FEDA Home

 

 

Communications from FEDA

DATE:             August 25, 2010

TO:                 FEDA Members

FROM:            Ray Herrick, Executive Vice President
                        Amy Risinger, CAE, Member Services Consultant

It has come to our attention that some of you may not be receiving all of the communications that FEDA distributes and since much of our promotions or alerts are sent by email we wanted to make you aware of some steps you can take to ensure you do indeed receive all communications.

• Many communications are now generated by our Member Services Consultant, Amy Risinger, CAE so please make sure you have her email address (amy@feda.com) on your “approved” list of email recipients.
  
• Oftentimes FEDA First Thing and other correspondences might end up in your junk mail so please make sure to check your “junk mail” often and then highlight any communications from FEDA and designate them as “not junk.”  Hopefully this will enable your system to recognize valid emails from FEDA.
  
• We use two different broadcast systems to deliver our email blasts.  One is from Premiere Communications and that email address should come across as amyrisinger@xmr3.com.  Please white list this address as well.  We also use Constant Contact and that address should list Amy’s FEDA email address but because it is a broadcast email it is often stopped by the Firewall and therefore ends up in the “junk mail” file.  Again, please check for this and designate it as a valid address.  Most recently, we sent FEDA Fast Forward via Constant Contact so if you didn’t receive this communication please check your junk mail.
  
• Other IP addresses that the broadcast company uses that you should have added to your whitelist include:
  

205.183.255.160	205.183.255.165	205.183.255.172	205.183.255.210	205.183.255.230
205.183.255.161	205.183.255.166	137.236.253.173	205.183.255.215	205.183.255.232
205.183.255.162	205.183.255.169	205.183.255.206	205.183.255.217	205.183.255.233
205.183.255.163	205.183.255.170	205.183.255.208	205.183.255.226	205.183.255.242
205.183.255.164	205.183.255.171	205.183.255.209	205.183.255.227	205.183.255.246

We will gladly email this list to you if that is helpful. Just contact Amy at amy@feda.com and ask her to email IP codes for broadcast emails.  We hope that these suggestions will help to solve this problem and that you will soon be receiving all of the valuable communications that your Association provides.  If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to contact me (ray@feda.com) or Amy (amy@feda.com). Posted 8/25/10

 

“Negotiate to Yes Without Sacrificing Your Margins“ Topic of Next FEDA Teleconference

FEDA members will want to mark Friday, September 10th at 10 am (CST) down on their calendars as this is the date of FEDA’s next teleconference. This call’s topic is “Negotiate to Yes Without Sacrificing Your Margins“ presented by Landy Chase, MBA, CSP, a nationally prominent sales expert who specializes in increasing the effectiveness of business owners, sales executives and managers in their sales and marketing skills. The call will teach participants how the buyer’s perception of value establishes their opening position, how to use your pricing structure as a reason to buy, how to negotiate from a position of strength, how to get to “yes” without reducing your profit margin, and how to close professionally and effectively. FEDA thanks Cres Cor for sponsoring this teleconference.

Additional details and registration information on this teleconference will be sent to FEDA members shortly, but mark your calendars now to make sure you participate! --Posted 8/2/10

MA FEDA Members Fight H2999  

H2999, a bill which would allow only designers who have passed the NCIDQ exam to bid on state contracts, has passed the House and is currently in the Senate Ways and Means – which is where we need to stop it.

This bill would prevent FEDA members from bidding on state contracts, now and in the future.  You should also be aware that the sponsor, Rep. Kafta, is pushing for passage of H2999 in order establish a credible reason to pass his interior design title bill, H262.  The true goal of the MA proponents is full-blown occupational licensing.  They have failed to pass several bills over the last 10 years, so have now chosen this seemingly innocuous piece of legislation to try to get their foot in the door so that they can keep coming back to incrementally expand it into a restrictive licensing law.

 For additional details about the bill, how it was able to pass through three House Committees before being amended by the sponsor on the House floor, and Committee contact information, please click on this link to read the IDPC’s newsflash: http://archive.constantcontact.com/fs060/1102107213116/archive/1103570747418.html

 We need FEDA members to take action NOW to protect your future rights to bid on state projects.  If adopted, this bill would tie the hands of the bidding authority to select FEDA members – even though they are clearly more qualified should the state specs involve commercial foodservice equipment and expertise. 

Of course, your own words are always best, but you can click here for a sample letter to help facilitate the process.  If possible to fax your letters, that would be best, since it gives legislators a visual “stack” of opposition, but email and postal mail are also acceptable. A list of the Ways & Means Committee members and their individual contact information for your use for your correspondence is available by clicking here.  Please send a letter, fax or email to each one of the committee members if possible. 

With the help of the Interior Design Protection Council we will continue to keep you informed about this legislation and any other that would impact your business.

