
Industry-Data Security Standard),
IT governance, technology spending
trends, mobile commerce and how
retailers are using social networking.
NRF Released 6th Annual
Retail IT Budget Study
In 2009 NRF’s CIO Council and AMR
Research developed and released the
6th Annual Retail IT Budget Study, a
comprehensive, retail specific analysis.
Since its inception, the combined total
revenue of all participating companies
in the survey exceeds $820 billion.
28
NRF letter to PCI Council and
credit card companies
NRF continued to work to create more
transparency and clarity in how data
security standards are developed. In
2009, NRF along with several trade
associations representing merchants
ranging from retail, restaurants and
hospitality sent a joint letter to the
Payment Card Industry (PCI) Security
Standards Council and credit card
executives outlining several guidelines
that could be implemented immediately that would make PCI more effective and cost efficient.
Retail Technology Summit –
Amsterdam
The Retail Technology Summit, in its
7th year, is one of the industry’s most
influential retail technology events in
the European Union. The Summit, produced by NRF and the Association for
Retail Technology Standards (ARTS),
a division of NRF, in partnership with
Germany’s EHI Retail Institute, attracted more than 200 IT executives from
the world’s leading retail companies.
Retailers from the Netherlands,
Germany, United Arab Emirates and
France demonstrated how to leverage
information technology to prosper
in the challenging global economic
landscape. The event featured a oneand-a-half-day educational program
focusing on how to quickly implement
new business strategies by optimizing
National Retail Federation: 2009 Annual Report
Launched in 2004, the Fair
Factories Clearinghouse (FFC) is
a unique 501(c)(3) membership
community of businesses collaborating to use technology to enable
cost effective, well-informed
ethical business transactions and
improved workplaces around the
globe. It offers software to its members to manage and share compliance information on factories
throughout the world that manufacture consumer products. FFC’s
rapidly growing database contains
more than 24,000 factories, with
compliance data stored on more
than 95% of them, with close to
55,000 compliance reports.
Members of the FFC include
adidas, Burberry, Levis, LL Bean,
Nike, Macy’s, Nordstrom, REI,
ASICS, J.Crew, Patagonia, Starbucks, and Disney, among others.
IT-support applications. The sessions
highlighted speakers on a wide variety
of topics that were global, relevant and
forward thinking.
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
During NRFtech,
Hallmark’s Jay Dittman
spoke to attendees
about marketing ROI
and how companies
can profitably activate
customers.
NRFtech 2009: IT
Leadership Summit
NRFtech, the retail industry’s
most influential event for senior
level IT executives was held in
La Jolla, CA in 2009. Speakers
from Best Buy, PetSmart, Kohl’s,
Yum! Brands, Hallmark, PETCO,
and Heartland presented topics
to more than 150 retail executives. Attendees walked away from
the conference with actionable
information that could be applied
in their companies.
Vicki Cantrell, COO and CIO at Tory Burch
spoke to NRFtech conference attendees.
NRF’s CIO Council, some of the industry’s
most prominent executives, met to discuss
data security, the economy, and social
networking during NRFtech.
PetSmart Executive
Chairman Phil Francis
and CIO Don Beaver
spoke to NRFtech
conference attendees
about their company’s
IT initiatives.
The Courage to Lead: www.nrf.com
29
NRF 2009
DIVISIONS
Shop.org, NRF’s digital division, serves
as the world’s leading membership
community for digital retail with more
than 600 member companies. As the
authority for addressing emerging
growth opportunities in online and
multichannel retailing, Shop.org
delivers benefits to members through
events, research, networking and
policy development.
the third annual CyberMonday.com
online shopping mall, and raised more
than $450,000 for the Ray M. Greenly
Scholarship Fund, which was established
to encourage students to pursue
eCommerce careers. The scholarship
fund has raised more than $1.3
million since 2006.
Online Sales Continue to Grow
Shop.org’s twelfth annual State of
Retailing Online 2009, conducted by
Forrester Research, revealed that
2009 online sales, despite the worst
economy in 70 years, were expected
to grow 11 percent to $156 billion.
Shop.org Research Serves as an
Industry Leader
The State of Retailing Online (SORO)
is an annual look at actual sales,
expenses, and industry trends. This
benchmark study for the industry also
analyzes retailer responses related to
multi-channel integration as well as
marketing and promotional tactics
that are successfully used to improve
conversion rates.
The eHoliday Study, in partnership
with BIGresearch, provides insight
into the online holiday shopping
season from both retailer and
consumer perspectives. The study,
now in its eighth year, gave birth to
the term “Cyber Monday,” the first
Monday after Thanksgiving, after
Shop.org determined that online
shoppers were flocking to eCommerce
websites to shop and place orders on
that day. In 2009, Shop.org featured
30
John Donahoe, CEO, eBay, talks online retail
ing during the 2009 Annual Summit.
The online retail industry’s mustattend event, Shop.org’s 2009
Annual Summit, was held in Las
Vegas in September. Featuring
blockbuster keynotes from industry
standouts such as Macy’s, Inc. CEO
Terry Lundgren and eBay CEO John
Donahoe, this event drew a recordbreaking 2,600 industry professionals
to explore emerging trends and
share best practices. In addition
to the content and phenomenal
networking opportunities, attendees
also took advantage of an exhibit hall
showcasing 160 solution providers.
Shop.org also featured highly
successful smaller events, the
Shop.org Online Marketing
Workshop in May and the Shop.org
Online Merchandising Workshop in
July, to help managers and directors
increase their skill sets and network
with the best in the business.
National Retail Federation: 2009 Annual Report
Shop.org leads
DC advocacy efforts
Shop.org’s Policy Advisory Group,
comprised of executives from
approximately 20 Shop.org members, began developing strategies
to ensure that the needs of online
retailers are taken into consideration as part of an expected debate
in Congress about online behavioral
targeting.
Legislation that could inhibit
online marketing practices (present
and future) will likely be considered
in the next session of Congress. If a
law is passed, or if the Federal Trade
Commission (FTC) adopts new regulations, online retailers can expect
to be required to obtain consent
from shoppers before they can collect or apply customer information
for use in certain types of marketing practices (such as behavioral
targeting). The FTC has already
announced a series of privacy
workshops to focus on consumer
expectations and emerging practices
and strategies that began in December. Other issues that Shop.org is
following closely include: Internet
Corporation for Assigned Names
and Numbers’ (ICANN) efforts to
expand Generic Top Level Domain
Names (gTLDs), credit card interchange fee legislation, the creation
of a new Consumer Financial Products Agency (CFPA), data security
legislation, and gift card regulations
currently being considered by the
Federal Reserve.
Attendees walk the EXPO Hall
at the 2009 Shop.org Annual
Summit in Las Vegas.
CONVENTION AND EXPO
Board of Directors
Shop.org Chairman
Richard Last
Vice President and Director New Business
Development JCP.com
J.C. Penney Company, Inc.
Anne Ashbey
Formerly VP, Internet Marketing
Harry and David
Miki Racine Berardelli
CMO
Tory Burch
Troy Brown
Retail Practice Leader
Demandware
Peter Cobb
Hiroshi Mikitani,
CEO, Rakuten,
takes the podium
at the Global
E-Commerce
Summit.
Shop.org is a
unique force within
the online retail
space. Although
Shop.org is best
known for hosting
first-class events
with outstanding
networking opportunities throughout
the year, I find just as much benefit
in their website, emails, social media
efforts, and research results.
Peter Cobb
Terry Lundgren,
CEO, Macy’s,
addresses online
retailers.
Co-Founder and Senior Vice President
eBags
(Shop.org Member Since 2003)
Co-founder Senior Vice President
eBags
Chuck Davis
Chairman and CEO
Fandango, Inc.
