March 09, 2017

Dear NJGCA Member:

Thank you for reading this week's NJGCA Road Warrior!

Here is what you will find in this edition:

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR'S MESSAGE: GREETINGS & SAL-UTATIONS!

NJGCA SUPPORTS GOV. CHRISTIE’S EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY SUMMIT
NJGCA ATTENDS NACS GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS CONFERENCE IN WASH. DC
NJGCA INVITES YOU TO VISIT UNIFIRST PLANT IN WHIPPANY ON APRIL 5, 2017
BEWARE OF “TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE” LOTTERY SCAM
AUTOMOTIVE TRAINING INSTITUTE SEMINAR IN ATLANTIC CITY ON MARCH 18

I mentioned a few weeks ago that NJGCA was invited to participate as a partner in the Employment Opportunity Summit organized by Governor Christie. I couldn't attend the Governor’s event myself because Eric and I were in Washington DC at the National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS) Government Affairs Conference, but I sent Jacy to the Summit to represent NJGCA in my place. Before Eric gives you a rundown of our time in Washington DC, I want to give Jacy an opportunity to share a little bit about the Governor’s Employment Opportunity Summit.

Jacy:
As discussed in Road Warriors leading up to this week’s program, the Employment Opportunity Summit was just the start of a larger conversation about how New Jersey can take steps to increase employment opportunities for individuals once they leave prison. Criminal records prevent people from being eligible to even apply for jobs, even if they are qualified (for example, a person who has struggled with addiction and is successful in their recovery may seek to become a drug or alcohol counselor, but can’t obtain the licensing required to become a certified counselor. The same goes for being a barber, a skill which is also frequently acquired in prison).

From various speakers representing the business industry, including Koch Industries and Sansone Auto Mall, we learned that employees with criminal records approach their jobs differently – rather than feeling entitled to a job, they are grateful just to have one. This makes ex-cons some of the most valuable, dedicated and hardworking employees. As most in the gas station business know, pumping gas is not a glamorous job, and sometimes it’s hard to find a guy willing to do the work. As Sal wrote in his message a couple of weeks ago, there may be a whole group of potential employees out there, if we are just willing to give them a second chance.

I’ve included a short video clip from NJTV News which covered the event this week. If you don’t blink, you’ll even catch me shaking the Governor’s hand. Click HERE to watch the brief news story. I've also included a few pictures at the end of this message.

Thankfully, it was a quiet week in Trenton, since I (Sal) spent Tuesday and Wednesday in Washington DC with my Associate Director of Government Affairs, Eric Blomgren, and NJGCA Member, Ravi Gill. We were in Washington to lobby on convenience store issues, but we focused on one issue in particular that seriously affects the auto repair and gasoline businesses as well. CREDIT CARD FEES! I’ve asked Eric to recap our experience in Washington.

Eric:
NJGCA participated in various meetings organized by NACS. While NJGCA focuses on representing your interests in our state capital, groups like NACS focus on the affairs of the federal government in DC. Alongside NJGCA member Ravi Gill of Gill Energy and other representatives of NJ-based c-stores, we met with key staffers from the offices of both of our Senators and six of our Congressmen: Senators Booker and Menendez, and Representatives Pallone, Sires, Frelinghuysen, LoBiondo, MacArthur, and Lance.

Our efforts focused on three issues that are being seriously discussed in the federal government right now. The most important for every member is the potential repeal of the Durbin Amendment. This law, passed as part of the Dodd-Frank financial reform legislation in 2010, finally forced competition into the debit card market. The provisions of the bill reduced the amount of fees paid by retailers on debit cards by about $6 billion a year. The Chairman of the House Finance Committee, Jeb Hensarling (R-TX), has made it clear that not only does he want to significantly rewrite the Dodd-Frank bill, he specifically wants to repeal the Durbin Amendment. This would unshackle the nation’s largest banks from these reasonable reforms and lead to big increases in what every retailer in the country pays in debit fees. The reforms have been so successful that we have been trying to extend them to credit card fees here in New Jersey, as Sal has discussed in the past.

We also asked our representatives to support a change in the federal menu labeling law, which affects our c-store members, and whose long delayed implementation date is coming up on May 5. This complicated rule was written by the FDA to apply mainly to fast food restaurants, but the rule has been expanded to cover chain convenience stores. Under the current language of the law even small business owners operating oil company c-stores like Exxon’s On the Run will have to comply with these burdensome rules or else face criminal charges. Finally, there has been recent speculation of an attempt to upend the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS). I'll spare you the complicated details in this email, except to say that if this change is made, it will almost certainly lead to higher and less stable fuel prices. I've also included some pictures below.