Posted 7/19/10

 

Order Your Promotional Calendars Today!

FEDA members interested in promoting their company’s name, corporate message and web site with 2011 promotional calendars need to get their orders in now.

This is a great opportunity to market your company at an inexpensive cost and many FEDA members have benefitted from this service through the years.

For more information or to place an order, contact Program Administrator Jackie DeLaTorre at (708) 277-0985 or e-mail Jackie at feda@midwestcalendar.com. (Posted 7/12/10)

FEDA Announces New Members

FEDA is pleased to announce that the following dealers have joined the Association as of January 2010:

Grover Brothers Equipment Co., Inc.                                              
 Craig Grover, President                                                                      
 1500 N. Main St., Hattiesburg, MS 39401
  Phone: 601-545-3505  Fax: 601-544-4801
Sponsor: Jim Hanson, Best Restaurant Equipment & Design          Joined 01/10

Manning Brothers Food Equipment Co., Inc.                                 
 Charles S. Day, President       
 210 Sandy Creek Dr., Athens, GA 30607                                                      
 Phone: 706-549-7088 Fax: 706-549-8403
 Sponsor: Jim Hanson, Best Restaurant Equipment & Design           Joined 05/10

Technomic Top 500 Annual Report Details Slowdown in Chain Restaurant Growth Rates

The 500 largest U.S. restaurant chains registered a decline in sales, posting 0.8 percent annual sales decline in 2009. According to data released today by Technomic Inc., in its annual reporting on the top U.S. restaurant chains, the leading foodservice consultancy found that U.S. systemwide sales for the Top 500 declined to an estimated $230.0 billion in 2009, down almost $2 billion over 2008.

"As the U.S. economy remained in a recession, restaurant operators continued to face a host of challenges, including cost pressures followed by declines in consumer dining demand. The data in this report clearly supports what we've been hearing in our consumer research surveys over the past year. Sales among the Top 500 restaurant chains contracted 0.8 percent in 2009, versus 3.4 percent growth in 2008," said Ron Paul, President of Technomic. "Many chains scaled back their U.S. unit expansion efforts and shuttered underperforming stores, growing units by just 0.3 percent compared with 1.8 percent a year ago."

Growth came from the limited-service Mexican, Bakery Café and Donut categories with Chipotle, Panera Bread and Dunkin’ Donuts posting 2009 sales growth of 13.9 percent and an estimated 7.1 and 3.7 percent, respectively. McDonald’s, the largest U.S. restaurant chain, grew 2.9 percent with sales estimated at $30.9 billion. Subway continued to dominate the growing Other Sandwich segment with 4.2 percent sales growth and total sales of $10 billion, which is considerably better than the 0.8 percent growth posted by the Other Sandwich chains collectively. Subway continues as the second-largest restaurant chain in the U.S., followed by Burger King, Wendy’s Old Fashioned Hamburgers and Starbucks.

Limited-service chains within the Technomic Top 500 accounted for 85 percent of all U.S. "fast food" restaurant sales. As a whole, this group grew at a rate of 0.1 percent. Asian, which grew at 5.9 percent, was another limited-service subsegment with sales growth well above their segment average. Within this group, Panda Express, a California-based chain, grew 8.8 percent with sales of $1.2 billion.

Growth continued to be driven by fast-casual chains. The Mexican category was led once again by Chipotle Mexican Grill and Qdoba Mexican Grill, posting U.S. systemwide sales growth of 13.9 and an estimated 6.5 percent, respectively. Standouts in the hamburger segment included Five Guys Burgers and Fries and The Counter with estimated sales growth of 50.2 and 67.3 percent, respectively.

Full-service chains within the Technomic Top 500 accounted for roughly 40% percent of all U.S. restaurant sales within this segment. As a whole, this group decreased sales 2.9 percent. Asian, which grew at 2.9 percent, was the only full-service subsegment with positive sales growth. Within this group, several mid-sized brands, including RA Sushi Bar Restaurant, Stir Crazy Asian Grill and HuHot Mongolian Grill, drove its growth with double-digit sales increases.

Within Top 500 full-service restaurants, the real story was in the Steak category, which experienced a decline in sales of 6.4 percent, a deeper decrease than the 0.7 percent decline seen in the prior year. This group continued to be affected by declining customer traffic and check averages, slowing unit expansion and closures. Seafood and Mexican categories also posted below-average results with sales declines of 4.2 and 4.0 percent, respectively.

While the Top 500 chains posted a decline in sales in the aggregate, individual results varied dramatically with sales ranging from Yogurtland’s 157.7 percent growth to Bennigan’s Grill & Tavern’s 71.8 percent estimated sales decline. Only 40 percent of the Top 500 restaurant chains posted at least nominal sales increases; 283 of these chains suffered sales declines in 2009 compared to only 213 in 2008. Both winners and losers appeared in each segment and menu category. These widely-mixed results demonstrate the overall competitiveness of the industry and the need for suppliers and operators to carefully identify and focus on the winners.