Patti Freeman Evans
Vice President Research Director
Forrester Research
Pinny Gniwisch
Chief Motivational Officer
Ice.com
Brett Hurt
Founder and CEO
Bazaarvoice, Inc.
John Lazarchic
Vice President, Ecommerce
PETCO Animal Supplies, Inc.
Misty Locke
President & Co-Founder
Range Online Media
John McAteer
Head of Retail
Google Inc.
Kelly Mooney
President and Chief Experience Officer
Resource Interactive
Gilt Groupe CEO,
Susan Lyne,
discusses Gilt’s
rising success over
the past year.
MJ Murphy
A retail executive gets advice during the
session “The Doctor is In” at the 2009
Annual Summit.
Senior Director Ecommerce
Cole Haan
Bob Myers
Senior Vice President, Platforms,
New Media, Broadcast and Technology
QVC, Inc
Dan Springer
CEO
Responsys
Chris Wilson
Avinash Kaushik,
author of Web
Analytics: An
Hour A Day,
shares his web
insights with the
crowd.
VP E-Commerce
L.L.Bean, Inc.
Paul Delaoutre, CEO, Galeries Lafayette,
speaks at the Global E-Commerce
Summit in Monaco.
The Courage to Lead: www.nrf.com
31
NRF 2009
DIVISIONS
The OfficeMax Team, led
by Bob Thacker (center),
SVP, Marketing and
Advertising, accepts the
Best of the Best Award.
In 2009 RAMA (Retail Advertising and
Marketing Association), a division of
NRF, continued its mission of providing unique industry research, cutting
edge educational programming, and
networking opportunities for retail
advertising and marketing professionals. NRF members continued to take
advantage of the added value of participating in RAMA as a benefit of NRF
membership. RAMA takes pride in its
tradition of bringing together the best
and most creative thinkers in the industry – retail Chief Marketing Officers
and industry partners such as ad agencies, design firms, printers and other
leaders in the community – to regularly
review relevant consumer research and
marketing trends.
RAMA Grows Its Member
Communications
This past year RAMA launched a new
website, www.rama-nrf.com, along with
a corresponding digital e-newsletter,
RAMA Buzz “Listen Up”, that is emailed
to RAMA members on a bimonthly basis. These new communications tools
enhance RAMA’s ability to connect
quickly with its key audiences.
The Annual Retail Advertising
Conference Moves to Las Vegas
After convening in Chicago for 56
years, in 2009 RAMA moved its annual Retail Advertising Conference to
Las Vegas. Themed “Real Stories. Real
Solutions. Real Inspiration.” this year’s
event attracted the industry’s most
cutting-edge, creative minds all to seek
solutions to the challenging economy.
32
The lineup of expert speakers and innovators included:
• Mike Boylson, EVP and CMO, J.C. Penney Co., Inc.
• Bert Jacobs, Founder, Life is good
• Stan Lippelman, VP, Marketing,
Bass Pro Shops
• Chip Wilson, Founder,
lululemon athletica
The event also featured an EXPO
Marketplace filled with supplier and
partner exhibits.
RACie Awards Showcase Retail
Advertising and Marketing’s Best
Creative Work
The Retail Award for Creativity, Innovation and Excellence (RACie), the
retail industry’s coveted marketing
and advertising awards, once again
showcased our industry’s most brilliant and creative minds. Honored for
their work for the year were Best Buy’s
Blue Shirt Corps receiving the Peter
Glen Award for Cause Marketing.
OfficeMax was selected by the audience as the Best of the Best for their
clever “Back to School Penny Pranks,”
and the first ever Board of Directors
Creative Award was presented to Old
Navy for their “I Want Candy” holiday
commercial. During the awards gala,
Ric West, Divisional VP of Marketing Promotion and Production, Sears
Holdings Corp., was inducted into the
Retail Advertising Hall of Fame. Don
Florence, SVP and Creative Director,
Schawk Advertising, was honored with
the Lifetime Achievement Award, only
the eighth to be given out in RAMA’s
57 year history.
National Retail Federation: 2009 Annual Report
During the Relevant
Trends Track at the Retail
Advertising Conference,
Lori Senecal, President of
McCann New York, discusses
the social media explosion.
RAMA Honors Don
Florence, SVP and
Creative Director,
Schawk Advertising,
with the Lifetime
Achievement Award.
Lisa Gavales, EVP &
CMO of Express, LLC.,
explores the impact
that twittering has
had on her marketing
efforts during RAMA’s
CMO Summit.
The RAMA CMO Summit
is one of the must attend
conferences of the year.
Learning within a small
group environment of other
CMOs is fantastic. Not only
are the speakers and guests
great; the time spent sharing
issues and opportunities
with peers is priceless.
Dustin May
Director of Marketing
Bootlegger
(Member Since 2007)
Bert Jacobs, Founder of Life is good, talks
to a packed room on how optimism has
powered the success of his brand at the
57th Retail Advertising Conference.
Board of Directors
Chairman
Ed Carroll Jr.
1st Vice Chair
Kathy Doyle Thomas
Marketing Director,
Regional Brands
Best Buy
Dave Gaston
President
Gaston Advertising
2nd Vice Chair
Zain Raj
Laura Gallagher
Nancy Altman
SVP, Marketing
Premier Salons, Inc.
Retail CMOs and senior marketing
executives gathered in Ft. Lauderdale,
Florida for two days at RAMA’s
annual CMO Summit, part of NRF’s
DECISIONMAKER Series. With the
current state of the economy at the
top of everyone’s mind, attendees
used this time to converse with
one another and contemplate their
strategy for leadership in the new
economy. Expert speakers engaged
attendees in discussion of current
trends and topics, including social
media and ecommerce, ROI across
channels, and how consumers
define value in the current economy.
Manny Palomo
Executive Vice President
Half Price Books
Chief Executive Officer
Discovery, North America Global
Practice Leader- Retail Brands
Euro RSCG Worldwide
CMO Summit –
Strategy for leadership
in the new economy.
Julie Gardner
EVP, CMO
Kohl’s
Todd Alexander
Brand Evangelist EVP
Kreber
Ken Banks
Consultant
KAB Marketing
Judy Biasetti
Consultant
Mike Boylson
EVP, Chief Marketing Officer
J.C. Penney Co., Inc.
Kevin Brown
VP, CMO, Home Appliances
Sears Holdings Corp.
BJ Bueno
Marketing Consultant
Nonbox
Frank Castiglione
Managing Director
LIFT
Greg Clark
Jay Dunn
VP, Marketing
Lane Bryant
Don Florence
SVP, Creative Director
Schawk Retail Marketing
Michael Francis
Giovanni Gigliotti
Dave Ratner
President
Dave’s Soda & Pet City
Kimberly Grabel
Frank Rothing
SVP, Marketing and Advertising
Saks Fifth Avenue
Sr Merchandising and
Marketing Manager
Sears Holdings Corp.
Rob Gruen
Peter Sachse
John Jay
CMO
Macy’s, Inc.
Executive Creative Director &
Partner
Wieden + Kennedy
Peter Schmid
Senior VP-Marketing
Television Bureau of Advertising
Kent Larsson
Consultant
The Gordman Group
Ginny Shiverdecker
EVP, Managing Director
McCann Erickson
Michael Linton
Lisa Lucas
Francey Smith
Vice President
Pure Red Creative
Managing Director
Francey Smith & Associates
Leanne Mattes
Bob Thacker
Vice President, Marketing
Relax the Back
SVP, Marketing and Advertising
OfficeMax
Dave Thorpe
Director of Marketing
Bootlegger
VP, Marketing
Giant Tiger Stores
Tony Ueber
VP, Marketing &
Administrative Services
The Bon-Ton Stores, Inc.
Executive Vice President &
Chief Operating Officer
Banfield, The Pet Hospital
Mac McDonald
Ric West
Director - Innovative Services
SIRS
DVP, Promotion and Production
Sears Holdings Corp.