Sal here! Coming up on April 5, NJGCA will be going on a little road trip. I’ve mentioned before how impressed I am with Member Benefit Partner (MBP) UniFirst Corporation. I’m thrilled that many members take advantage of the exclusive program that UniFirst has put together for NJGCA, and now use UniFirst for all of their uniform and other shop/station needs. UniFirst has built a modern laundry processing plant in Whippany and has invited NJGCA to tour the plant and have lunch. The invitation was extended to NJGCA members, too! If you already use their services, or are interested in seeing a modern, professional, uniform operation, I would like to invite you to join us. Please contact Debbie at 732-256-9646.

Finally, before leaving for Washington DC, Eric and I had a meeting with the Lottery Commission and we discussed a variety of topics, one of which was a lottery scam which has been seen in the Northern and Eastern parts of the state (from Bergen to Middlesex counties). At the center of the scam is the issue of “discounting,” which I've discussed before, but apparently remains all too prevalent among retailers. It seems that many lottery agents continue to turn in their customers’ winning tickets as their own. In turn, they pay out only a small percentage of the winnings to their customers, while keeping a substantial percentage after any taxes are deducted, for themselves. This remains a source of many retailers losing their license to sell lottery in the State of New Jersey.

Now, back to that clever scam. Here’s how it works: The scammer knows that between midnight and 5AM the lottery’s computer system is off-line reconciling the daily purchases and winnings, so winning tickets are unable to be verified electronically. The scammer enters the store and purchases multiple scratch offs, and then goes to his car and alters a ticket to make it appear as if it is a winning ticket. He then re-enters the store and requests to have his winnings cashed. Since the lottery system is down at that hour, the winnings cannot be verified, but unsuspecting clerks, upon seeing what appears to be a winning ticket, make the cash payout to the scammer, because, of course, they are also offered a deal that’s too good to be true.

Here’s what I mean: On one occassion, the scammer purchased a ticket and altered it to make it look like a winning ticket with a value of over $10,000. He returned to the store, where the store owner’s son was working the overnight shift. The scammer explained that he was from out of town and had an early morning flight and would be unable to cash the ticket himself. He would let the clerk have the ticket, in exchange for $2,000 in cash. The clerk called his father, who heard the story and saw dollar signs in his eyes! They came up with the cash to give the scammer, and found out the next day when they went to redeem the ticket, that it was a fake and they had been scammed. So instead of making a "free" $8,000 profit, they lost $2,000 and upon reporting this to the Lottery Commission, they were fined several thousand dollars since it is illegal to engage in the practice of discounting. Ouch.

This one scammer has hit a number of lottery agents in the past few months and there is no reason to believe that he is planning to stop. I expect to have more on this scam as information becomes available. The moral of the story: be smart… don’t do anything dumb, or illegal. And if it’s too good to be true, it probably is!

Finally, I want share a seminar that Automotive Training Institute is offering on March 18^th in Atlantic City. The one-day Owners Workshop will ignite your passion again, re- energize your business, and increase your profits by 3% - 5%! Topics range from increasing parts and labor margins, customer service initiatives, staffing in today’s environment, marketing and increasing car count, and succession planning. The day includes a wonderful lunch, coffee and breakfast refreshments, and an open forum to answer your questions and concerns! Click HERE for an informational flyer and more details on pricing and how to register. **Special Rates for NJGCA Members**

03/02/2017:
Industry Fights ‘Devastating’ Philly Bev Tax
Faced with plunging sales following the implementation of a controversial beverage tax that took effect in Philadelphia at the beginning of the year, local retailers and their beverage industry partners have responded with a campaign aimed at educating consumers and ultimately repealing the measure. The recently launched campaign, Ax the Bev Tax, already has almost 20,000 members on its Facebook page, according to Alex Baloga, VP of external communications at the Camp Hill-based Pennsylvania Food Merchants Association (PFMA). In an interview with Progressive Grocer, Baloga said that the grass-roots campaign, which consists of social media and “on-the-ground” efforts, as well as collateral materials available at affected retailers, encourages consumers to contact their elected officials to express their dissatisfaction with the tax. “I don’t think we’ve seen the full effect of this tax yet,” Baloga said, noting that beverage sales have declined as much as 50% at affected retailers, who describe the measure as "devastating." For instance, local grocer Jeff Brown, president and CEO of Brown’s Super Stores, said he might need to cut as many as 300 jobs at his stores. In the area of job losses, the tax has already been blamed for the layoffs of as many as 100 workers at PepsiCo and 25 at Canada Dry, with similar job cuts in the area expected from Coca-Cola, according to Teamsters Local Union 830.

03/02/2017:
Pepsi to lay off 80 to 100, blames soda tax
With sales slumping because of the new Philadelphia sweetened beverage tax, Pepsi said that it will lay off 80 to 100 workers at three distribution plants that serve the city. The company, which employs 423 people in the city, sent out notices Wednesday and said the layoffs would be spread over the next few months. The layoffs come in response to the beverage tax, which has cut sales by 40% in the city, PepsiCo Inc. spokesman Dave DeCecco said. “Unfortunately, after careful consideration of the economic realities created by the recently enacted beverage tax, we have been forced to give notice that we intend to eliminate 80 to 100 positions, including frontline and supervisory roles,” DeCecco said. The Kenney administration lambasted the news, pointing to Pepsi's overall profits and the benefits of the expanded pre-K program that the 1.5-cent-per-ounce tax funds. As of this week, the program has created 251 jobs in the city, mostly full-time pre-K teaching positions, the city said.