International performance by the Top 500 restaurant chains significantly outperformed their domestic counterpart growth in 2009. International sales (up 3.3 percent) outpaced U.S. sales (down 0.8 percent); international unit growth was also up 5.2 percent versus 0.3 percent for U.S. units.

The Technomic Top 500 Chain Restaurant Report provides Technomic’s exclusive 5-year sales forecast by menu category, update on franchise and international activity, 5-, 10- and 20-year trend analyses, outlook for the future, market share by menu category, and much more.

To purchase or learn more about this and other industry reports from Technomic, please visit www.technomic.com.

Source: Technomic, Inc.

FEDA members can save with FEDA/LMI Freight program

In a recently released statement , FedEx Freight and its FedEx National LTL units said they will implement a 5.9% general rate increases (GRI) effective February 1. Purchasing.com recently reported that two other LTL carriers, Old Dominion Freight Lines and ABF Freight System, were increasing their rates as well. In December, UPS Freight announced a 5.7% rate increase effective this month. Several analysts say LTL demand and capacity will firm this year and, if industry giant YRC fails, significant capacity will leave the market, giving existing carriers more leverage with shippers and freight buyers.

FEDA members should be aware that they can avoid the recently announced LTL rate increases of up to 6%, using the FEDA / LMI Freight program. Members can call Tim Walsh of Logistics Management Inc. at 908.879.2940 or twalsh@lmiservices.com for details so they can protect their freight budgets this year. Also, diesel prices continue to rise and are back near $3.00 gallon level which provides members with more savings on fuel with LMI as fuel prices increase.

Sources on MRP/MAP Policies

Maryland Bans Minimum Resale Price Agreements

Overview of State RPM

State Resale Price Maintanance Law After Leegin

 

MHEDA Webinars for 2010

MHEDA has opened their webinars to FEDA members in the new year. There are 20 webinars that will be offered throughout 2010. You will find each of these webinars to be of great interest to you and your sales team. Webinars can be purchased individually or as a series for a low price. To see the webinars offered this year click here.

To register for these webinars click here for the form.

Special Educational Offerings from the ASA

The American Supply Association has been so kind as to partner with FEDA to provide our members with special educational offerings. These educational tools will help increase the profitability of your business by providing your staff with the information they need to succeed. All of the programs are relevant to distribution in general. All order forms should go directly to ASA. To download an order form click here as well as descriptions for the various programs the ASA offers.

AQNet

TO:                  FEDA Members

FROM:            Kimberley Gill Rimsza, FEDA President

SUBJECT:      Special FEDA Member Only Features on AQNet

The response to AutoQuotes new web-based version, AQ360 has been outstanding.  This new technology provided by AutoQuotes and its two principals Michael Greenwald and Kent Motes is a tremendous asset for the industry. As a membership benefit, FEDA members have exclusive features within AQNet that are not available to non-FEDA members. They are as follows:

• FEDA members can export AutoQuotes Product Data (total of 400,000 Products) and use this data to update inventory prices or company web catalogs. The export includes Model Numbers, Specifications, List Prices, physical data (weights, dimensions), Pack sizes and Brand Names.
• FEDA members can also export the entire database of Color Pictures. There are single shots and group shots for 321,000 Products, a great addition for web catalogs and point of sale systems.

FEDA supports AutoQuotes and deems this to be an important technological advance for the dealer community and the industry as a whole.  Our March/April issue of News & Views will be focused on All-Things AutoQuotes.

In the meantime we hope you’re on board with AQNet and reap the benefits. 

The Foodservice Great Recession In Pictures (Mostly)
Addendum to FEDA E-Blast
By Robin Ashton, Publisher Foodservice Equipment Reports

Robin Ashton has been so kind as to provide us with an article looking into 2010 for our first FEDA E-blast which will be sent in early February. Click here to view a PowerPoint slideshow Mr. Ashton has provided.

The next FEDA First Thing will be sent out Monday, January 11th. Happy Holidays!

2010 Agenda
The agenda for the 2010 FEDA Convention has been posted here.

To access the entire "Back to the Future: The Hope for Enactment of BATSA Legislation" article Click Here.

Go to the Member's Only Section under Education/Miscellaneous to view Hal Becker's YouTube video's for your salespeople.

Logistics Management, Inc.
FEDA members can now connect with Logistics Management, Inc to receive freight rate quotes in the "FEDA Member's Only" section under "Business Management Tools" and "Freight Class Directory."