Jack Mullen
Senior Vice President, Marketing
ShopKo
Tracy Mullin
President and CEO
National Retail Federation
EVP-Marketing Target Corp
Target
Kevin Gardiner
Phillip Odom
Tim White
Senior Vice President of
Marketing
Fashion Bug
Gary Yiatchos
Retail Client Advocate
Integrative Logic
Audrey Nizen
Senior Vice President
Creative Services
Bloomingdale’s
Principal
k. creative marketing
Vice President, Integrated
Marketing Communications
Sears Holdings Corp.
VP Smarter Planet
Field Enablement, Global S&D
Marketing & Communications
IBM
Colleen Mayer
Brad Davis
Robert Raible
EVP & CMO
Express, LLC
Doug Collier
VP, Advertising
Dick’s Sporting Goods
SVP
Solution Set
Lisa Gavales
Dustin May
Lee Corbett
Mark Pearson
President
The Creative Company
VP, Creative Leadership &
Process
J.C. Penney Co., Inc.
VP and Chief Marketing Officer
La-Z-Boy
Michael Paulson
Director of Bing Shopping
Bing Shopping
Board Director
Code London, John Brown Group
The Courage to Lead: www.nrf.com
33
NRF 2009
DIVISIONS
NCCR Provides Leadership to
Chain Restaurant Industry
The National Council of Chain Restaurants (NCCR), a division of NRF
exclusively representing the chain restaurant industry, has worked for more
than four decades to provide leadership to the industry by advancing
sound public policy for its members.
During 2009, NCCR conducted
its inaugural Chain Restaurant CEO
Leadership Summit in Washington,
D.C. attracting 14 of the industry’s
leading chief executives who came
together to discuss the major public
policy issues affecting their industry.
They also took advantage of their time
in Washington for strategy development, industry leadership networking,
and meetings with Congressional leaders, including Senate Majority Whip
Dick Durbin (D-IL). The rousing success of the meeting resulted in plans
for two additional summits in March
and September, 2010.
NCCR Public Policy Leadership
Darden has realized significant value
and return on its NCCR/NRF membership investment in the two years
since becoming members. NCCR
serves as a powerful voice for the
chain restaurant industry and has
demonstrated its leadership on several key public policy issues. Darden
also has benefited greatly from its
participation in numerous NRF
committees and working groups.
Chip Kunde
Vice President, Government Affairs
Darden Restaurants
(Member Since 2008)
Among the urgent public policy issues
discussed at the CEO Summit and
on which the NCCR Board and staff
focused in 2009, were:
• Food safety
• Card check
• Commodity prices
•Health care reform
• Tax
• Sodium
•General workplace
•Employment policy
Additionally, NCCR hosted several
legislative lobbying fly-ins for its mem-
Members of the NCCR Board of Directors
met during the NCCR Annual Meeting.
34
National Retail Federation: 2009 Annual Report
bers, including issue-specific lobbying
trips for individual member companies.
NCCR also significantly increased its
grassroots services for member companies, providing them with tailor-made
grassroots platforms that can be coordinated with company franchisees.
Further, NCCR filed two amicus curiae
briefs in court cases involving member
companies, the outcomes of which
would have significant consequences
for the industry. The court cases
involved the issues of meal breaks
and rest periods and the continued
availability of the tip credit for tipped
employees.
NCCR Membership Grows
In spite of – or perhaps because of –
the economic decline, NCCR saw
significant membership increases in
2009 as chain restaurant companies
recognized the power and importance
of collaborative and collective leadership on critical issues. Prominent
new members included Bob Evans
Farms, Donatos Pizza, O’Charley’s
and Wendy’s/Arby’s.
NCCR/NRF has become an integral
part of not only our Government
Relations program, but has extended
its positive impact into several other
disciplines at DineEquity including
Quality Assurance, Human Resources,
and Legal, among others. NCCR/
NRF consistently demonstrates a deep
understanding of the public policy
issues that are shaping the restaurant
industry and activates effective strategies to influence positive outcomes in
the legislative and regulatory process.
Importantly, NCCR/NRF offers an
unmatched forum for chain restaurants to come together to increase
our voice as an industry and affect
change in positive, proactive ways.
Julie Dunne, partner at the law firm Littler
Mendelson, talks about an amicus brief
her firm authored for NCCR in a case
involving meal breaks and rest periods.
Officers
Chairman
Patrick Sheehy
Cracker Barrel Old Country Store
Vice Chairman
Mike Starnes
Denny’s Inc.
Treasurer
Craig Prusher
Burger King Corporation
Secretary
Chip Kunde
Darden Restaurants, Inc.
Immediate Past Chairman
Joe Taylor
Brinker International, Inc.
Stacy Roughan
Board Members
Director, Investor Relations
DineEquity, Inc.
Donald Balfour
(Member Since 2005)
Vice President
Advocacy, Waffle House, Inc.
Paul Carothers
NCCR President, Jack Whipple, presented Jamie
Richardson, Vice President, Government Relations,
White Castle Systems, with the NCCR Ambassador
Award during the NCCR Annual meeting dinner.
Dr. Samir Sodha of the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention discussed foodborne
outbreaks at the NCCR Food Safety Task Force
meeting held in conjunction with the NCCR
Annual Meeting.
Vice President
Government Affairs, Yum! Brands Inc.
Steven Hilton
Vice President, Government Relations
McDonald’s Corporation
Mike Kull
President, Dairy Queen Corporate Stores
International Dairy Queen, Inc.
Jerry Lovejoy
Senior Vice President and General Counsel
El Pollo Loco
Jamie Richardson
Vice President, Government Relations
White Castle Systems
Stacy Roughan
Director, Investor Relations
DineEquity
Mary Schell
Vice President, Government Relations
Wendy’s/Arby’s Group
Cicely Simpson
Director, Federal and
State Government Relations
Dunkin’ Brands
NCCR Board members and members of the Food Safety Task Force gather during NCCR’s Annual
Meeting at Dine Equity’s headquarters.
The Courage to Lead: www.nrf.com
35
NRF 2009
DIVISIONS
The Association for Retail Technology
Standards (ARTS) was created in
1993 to enable retailers to purchase
the best software available on the
market and plug it into their store
systems environment without fear
of incompatibility or delay due to
programming changes. The key to
this is through the development of
integrated standards tailored to meet
the needs of the industry. Since
its establishment, ARTS programs
and activities have been devoted to
improving efficiency and reducing
costs for retailers around the world.
identify desired enhancements and
potential new standards.
Companies speaking on the
successful use of ARTS standards
included: BJ’s Wholesale Club on
PCI best Practices; Reject Shop of
Australia on using ARTS XML schemas
to implement an ERP on time and
within budget; adidas from Germany
on using the ARTS request for
First Annual ARTS Users Meeting
After 15 years of developing
technology standards for the retail
industry and providing thousands of
downloads for use in more than 80
countries, in 2009 ARTS embarked on
a new effort to educate the industry
on how to use these standards most
effectively. The objectives of the first
ARTS Users Meeting were to provide
an open forum to discuss challenges
and standards-based solutions and to
Over the past 7 years, The Reject
Shop has used ARTS standards
and whitepapers in many business
transforming projects, most recently
with a successful Enterprise Resource
Planning implementation. ARTS has
always reduced the complexity which
results in time savings and provides a
solid foundation for the next round
of projects.
Geoff Pearce
Manager, IT Commercial Systems
The Reject Shop Limited (Australia)
36
Richard Mader making opening remarks on
Day One of the Users Meeting
proposal (RFP) for POS applications;
Easy Homecenter, Colombia/Chile/
Argentina, on following the ARTS SOA
Blueprint to implement the first SOAenabled retail store in Latin America;
Kroger on improving e-commerce
operations through Cloud Computing;
and Lowe’s on using the Data Model
as a guide to master data management.
