Merchants association looks to expand

The Connecticut Retail Merchants Association is launching a membership campaign to bolster its position in Hartford as an advocate for retailers in state politics.

For the past 10 years, membership has steadily remained at about 350 members, representing thousands of stores. But CRMA President Tim Phelan said the group would like to say it represents every retailer in the state, which means thousands of more members. If the group had a larger following, it would have a larger voice in politics, he said. It would also be able to offer members greater discounts on the services it offers such as business insurance, electricity and credit card processing.

“Retailers are an important part of the economy,” Phelan said. “They employ people, pay local taxes and contribute in many other ways to the local community. We’re trying to do everything we can to keep those members as strong as possible.”

The group plans to conduct a statewide door-knocking campaign later this year. Membership dues are based on retailers’ sale volumes with a minimum payment of $150.

Phelan said CRMA was instrumental in passing the sales tax holiday on clothing and footwear for back-to-school shopping several years ago and is currently advocating for legislation mandating all retailers pay online sales taxes to even the playing field for brick-and-mortar retailers.

The challenge to increasing membership, Phelan said, is being able to cut through retailers’ busy schedules for them to realize the value of joining an association. It’s particularly challenging in countries like Fairfield, where there’s a greater travel distance from Hartford.

“There’s a message out there that Hartford doesn’t care what happens in Fairfield County,” Phelan said. “It’s our goal that lower Fairfield County retailers understand we’re a statewide association. The reason we exist is to represent them, as well as retailers in any other part of the state … They’re not alone in running their business. Our trade association is there for them to assist them.”