Victory Likely in Florida For Dealers Providing Design and Layout Service
After a long and difficult battle, it appears that the efforts by FEDA, FEDA executive team members, and several of FEDA’s Florida members to protect foodservice equipment dealers’ rights to offer design and layout services will soon be successful.  Florida House Bill 2262 and Florida Senate Bill 425, each containing language allowing foodservice equipment dealers to continue their design practices, both passed unanimously and will soon become law once Governor Charlie Christ signs the legislation, which is expected.  With similar efforts to block foodservice equipment dealers from offering design services underway or being considered in other states, Florida’s legislation should help pave the way for success in those regions as well. 

Aside from the requirement to add a few additional notes on the drawings, once the legislation is signed into law, foodservice equipment dealers in the state of Florida should be free to continue offering design services similar to those presently offered – without breaking the law.  FEDA wishes to extend its sincere appreciation to all those who contributed their time and energy on behalf of the foodservice equipment dealer community in this battleground state. 

For those wishing to read the exemption themselves please click here.

Increase Your Profitability on Individual Customers
The FEDA Education Foundation in conjunction with Dr. Albert Bates of the Profit Planning Group created the "Customer Profitability Tool" especially for FEDA members. This new tool arms you with systems and procedures to quickly and easily measure customer profitability and a powerful system to implement changes with problem accounts. To learn more about this program and to download an order form please visit the "FEDA Members Only" section of the website.

Tom Reilly's Special Report
FEDA members can now read Tom Reilly's special report on "Prevailing in Tough Times". To view this report please go to the "FEDA Members Only" section under FEDA Education Programs.

Handouts & Slides from FEDA's 2010 Convention

Please click on the links below for the various handouts and/or presentations from the 2010 FEDA convention.

• Succession Planning: Seven Issues You Need to Know
• Get Your Business to Work in a Tough Economy
• Top Channel Conflicts Survey Results for Dealers
• Top Channel Conflicts Survey Results for Manufacturers
• Simply the Best in Customer Service
• Positioning Your Company for Success in the Next Business Cycle
• Making Meaningful Connections on the Road of Life

FEDA 2009 Annual Convention Audio Recorded CD's
To download an order form please click here or visit Rollin' Recording's online store at http://store.rollinrecording.com/feda.aspx

Anti-Business Proposal: Card Check
By Dan M. Blaylock, Adams-Burch, Inc.

One of the most anti-business proposals in history is pending in Congress and FEDA members need to recognize and react to the threat it presents. The so-called Employee Free Choice Act, a.k.a. “Card Check”, would make it immeasurably easier for labor officials to unionize foodservice distributors of any size.

Currently, if the union targets your company, they need to get 30% of your workforce to sign a card saying they would be interested in being unionized. The company then has the option of requesting an NLRB supervised election wherein both sides campaign for a set period to make their case to the employees. That culminates in a secret ballot election which allows each employee to vote in his own enlightened self interest without fear of undue pressure or retaliation. Under these guidelines, the unions win 51% of all elections which suggests the current system is well balanced, since each side wins about half the time.

The proposed “Card Check” legislation would dramatically alter this scenario. All the union needs to do is to get the card signed by 50% plus 1 of the targeted group of employees. When that happens – GAME OVER! The National Labor Relations Board would immediately recognize the union as the collective bargaining agent for your company. Since card signatures can be gathered off-premise, it is quite possible that the first your management team will even know that your workforce has been organized is when union officials come in and let you know that you are no longer allowed to talk about work rules or wages with your employees because all future negotiations will have to be through them.

Your management team would never have the opportunity to mount an informational campaign explaining the downsides of unionization. The members of your workforce that didn’t sign cards, possibly as much as 49%+, would get no chance to vote against or lobby against the union. Potentially even worse is the fact that if the employer and union fail to reach a contract agreement within 120 days, the union can demand that the negotiations be referred to a 3rd party arbitrator. This arbitrator will have the unilateral power to impose a 2-year contract on the employer and his decision is non-appealable, no matter how devastating it may be to the economic health and profitability of your business.

This very measure passed the House of Representatives in 2007 and came within three votes of passing in the Senate. Its passage is the unions’ highest priority and President-Elect Obama has committed to signing it in to law if it gets out of Congress.

In a globalized economy where supply dramatically exceeds demand, we all face significant margin compression at every level of the supply chain. Survival in an environment like this is dependent upon relentlessly finding ways to provide better service and value at lower, more competitive prices. Card Check will severely undermine your ability to do that. It will decrease your logistical flexibility and increase your wage and benefit structure. Your overhead costs will inevitably increase, which is the exact opposite of the efficiency gains that the marketplace demands.

Don’t stand by passively and allow this to happen. Take a few minutes now to call or write your congressman or send a contribution to the forces fighting against Card Check. For further information on how to easily send a message or contribution, please email the following website: defeatcardcheck@naw.org