Mobile in Retail
ARTS is playing a major role in the
Mobile in Retail Initiative organized by
NRF as a service to members and the
industry to guide the implementation
of this technology and the related
business processes in retail. The
purpose of this effort is to gather and
present to organizations developing
standards, business processes,
National Retail Federation: 2009 Annual Report
Each month I can see the benefits of
our interaction with ARTS continue to
grow. Internally we were able to kick
start the benefits of using ARTS products by holding a full day in-house
training program for key members of
our development, database administration, and architecture teams. This
training session is still remembered
and referenced by our teams today.
When it comes to receiving an ROI on
training it was the deal of the decade.
Perry Kramer
VP Sales Operations, Corporate, and
Distributed Solutions
BJ’s Wholesale Club (United States)
applications and devices for mobile
commerce, retailer desires and absolute
requirements for adoption of mobile
technology within their enterprises
that will maximize benefits and
minimize implementation expense and
on-going costs. Initiative participants
included members of the NRF CIO
Council, ARTS and leading mobile
organizations such as GSMA, NACHA,
NFC Forum and Smart Card Alliance,
and representatives from GS1 and MIT.
The first activity of the Initiative is
the development of a Mobile Blueprint
to guide retailers on business opportunities, security, privacy, infrastructure, payments and promotions. ARTS
is leading the development of this
guide for implementing mobile applications in retail. To further support
mobile in retail, ARTS is updating the
digital receipt standard to include
electronic coupons and has released
a first draft of a payment standard to
ease PCI compliance and facilitate
mobile payments.
Whitepaper on Cloud Computing
In 2009, ARTS published the
first Cloud Computing for Retail
whitepaper that provides unbiased
guidance for achieving optimum
benefit of this new technology. Cloud
Breakfast roundtable
discussions.
computing can provide great benefits
to retailers by using centralized servers
that share resources like storage,
processing and bandwidth and is
paid for on a subscription basis. The
software is hosted by the vendor and
accessed by the customer over the
Internet, with applications rented on
an as-needed basis.
The ARTS Cloud Computing
whitepaper guides retailers on
implementation issues: the best retail
applications for cloud computing;
integrating services at the cloud for
stores and enterprise IT; overcoming
concerns with availability, reliability and
security, supporting an “open cloud” for
freedom of choice in applications and
vendors; and achieving an ROI.
Standard Request for Proposal
(RFP) for Business Intelligence (BI)
Also in 2009, ARTS released its
Standard Request for Proposal (RFP) for
Business Intelligence (BI) Applications,
the eighth in a series of Standard RFPs.
RFPs assist retailers in selecting the
“right” software applications for their
specific business processes.
Richard Mader of ARTS
and Paul Butka of TJX at
networking reception.
Board of Directors
Grant Anderson
Tom Litchford
Director, Application Development
Academy Sports + Outdoors
Industry Solution Director
Microsoft Corporation
Nada Aried
Richard E. Mader
Director, Store Systems
Technology
Limited Brands
Executive Director
Association for Retail
Technology Standards
Peter Burrows
John Miles
CIO
adidas America, Inc.
VP, Solutions Delivery
Lowe’s Companies, Inc.
Jesus Colao
Geoff Pearce
VP, Information Technology
Development
El Corte Inglés, S.A.
IT Commercial Systems Manager
The Reject Shop Limited
Phil DiPietro
Director, Engineering
NCR Corporation
VP, Application Development
and Support
The Kroger Co.
Tadashi Furuhata
Jerry Rightmer
Manager, Business System
Planning & Design
Seiko Epson Corporation
VP, Application Strategy
Oracle Retail
Darrell Riekena
Barbara Sanders
Robert Graham
VP, Engineering and Architecture
The Home Depot, Inc.
CIO
Peek...Aren’t You Curious
Dean A. Sleeper
Tim Hood
VP, Chief Solution Architect, Retail
SAP AG
Michael Julson
Ms. Kirstin Wright
Perry Kramer
VP, Sales Operations, Corporate
and Distributed Solutions
BJ’s Wholesale Club, Inc.
ARTS Pavilion on NRF
Convention exhibit floor.
Richard Smith
Managing Director
The PCMS Group plc
Chief Technology Officer
Escalate Retail
Catherine Lasser
President and CEO
AccessVia
Chief Systems Architect
Retail Anywhere, Inc.
Cy Young
Director, POS
Burlington Coat Factory
VP, Industry Solutions and
Emerging Business
IBM Research Division
Bart McGlothin of Cisco Systems, Darrell
Sandefur of The Kroger Co., Viswanath “Sri”
Srikanth of IBM and Johanna Koester of IBM
discussing Cloud Computing for Retail.
Today’s retail companies must really
focus on giving value to the marketplace. ARTS is without a doubt
the key piece to building a solid
Business–IT Alignment and allows us
to successfully design our competitive
models for the future.
Leonardo Octavio
Ramirez Gonzalez
Chief Architect, Easy Homecenter,
Colombia, Chile, and Argentina
The Courage to Lead: www.nrf.com
37
NRF 2009
The Retail Careers Center website features retail news
and information on jobs, training and career advice.
The NRF Foundation is dedicated to
providing information for career aspiration and preparation at every level.
It provides programs to educate, motivate and inspire professional and personally satisfying careers in retailing,
from entry to executive level. Through
consistent, industry-developed standards based training, career guidance
and communication of key information garnered through research programs, the Foundation is working to
create and retain a more competent
workforce, skilled in best practices
with a long term commitment to
the industry.
NRFF and Castle Worldwide
Partner on Retail Training
Program in China
The NRF Foundation, and its longtime
certification partner Castle Worldwide, broke new ground in November
by announcing an agreement with
Greater Business Solutions Global of
Beijing (GBS) to deliver retail training
and industry credentials in China. The
training targets retailers, vocational
students and graduates of university
programs. All training is based on
NRFF’s industry skill standards for
retail management, developed with
support from the US Department of
Labor. The first of three levels of training, Retail Operations Management,
is being delivered and is geared to
entry-level managers.
The fifth annual Customers’ Choice Awards,
which honor retailers across all channels
and formats who demonstrate superior
customer service, were announced at the
Annual Retail Industry Luncheon in January
2009. The Top Ten winners for 2008
were (in order): L.L.Bean, Overstock.com,
Zappos.com, Amazon.com, Lands’ End,
Newegg.com, JCPenney, QVC, Coldwater
Creek, Nordstrom. The awards were sponsored by American Express and the survey
was conducted by BIGresearch.
Retail Careers Center, www.nrf.com/
retailcareers, the retail industry’s
source for retail career information.
The new website features retail news,
and information on jobs, training,
and career advice. NRFF also created
a Retail Careers Facebook group,
New Website Launched Featuring
Social Media
The Foundation unveiled a new website, www.nrffoundation.com, and a
38
National Retail Federation: 2009 Annual Report
I think NRF University wired was
my greatest find ever! I haven’t yet
completed my first class, “An Introduction to Retail Management,”
but I do plan to continue through
the whole Retail Management
Training Suite. While the budget
for training has been drastically
reduced here, the cost of these
programs on a course by course
basis is very manageable. I hope
to have two other store personnel
go through the same.
Dina Campbell
Supervisor QREF Support Services
Qualcomm
Twitter account, and a Retail Careers
blog. NRFF uses these outlets to form
a virtual “community,” spread awareness, and promote the diversity of retail career tracks and opportunities.
New Retail Training Curricula
Developed
NRF Foundation this year developed a newly formatted curricula
package on building critical Retail
Management skills. The content is
focused on core job functions including Operations, Merchandising,
Sales and Service, Human Resources
and Financial Reporting. The five
new highly interactive instructorled courses are based on validated
industry-driven competencies and
align with the existing online courses offered through NRF University
wired. Together, these courses provide a thorough preparation for the
National Professional Certification
in Retail Management and for orienting the emerging retail manager
to the areas of accountability for
their role.