02/27/2017:
Winning Strategies for C-store Retailers: Part 1
A new report titled, "What Convenience Stores Should Know -- and Do -- in 2017," from consulting firm AlixPartners identifies winning strategies for retailers to succeed in today’s business environment. "The competitive landscape is growing more complex, presenting both challenges and opportunities for some c-store chains," according to the report from the New York-based firm. "C-stores are well-positioned to operate effectively in this landscape. After all, many have prime real estate locations, and their offerings cover multiple dayparts as well as other major categories such as fuel, which can add value even as a potential loss leader. But to succeed in the future, they’ll have to build on those advantages and adapt to the trends shaping their industry." Findings from the AlixPartners study point to the need for c-stores to master four imperatives to succeed in this space: 1. enhancing the execution of foodservice programs; 2. improving the customer experience; 3. Building scale; and 4. supercharging enterprise performance to boost productivity and profitability. To read more, click the link above.

We have had a number of NJGCA members successfully reduce their rate per kWh signing up through our energy saving program. We know it's difficult to collect 12 months worth of previous electric bills to get an "accurate" analysis when comparing a variable rate to a fixed rate, but we now have another option available.

This new solution is a power purchase option; the other program is still in full force and has saved members thousands of dollars. If you sign up for the power purchase option, you will be grouped with other NJGCA members until the minimum kW demand is acquired. By pooling the member's usage together, you will be able to take advantage, as large energy users do, and receive a lower kWh rate.

Each member will receive their own contract. Each member is responsible to sign and return the agreement the day it is received in order to secure the price for their group.

Please do your due diligence, so when you receive the proposal and the agreement you will be able to make an intelligent decision.

If by chance, you still want us to assess you bills, to give you a price to compare, we will require 12 months of your most recent utility bills.

There are no bills required, but we would still like to have one bill per meter on file to check account #'s, meter #'s service addresses and other pertinent information incase there is a problem.

The term of the agreement is for 12 months. During this term period, you will have price protection against any energy price increases along with a low fixed kWh rate.

If you are interested in becoming part of this power purchase option, please contact Greg Cannon at the NJGCA.

Remember when you sign up your energy through the NJGCA Energy Program, TMP makes a considerable donation to the NJGCA Scholarship Fund through their proceeds. This has no affect on your rate, and costs you nothing out of pocket.

We hope to help hundreds of NJGCA members reduce their utility costs by participating in this and our other cost reduction programs. Our purpose, in the endeavor, is to help NJGCA members lower their energy costs while supporting the NJGCA Scholarship Fund.

Contact GREG CANNON at 732-256-9646 or email Greg at greg@njgca.org. Mention that you are interested in saving money on your energy bills. NJGCA & TMP Energy Solutions will handle all the rest.

POLITICAL PARTICIPATON: THE NJGCA PAC

DEFENDING OUR MEMBERS.
PROTECTING YOUR INTERESTS.
ANSWER THE CALL & CONTRIBUTE TODAY!!

Promoting our agenda in Trenton is of utmost importance to NJGCA and our members.

However, in order to truly affect the debate, we must ensure our friends in the Legislature are re-elected. It is for this reason that your Association has established the NJGCA PAC.

For too long, the weight of funding our Political Action Committee, the arm of the Association responsible for political donations, has rested upon a few. This is not only unfair to those few members who have shouldered this burden, but means we are not utilizing our full strength to affect the debate in Trenton.

To truly understand the importance of supporting our allies, consider our successes in Trenton:

We defeated BELOW COST SELLING
We made history in getting FIRST RIGHT OF REFUSAL signed into law!
We have built large support for RIGHT TO REPAIR and got it passed out of the Assembly
We defended your small business against the false accusations of Attorney General Anne Milgram
We gained wide support to move New Jersey to an all PIF Inspection System and close the CIF lanes
...and MUCH MORE!!

In each instance, we achieved these goals with the help of our friends in the Legislature!

If every member contributes just $100.00 we will be able to provide the help necessary to ensure victory for our allies.

PLEASE SEND YOUR CONTRIBUTIONS TO:
NJGCA PAC
4900 Route 33 West, Suite 100
Wall Township, NJ 07753
Please make your donation payable to NJGCA PAC

I understand that times are tough for all NJGCA members, but this is just as important as any battle we have fought in the past.

We have made great progress in Trenton. I hope that you will answer the call.

*NEW* Energy Information Agency Weekly Retail Gasoline Prices

Each week, the Energy Information Administration publishes a list of average gasoline prices for the previous three weeks. NJGCA will begin including this list with the Weekly Road Warrior. Remember, these prices are for reflective of self-serve everywhere except NJ.