Employers, education and workforce system, and individuals continue to use NRFF’s professional
certifications and industry-based
training, to ensure a retail-ready
workforce and encourage growth
and performance on the job. NRFF’s
eLearning program, NRF University
wired, continued to provide quality
in the four professional credentials:
National Professional Certifications
in Customer Service, Sales and Retail
Management, and the Professional
Retail Business Credential.
Student winners of
the American Express/
NRF Foundation Intercollegiate Challenge
receive scholarships
from Shop.org’s Ray
M. Greenly Scholarship Fund at NRF’s
BIG Show.
Board of Directors
Chairman:
Arnold B. Zetcher
Former Chairman, Retired
The Talbots, Inc.
President and CEO:
Tracy Mullin
President & CEO
National Retail Federation
Secretary and Treasurer:
H. James Baum
NRFF and American
Express Team to Make
Retail Aspirational
American Express and NRFF
conducted the second annual Intercollegiate Retail
Challenge under the aspire2retail banner. The
project’s mission is to build
awareness of diverse retail
career paths by engaging university
students in a competitive, collaborative role play, with support from retail
mentors, to implement a multi-tiered
business strategy. Students from retailing centers at the Universities of
Arizona, Florida, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin-Madison, and
Florida State University participated.
They formed cross-university teams to
solve a business case aimed at integrating web 2.0 and other social networking tools into online and in-store
retailing strategies for a company
created by the team.
Mentors from JCPenney, Borders,
Build-a-Bear, Macy’s, Petco and American Girl provided career information
and advice on the project from their
perspective. Judges from JCPenney,
Kohl’s, Wet Seal, L.L. Bean, Macy’s,
Jewelry Television, Twist Image and
Ice.com joined American Express and
NRFF to decide the winning team, who
presented their solution at a Forum
during NRF’s BIG Show.
Because the aspire2retail scenario
was focused on online and multichannel retailing, NRFF added a new
facet to this year’s Challenge by collaborating with NRF’s digital division,
Shop.org, to provide scholarships to
CEO
BGH “Here’s Hallmark” Shops
Melinda Burke
Director
Terry J. Lundgren Center for Retailing
University of Arizona
Paul R. Charron
Senior Advisor
Warburg Pincus & Company
Student winners of the Intercollegiate
Challenge meet with NRF Foundation’s Board
Chairman and sponsor, American Express.
Thomas Cody
Vice Chair, Legal, HR, Internal Audit,
External Affairs
Macy’s, Inc.
Robert J. Corliss
Partner
Linley Capital Partners
Lisa Cowell
Executive Vice President
Westfield America, Inc.
Marsha Everton
President
Marsha Everton LLC
NRF Foundation partners exhibit in the NRF
Foundation’s Resource Area at NRF’s BIG Show.
Robert A. Glick
Chairman and CEO
Dots, LLC
the six students on the winning team
through the Ray M. Greenly Scholarship Fund.
General Manager,
Retail Store Solutions
IBM Corporation
Retail Horizons Survey Collides
with Downturn
Partner, National Retail Industry Leader
KPMG
NRF Foundation and sponsoring
partner IBM released the seventh edition of the definitive annual state of
the industry report, Retail Horizons:
Benchmarks 2008 – Forecasts 2009
at NRF’s BIG Show. The survey and report were prepared by Ogden Associates, Inc. and featured substantial longitudinal comparisons of respondents’
attitudes over the life of the report. In
addition, the survey was conducted in
the midst of the most turbulent and
challenging period retailers had faced
in five decades.
Steven D. Ladwig
Mark Larson
Glenda McNeal
SVP and GM, Retail and Emerging
Industries Team
American Express
Daryl Routzahn
President & CEO
Routzahn’s
Wayne L. Snyder
Chairman
Wayne Snyder Associates
The Courage to Lead: www.nrf.com
39
NRF 2009
STORES Media, the publishing and
communications group of the National
Retail Federation, was created in 2009
to encompass the broad and growing
number of communications vehicles
now derived from STORES Magazine
which has been in print since 1911.
STORES Media now includes print,
digital and mobile versions of
STORES Magazine, STORES.org,
STORESnews.org, STORES Knowledge
Series, STORES First Edition, STORES
LPinformation, STORES Trends,
STORES Retail Deals and STORES
Show Daily newspapers.
STORES Media offerings report on
the broad spectrum of strategic issues
facing senior retail executives, including: retail technology; supply chain
and logistics; credit and payment systems; loss prevention; human resources; online retailing; communications;
marketing; merchandising; and other
vital store operations.
STORES Magazine is available in
print, digital and mobile editions
STORES Magazine, NRF’s monthly
publication, provides an insider’s view
of the entire retail industry by featuring the latest in retail trends, technology and consumer tendencies.
Retailers gain access to insightful
articles, global coverage of retailing
and buying guides with the latest
products and services through their
STORES subscription. The magazine
is viewed by 39,000 subscribers in
80 countries and nearly 8,500 people
receive a digital version of STORES via
40
e-mail each month. STORES also offers BlackBerry-, iPhone- and Kindlefriendly versions of the magazine.
Of the compelling cover stories
STORES highlights each month, some
of the highly anticipated annual features include the “Top 100 Retailers,”
which ranks companies by revenue
and groups them on one chart regardless of the segment in which they
operate, and the “Hot 100 Retailers,” a
comprehensive list that provides a definitive ranking of the nation’s fastestgrowing retail companies. Additionally, the “Online Favorite 50” reveals
a ranking of e-commerce websites as
rated by the consumers who use
them. All three features have earned
coverage in the nation’s leading
newspapers and other media.
STORES.org is valuable to leading
retail professionals
STORES.org is the most visited website
that focuses on retail industry news and
trends and serves as a valuable resource
for leading retail industry professionals,
offering important and timely information. In addition to STORES Magazine
content, the website features fully interactive versions of all three Buying
Guides and exclusive editorial coverage
not found in the magazine. More than
56,000 unique visitors access STORES.
org each month.
STORESnews.org brings the latest
in breaking news
Debuting this year, STORESnews.org
is devoted to the latest breaking retail
news. The website is a news aggregator
for industry updates, blogs and more.
STORES Buying Guides aid retailers
STORES publishes the Retail Industry
Buying Guide, the Software Sourcebook and the Loss Prevention Supplier Directory to help retailers of
all sizes and industry segments find
the products, services and software
applications they need to run a
successful enterprise.
National Retail Federation: 2009 Annual Report
STORES Knowledge Series®
Through the STORES Knowledge Series, STORES continues to expand its
educational content. STORES Knowledge Series is a collection of live, interactive web seminars that give retailers
the information necessary to successfully operate their business. Addition-
ally, the webinars give retailers the
opportunity to share an open dialog,
question the speakers and
gain deeper insight.
Last year STORES averaged 200
registrants per webinar on an extensive variety of industry topics. Event
speakers included executives from
leading retail companies, product
experts from retail vendors and industry analysts.
STORES First Edition, a monthly
e-newsletter, provides a first glimpse
of the latest issue of the magazine
with links to STORES.org, as well
as STORES and NRF events taking
place in the upcoming month. Another monthly e-newsletter, STORES
LPinformation, does much the same,
but with a focus on issues pertaining
to retail loss prevention.
STORES Trends is a monthly
e-newsletter highlighting some of
the more interesting (and sometimes
amusing) trends in retail, as well
as STORES and NRF events taking
place in the upcoming month.
STORES Retail Deals, a
semi-monthly e-newsletter,
keeps retailers and product
and service providers
informed of the latest
IT developments, including new hardware and
software applications,
retail implementations,
personnel changes and
other important retail
IT infomation.
STORES Show Daily Newspapers
STORES publishes live Show Daily
newspapers for onsite and e-mail
distribution at NRF’s Annual
Convention & EXPO.
The Courage to Lead: www.nrf.com
41
NRF 2009
Board Committees and Standing Committees
Board of Directors
The NRF Board of Directors is the
governing body that oversees the
activities of the Federation.
NRF Contact: Tracy Mullin
Executive Committee
The NRF Executive Committee serves
as a sounding board for management,
to tackle corporate governance issues
and to discuss strategic matters in depth
that affect NRF’s long term health and
direction before presentation to the full
Board for discussion and approval.
NRF Contact: Tracy Mullin
Finance Committee
This committee is elected by the Board
of Directors and is one of three standing
committees of the Board. It oversees the
finances of the Federation including
reviewing and recommending the
Federation’s budget to the Executive
Committee and the Board of Directors.
NRF Contact: Carleen Kohut
Advisory Boards, Councils and Committees
NRF relies on an interactive committee
structure, open to all NRF retail members,
for the formulation and execution of
policies, guidelines, standards and strategies
consistent with retail industry objectives.
The NRF committees are, without
exception, designed to be representative
of the industry and reflect its breadth and
diversity. They are comprised of industry
specialists in their individual fields who
give generously of their time and knowledge
to set policy and help develop positions
on important retail operations or public
policy issues which will benefit the industry
at large. Existing to advance the retail
industry, NRF councils and committees
may engage in a number of activities,
including:
• Information exchange
• Setting of public policy positions
• Research
• Benchmarking
• Product development
• Shared opportunities for purchase
of services
• Presentation of testimony
• Standards setting
• Publishing
42
ADA Task Force
ARTS Standard RFPs
This is a group comprised of NRF retail
members interested in the Americans with
Disabilities Act and any resulting or pending federal regulations or litigation.
Through this committee, NRF and ARTS
are developing a library of standard RFPs
to assist retailers in selecting the “right”
software applications for their specific
business practices.
NRF Contact: Mallory Duncan
202-626-8106
duncanm@nrf.com
ARTS Board of Directors
The ARTS Board identifies standards to
be developed, sets program priorities, approves new and revised standards prior to
public release and maintains budgetary
oversight for the Association for Retail
Technology Standards, the retail technology standards division of the National
Retail Federation.
NRF Contact: Richard Mader
202-774-8217
maderr@nrf.com
ARTS Data Model Committee This committee shapes the future of the
ARTS Data Model. Members propose
enhancements, prioritize activities and
approve all changes to the Model.
NRF Contact: Richard Mader
202-744-8217
maderr@nrf.com
National Retail Federation: 2009 Annual Report
NRF Contact: Richard Mader
202-744-8217
maderr@nrf.com
ARTS Unified Point of Service (POS)
UnifiedPOS, the specification for both
OPOS and JavaPOS, provides retailers
freedom of choice in selecting POS devices from multiple manufacturers while
enabling select POS equipment upgrades
without total replacement.
NRF Contact: Richard Mader
202-744-8217
maderr@nrf.com
ARTS XML
The ARTS XML Committee develops standard XML schemas and message sets that
are used to facilitate – and lower the cost
of – integration of applications in the retail
enterprise. Participation is limited to ARTS
members, although both retailers and
vendors may participate.
NRF Contact: Richard Mader
202-744-8217
maderr@nrf.com
Compensation Committee
NRF’s Compensation Committee was
created principally to review the salary
and benefits of NRF’s President and
CEO in keeping with best practices
adopted by many retailers in today’s
business environment.
NRF Contact: Tracy Mullin
Associate Member Advisory
Council (AMAC)
This council of Associate Member companies meets annually and via conference
call to ensure the needs of NRF’s growing
associate member base are met, and to
provide feedback to NRF regarding the
needs of retailers and how NRF can better
meet those needs.
NRF Contact: Denise Brasse
202-626-8124
brassed@nrf.com
CIO Council
This is an invitation-only committee made
up of retailing’s most prominent chief
information officers. It meets in winter,
spring and summer to discuss issues of
common interest, promising technologies,
and to take a proactive stance on creating
new technology environments.
NRF Contact: Dave Hogan
202-626-8126
hogand@nrf.com
Committee on Employment Law
This committee serves as NRF’s technical
committee on labor law and employee
relations matters, and is comprised of
retail industry corporate executives and
independent labor counsel, as well as
human resource and employee relations
executives from NRF member companies
and associations.
Awards and Nominations
Committee
NRF Foundation Board of Directors
NRF’s Awards and Nominations
committee reviews nominations for
Directors and members, and prepares
slates of nominees for consideration
by the Board and for election by the
NRF membership.
NRF Contact: Tracy Mullin
This Board of Directors, made up of
senior executives of major retail and
supplier-partner firms, directs and
oversees the programs, activities and
functions of the NRF Foundation, the
non-profit research and education arm
of the National Retail Federation.
NRF Contact: Kathy Mance
Credit Executives Committee
Financial Executives Council (FEC) This committee provides NRF with strategic
and operational advice related to consumer
credit issues, including federal legislative
and regulatory policy, the standardized
credit bureau reporting format, as well as
file integrity among retail credit grantors.
The FEC is comprised of senior financial
executives of NRF member companies who
work with NRF to develop industry financial benchmarks and serve as advisors for
industry advocacy efforts with the FASB,
SEC, etc.
NRF Contact: Mallory Duncan
202-626-8106
duncanm@nrf.com
NRF Contact: Carleen Kohut
202-626-8129
kohutc@nrf.com
CRM Exchange (CRMx)
This group discusses issues and concerns
related to implementing Customer Relationship Management (CRM) initiatives in
their companies.
NRF Contact: Mike Gatti
202-626-8117
gattim@nrf.com
European Retail Technology
Council
This Committee, made up of many of
Europe’s most prominent retail IT Directors
and CIOs, offers a valuable networking opportunity while also coordinating NRF
and ARTS IT activities and guiding ARTS
activities in Europe.
NRF Contact: Dave Hogan
202-626-8126
hogand@nrf.com
Forum for International Retail
Association Executives
The FIRAE seeks to promote the free
exchange of information among retail trade
associations around the world and works to
identify opportunities for cooperation in
research and education.
NRF Contact: Steven Glover
202-661-3046
glovers@nrf.com
General Counsel’s Forum
This invitation-only Council is limited to
the most senior legal officers among NRF’s
retail membership. Two to three times
each year they meet to share strategy and
ideas for addressing cutting-edge legal and
management issues of concern to retail
law departments.
NRF Contact: Mallory Duncan
202-828-8106
duncanm@nrf.com
NRF Contact: Rob Green
202-626-8195
greenr@nrf.com
The Courage to Lead: www.nrf.com
43
NRF 2009
Gift Card Working Group
This working group addresses the rapidly
spreading restrictions on the highly popular gift cards offered by many retailers.
Internal Audit and Compliance
Council
This council is comprised of senior
internal auditors of NRF member com­
panies. These executives develop and
NRF Contact: Maureen Riehl
exchange best practices for ensuring
202-626-8121
effective internal controls and maximizing
riehlm@nrf.com
the effectiveness of the operation, which
is accomplished by meeting semi-annually
Government Affairs Policy Council
The NRF Government Affairs Policy Council and holding conference calls.
NRF Contact: Rachel Ryan
is the Federation’s principal policy making
202-626-8165
body on federal legislative and regulatory
issues.
ryanr@nrf.com
NRF Contact: Steve Pfister
202-626-8112
pfisters@nrf.com
Health & Employee Benefits
Committee
This committee consists of retail benefits
managers and directors who provide technical input on a wide range of health, pension
and other benefit issues.
NRF Contact: Neil Trautwein
202-626-8170
trautweinn@nrf.com
Human Resources Executives
Council
This committee of senior human resources
executives examines a wide variety of HR issues including compensation and benefits,
technology issues that impact HR, diversity,
succession planning, training, and more.
NRF Contact: Dan Butler
202-626-8143
butlerd@nrf.com
ID Theft Working Group
This working group was created as a result
of the Choice Point and Bank of America
security breaches, concerns over identity
theft [the safety of personally identifiable
information (PII)] and the ways in which
PII is used by the business community.
NRF Contact: Elizabeth Oesterle
202-626-8109
oesterlee@nrf.com
44
International Trade Advisory
Committee
ITAC – Food Products
Subcommittee (NCCR)
This subcommittee of the ITAC provides
guidance and technical expertise on
agricultural trade issues that specifically
affect food retailers and chain restaurants.
NRF Contact: Erik Autor
202-626-8104
autore@nrf.com ITAC – Hardgoods Subcommittee
This subcommittee of the ITAC provides
guidance and technical expertise on trade
issues that specifically affect retailers of
consumer products other than textiles
and apparel.
ITAC members include senior retail sourcing, compliance, and government relations
executives and general counsels responsible for international trade, customs, and
international labor issues for their companies both on the legislative and regulatory
fronts. ITAC plays a key role in representing
the industry’s interests to eliminate U.S. and
foreign trade barriers and facilitating trade.
NRF Contact: Erik Autor
202-626-8104
autore@nrf.com
NRF Contact: Erik Autor
202-626-8104
autore@nrf.com
NRF Contact: Erik Autor
202-626-8104
autore@nrf.com
IT Audit Council
ITAC – Supplier Compliance
Subcommittee
NRF’s IT Audit Working Group is comprised
of senior IT Auditors of NRF retail member
companies. Members of this group meet
semi-annually to develop and exchange
best practices around auditing IT systems
in a retail environment.
NRF Contact: Rachel Ryan
202-626-8165
ryanr@nrf.com
ITAC – Customs Subcommittee
ITAC – Softgoods Subcommittee
This subcommittee of the ITAC provides
guidance and technical expertise on trade
issues that specifically affect textiles and
apparel retailers.
This subcommittee of the ITAC formulates
the industry’s response to concerns involving working conditions in U.S. and inter­
national manufacturing operations and
other ethical sourcing and corporate
social responsibility issues.
NRF Contact: Erik Autor
202-626-8104
autore@nrf.com
This subcommittee of the ITAC provides
guidance and technical expertise on customs and trade facilitation issues affecting
retailers as well as relations between the
Bureau of Customs and Border Protection
and the importing community.
ITAC – Trade Remedies
NRF Contact: Erik Autor
202-626-8104
autore@nrf.com
NRF Contact: Erik Autor
202-626-8104
autore@nrf.com
National Retail Federation: 2009 Annual Report
This subcommittee of the ITAC provides
guidance, technical and legal expertise
on antidumping, countervailing duty,
safeguards, as well as other trade remedies
actions affecting consumer goods.
Membership in
the National Retail
Federation and
participation in the
NRF Taxation Committee has proven
to be a valuable
asset to our company. The ability
to network with other companies in
the retail tax community provides an
invaluable resource in identifying and
resolving IRS tax disputes. Being able
to participate in the Tax Committee
meetings and conference calls allows
us to stay current on emerging tax
issues and make our feelings known
on legislative and tax matters.
James Misplon
VP, Tax
Sears Holdings Corporation
(Member Since 1929)
Loss Prevention Advisory Council This council, composed of senior loss
prevention executives from diverse retail
sectors, meets frequently to discuss
common problems confronting the retail
industry and to share new ideas on
product and program results.
NRF Contact: Rhett Asher 202-626-8139 asherr@nrf.com
LP – Awards and Recognition
Committee ADVISORY BOARDS, COUNCILS AND COMMITTEES
LP – Diversity Committee The Diversity Committee was developed to
promote inclusion and diversification in
the loss prevention industry.
NRF Contact: Rhett Asher
202-626-8139
asherr@nrf.com
LP – Education Committee This group of industry professionals was
assembled to explore and network with
universities and certifications related to
the loss prevention field.
NRF Contact: Joseph LaRocca 202-783-7971 laroccaj@nrf.com NRF Contact: Rhett Asher 202-626-8139 asherr@nrf.com
This group is responsible for the governance of LERPnet, the industry’s secure
national database of criminal incidents,
and identifying new features and functionality in the system.
LP – Homeland Security Committee The Homeland Security Committee was
created to provide loss prevention professionals expedited access to critical
information on weather emergencies, man
made crises like active shooters and terrorist attacks as well as other updates on
Homeland Security.
NRF Contact: Rhett Asher 202-626-8139 asherr@nrf.com
LP – Investigator’s Network This group of over 1,250 loss prevention
professionals and federal, state and local
law enforcement officials serves as a first
alert network to share information about
criminal activity affecting retail.
The Awards and Recognition Committee
develops initiatives to honor and recognize
law enforcement professionals/agencies
and loss prevention/asset protection
professionals.
NRF Contact: Ron Akins 202-661-3040 akinsr@nrf.com
NRF Contact: Rhett Asher 202-626-8139 asherr@nrf.com
LP – Joint Organized Retail
Crime Task Force
LP – Conference Planning
Committee
The Conference Planning Committee works
to develop topics and content for the NRF
annual loss prevention conference.
NRF Contact: Rhett Asher
202-626-8139
asherr@nrf.com
LP – Legislative Committee This group was developed to help
identify and establish LP priorities and
to set the legislative agenda of the LP
community. In addition, this subcommittee
compiles statistics and anecdotal information as background for potential congressional testimony.
The Joint Organized Retail Crime Task
Force (JORCTF) has a primary focus of developing standard training and awareness
programs for retail loss prevention professionals and law enforcement officers.
NRF Contact: Joseph LaRocca 202-783-7971 laroccaj@nrf.com
LP – LERPnet Steering Committee NRF Contact: Angélica Rodríguez 202-626-8142 rodrigueza@nrf.com
LP – Research Committee
The Research Committee spearheads
the annual Organized Retail Crime
and Return Fraud surveys, along with
benchmarks and white papers.
NRF Contact: Rhett Asher 202-626-8139 asherr@nrf.com
LP – Women in Loss Prevention
Caucus This subcommittee of the Loss Prevention
Advisory Council meets annually and by
conference call quarterly to discuss the
issues that women face in advancing
their careers in retail loss prevention.
NRF Contact: Angélica Rodríguez 202-626-8142 rodrigueza@nrf.com
NCCR Animal Welfare Steering
Committee
This is an invitation-only committee
comprised of regulatory affairs executives
tasked with monitoring animal welfare
activism, on-farm audits, and animal
handling standards in the chain
restaurant industry.
NRF Contact: Jack Whipple
202-626-8187
whipplej@nrf.com
The Courage to Lead: www.nrf.com
45
NRF 2009
NCCR Board of Directors
The NCCR Board of Directors is the
governing body that oversees the
activities of the National Council
of Chain Restaurants.
NRF Contact: Jack Whipple
202-626-8187
whipplej@nrf.com
NCCR Employment / HR Group
This special interest group of chain restaurant human resource executives meets in
conjunction with the NRF Human Resource
Executives Council (HREC) to address
labor/management issues.
NRF Contact: Scott Vinson
202-661-3059
vinsons@nrf.com
NCCR Food Products Subcommittee
This subcommittee of the NRF International Trade Advisory Council provides
guidance and technical expertise on agricultural trade issues that specifically affect
food retailers and chain restaurants.
NRF Contact: Scott Vinson
202-661-3059
vinsons@nrf.com
Privacy Committee
L.J. Mohan
Payment Systems Task Force
This Task Force meets as needed to discuss
matters pertaining to card acceptance and
issues pertaining to retailer relationships
with the credit and debit card associations
and card acceptance networks.
NRF Contact: Mallory Duncan
202-626-8106
duncanm@nrf.com
Postal Working Group
This working group provides guidance
to the NRF in representing retailers on
matters before Capitol Hill, the Postal
Rate Commission and the United States
Postal Service.
The Privacy Committee is composed
of senior retail representatives with
responsibility for aspects of company
operations that affect customer and
employee privacy.
NRF Contact: Mallory Duncan
202-626-8106
duncanm@nrf.com
Vice President - Facilities Management &
Energy Engineering
Polo Ralph Lauren Corporation
(Member Since 2002)
RAMA Board of Directors
NRF Contact: Jack Whipple
202-626-8187
whipplej@nrf.com
This committee communicates existing and
potential product safety problems within
the retail industry and addresses emerging
product safety issues by providing substantive and strategic input into the development of industry public policy.
The RAMA Board of Directors provides
overall direction and leadership in the
retail marketing community. Comprised of
both senior level retail marketing executives and industry partners, the RAMA
Board of Directors addresses critical issues
facing retail marketers and works together
to bring solutions to the challenges
they face.
NRFF Education and Advancement
Committee
NRF Contact: Jonathan Gold
202-626-8193
goldj@nrf.com
NRF Contact: Mike Gatti
202-626-8117
gattim@nrf.com
RAMA Awards Committee
Responsible for the RACie Awards night,
this committee works together throughout
the year to develop every aspect of the evening, including the entry form, the judging
process and the awards night presentation.
The committee also selects the winners for
NRF’s annual awards.
RAMA Commerce Committee
NCCR Food Safety Task Force
This task force is comprised of designated
representatives from NCCR member food
service companies, normally quality assurance, food safety or technical service staff.
Retail industry experts are invited to join
this group to advise NRFF on activities
involving skill standards, assessment and
certification, curriculum and training materials, development of career tracks for
distance learning programs and career/
industry awareness activities and youth
recruitment.
NRF Contact: Kathy Mance
202-626-8111
mancek@nrf.com
46
NRF Contact: Elizabeth Oesterle
202-626-8109
oesterlee@nrf.com
Membership in the
NRF Sustainable
Retailing Consortium (SRC) provides
us with the latest
trends and practices
in green retailing.
The working councils, subcommittees,
webinars, and conference calls continually address diverse sustainability
aspects ranging from energy efficiency,
public policy and regulatory compliance, as well as the latest research in
constantly evolving consumer buying
patterns for green products and services. Sharply focusing on green cost reduction initiatives and revenue enhancing strategies that enhance shareholder
value; NRF has provided members like
me an excellent roadmap for the development of a comprehensive companywide sustainability strategy.
Product Safety Committee
NRF Contact: Kelly Gilmore
217-546-7110
gilmorek@rama-nrf.com National Retail Federation: 2009 Annual Report
The goal of this committee is to facilitate
relationship building among attendees
at RAMA’s Retail Advertising Conference.
Comprised of RAMA Board Members, from
both the retailer and the supplier side, this
group works to bring commerce to the forefront of RAMA events. The plan is to create
time, space, opportunity, and networking
activities that facilitate these opportunities.
NRF Contact: Kelly Gilmore
217-546-7110
gilmorek@rama-nrf.com
ADVISORY BOARDS, COUNCILS AND COMMITTEES
RAMA Executive Committee
The RAMA Executive Committee, comprised
of senior level retail marketing executives,
is responsible for identifying research,
education and information needs of retail
marketers and advertisers. They review and
provide input and direction on various
programs and participate in RAMA’s annual
CMO Summit. The Chairman of the Board
of Directors presides over the RAMA Executive Committee.
RAMA Research Committee
Focusing on research development for
RAMA, this committee works to identify
and answer leading key consumer and marketer questions.
NRF Contact: Kelly Gilmore
217-546-7110
gilmorek@rama-nrf.com
NRF Contact: Mike Gatti
202-626-8117
gattim@nrf.com
Real Estate Executives Council
This council is comprised of the most
senior-level real estate executives of NRF
retail member companies to explore changes and developments in the marketplace.
RAMA Growth Initiatives
Committee
NRF Contact: Carleen Kohut
202-626-8129
kohutc@nrf.com
This committee is responsible for ongoing
programs designed to support retail marketers and inspire innovative solutions to
industry challenges.
NRF Contact: Mike Gatti
202-626-8117
gattim@nrf.com
RAMA International Committee
This committee assists in working to make
RAMA more relevant to the international
community, therefore increasing membership, and bringing more international
content to events.
NRF Contact: Mike Gatti
202-626-8117
gattim@nrf.com
RAMA Networking & First Timer’s
Committee
This committee is responsible for increasing the value of attending RAMA events, as
well as for creating new networking opportunities for conference attendees. In addition this committee reaches out to RAC first
time attendees pre-and post-conference, as
well as during the conference.
NRF Contact: Megan Zatko
202-661-3052
zatkom@nrf.com
State Association Council
SAC membership comprises the state retail
associations that are most active in protecting their members’ interests in both
the state and national public policy arena.
NRF Contact: Maureen Riehl
202-626-8121
riehlm@nrf.com
Strategic Supply Chain Council
This working group of the ITAC and the
NRF Loss Prevention Committee includes
senior retail executives responsible for
global supply chain, transportation, and
logistics. The SSCC provides guidance and
technical expertise on issues affecting retailers’ management and security of their
international supply chains, with a focus
on public policy, technology, supply chain
management tools and best practices.
Tax – Streamlined Sales Tax Working
Group
This group is a combination of tax and
government affairs experts working in tandem with the state retail associations and
governments to modernize and simplify
state sales tax systems in the U.S.
NRF Contact: Maureen Riehl
202-626-8121
riehlm@nrf.com
Tax – WOTC Working Group
This working group is comprised of corporate Work Opportunity Tax Credits (WOTC)
administrators and meets by conference call
to discuss specific program procedures and
updates when necessary.
NRF Contact: Rachelle Bernstein
202-626-8168
Bernsteinr@nrf.com
Tax Reform Working Group
The NRF’s Tax Reform Working Group
examines various tax reform alternatives
under consideration by the President’s
Advisory Panel and Congress with respect
to their impact on retailers.
NRF Contact: Rachelle Bernstein
202-626-8168
bernsteinr@nrf.com
TAX – Private Label Task Force
The task force is comprised of tax executives from NRF member companies with
concerns over IRS attempts to classify
retailers as producers when they contract
with third parties to produce private label
goods for sale in the retailers’ stores.
NRF Contact: Jonathan Gold
202-626-8193
goldj@nrf.com
NRF Contact: Rachelle Bernstein
202-626-8168
bernsteinr@nrf.com
Sustainable Retailing Consortium
Taxation Committee
The Sustainable Retailing Consortium
brings together retailers, manufacturers, vendors, and organizations that are
engaged in sustainable (green) retailing
efforts.
This committee is comprised of senior tax
executives of NRF retail member companies. The committee examines tax legislative and regulatory policies that affect
retailers and recommends policy positions
for the NRF to try to achieve through their
lobbying efforts.
NRF Contact: Dan Butler
202-626-8143
butlerd@nrf.com
NRF Contact: Rachelle Bernstein
202-626-8168
bernsteinr@nrf.com
The Courage to Lead: www.nrf.com
47
NRF 2009
Financial Overview
Source
of
Funds
Member
Dues
Member
Programs
20%
64%
Non
Dues
REVENUES
80%
Revenue
Producing
Programs
36%
For every $1 of
dues collected
48
National Retail Federation: 2009 Annual Report
Members get $3
worth of services
Use
of
Funds
THE COURAGE TO LEAD
2009 ANNUAL REPORT
325 7th Street NW, Suite 1100, Washington, DC 20004
(202) 783-7971 Fax: (202) 737-2849 www.nrf.com