FedEx Teams with American Express to Drive Consumers to Shop Main Street During Busy Holiday Retail Season

MEMPHIS, Tenn., Sept. 27, 2011-FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX) is injecting $1 million into the small business economy of the United States with its support of Small Business Saturday 2011.  The commitment, announced today, will send tens of thousands of additional consumers into Main Street merchants on November 26, helping to drive holiday sales for local businesses at a time when customer demand remains among their biggest challenges.   

As the premier sponsor in the , FedEx will give away for free 30,000 Shop-Small^SM American Express gift cards, each worth $25, to consumers through a Facebook promotion leading up to Small Business Saturday on November 26.  Ten thousand additional cards will be distributed directly to FedEx customers.  The contribution means more money in the cash registers of locally-owned independent businesses.

 “A vibrant small business community is critical to the health of the US economy and the cornerstone of the thousands of cities and towns FedEx serves every day,” said T. Michael Glenn, executive vice president of Market Development at FedEx.  “Through this commitment, FedEx is able to help raise awareness for Small Business Saturday as well as put money directly into the pockets of consumers while reminding them to support their local businesses during the holidays.”

In addition to the gift card giveaway, FedEx Office is serving as the official print sponsor of Small Business Saturday, helping independent retailers and other small businesses grab attention on Small Business Saturday and throughout the holiday season.  Beginning October 4, small business owners can visit www.facebook.com/shopsmall to access Small Business Saturday posters that can be printed via the FedEx Office Print Online application at a special 20 percent discount.  The offer can be utilized on all online print orders through November 26, giving small business owners even more savings as they prepare for the busy holiday season.

 

Consumers’ Love for Local, Independents Remains Up – Even in a Down Economy

According to the August 2011 American Express OPEN Small Business Saturday Consumer Pulse, the need for the initiative remains vital-46 percent of Americans surveyed expressed their view that the strength of the small business economy is “worse” than five years ago. 

“Nine in 10 Americans believe small business success is critical to the health of the U.S. economy, and Small Business Saturday translates this sentiment into dollars and cents for independent retailers,” said Maryann Fitzmaurice, senior vice-president of American Express OPEN.  “The FedEx commitment to this year’s Small Business Saturday adds an important voice for consumers to support the Main Street merchants they love and couldn’t live without.”      

This year, FedEx will be encouraging consumers to demonstrate their support for small business by using the Shop Small gift cards on Small Business Saturday.  Shoppers will be able to obtain their free $25 gift cards from the FedEx Facebook brand page beginning November 1. For a limited time, shoppers can register and share the offer with friends with a few simple clicks.  By providing a mailing address, the cards will be shipped to the first qualifying 30,000 consumers in time for them to get out and shop on November 26, Small Business Saturday.  Only one Shop Small Gift Card will be sent to each Facebook ID that registers.  There are no consumer fees of any kind associated with the Shop Small Gift Card.

For additional information on the FedEx gift card give-away, visit www.facebook.com/FedEx in the coming weeks. For more on Small Business Saturday events, visit www.facebook.com/shopsmall. 

 

About Small Business Saturday

November 26th marks the second annual Small Business Saturday, a day to support the local businesses that create jobs, boost the economy and preserve neighborhoods around the country.  Small Business Saturday (SBS) was created in 2010 by American Express in response to small business owners’ most pressing need: creating more demand for their products and services.  A total of 1.5 million Facebook users, 130 public and private organizations, and 41 elected officials declared their support for SBS last year. More than 100,000 small businesses downloaded SBS marketing materials, 10,000 businesses signed up for free Facebook advertising that ran on SBS, and 200,000 consumers registered their American Express cards to receive $25 statement credits when they shopped at a small business on SBS.  Small retailers who accept the American Express Card saw a 28% increase in sales on SBS when compared to the Saturday after Thanksgiving in 2009.

About FedEx Corp.

FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX) provides customers and businesses worldwide with a broad portfolio of transportation, e-commerce and business services.  With annual revenues of $40 billion, the company offers integrated business applications through operating companies competing collectively and managed collaboratively, under the respected FedEx brand. Consistently ranked among the world’s most admired and trusted employers, FedEx inspires its more than 290,000 team members to remain “absolutely, positively” focused on safety, the highest ethical and professional standards and the needs of their customers and communities. For more information, visit news.fedex.com.

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We should expect to see a fairly noticeable campaign from leading appliance manufacturers and the stores that sell major appliances in the coming months. In addition to the government-sponsored rebate program, most people replacing dated appliances with new, more efficient models will actually realize a costs savings in terms of energy usage.

With Energy-Star rated products in particular, there are significant savings possible from the standpoint of water and electric usuage , especially with appliances like washing machines  and refrigerators.

Although the original cash for clunkers program had its problems, it definitely drove sales of automobiles at a time when there would likely have not been near that level of consumer activity. And while the impact of the appliance program is expected to be fairly minimal in comparison to the automobile program, it will definitely have an impact and it will most certainly be a welcome boost to appliance manufacturers and retailers.

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HOBOKEN, NJ (December 2009) – Chris Onieal, owner of Onieal’s in Hoboken, NJ and a member of the New Jersey Restaurant Association (NJRA), is one of thousands of restaurant owners who say the limited tax deductibility of business meal expenses is eating into their profits.

            Onieal and others are driving a national movement to restore tax deductibility for business meals and entertainment to its former level. In 1986, Congress reduced the allowable tax deduction from 100 percent to 80 percent. Congress further reduced the deduction to 50 percent in 1993.

The “reduction in the deduction” has hurt businesses nationwide – particularly small businesses and the people they employ.

“It’s amazing that almost every other business expense including travel, gifts for clients and hotels are fully deductible and business meals are not.  The business meal should be treated as a legitimate business expense also,” noted Onieal.  “With today’s economy, face-to-face client meetings are more important than ever.  Plus, those business luncheons translate into job creation in the restaurant industry.”

However, legislation introduced earlier this year by Representative Neil Abercrombie (D-Hawaii) would increase the federal tax deduction for business meals from 50 percent to 80 percent. The move would augment business meal sales by $6 billion annually and power an $18 billion boost to the U.S. economy, according to research by the National Restaurant Association.

In New Jersey, restaurants and hospitality companies represent the largest private-sector employer in the state. Industry observers emphasize the critical connection between President’s Obama’s current initiatives to create new jobs and the beneficial impact the tax law change would have on reducing unemployment here and across the country.

 “No other single piece of legislation would have the positive effect that this bill, HR 3333, would have on the New Jersey, the regional and the national restaurant industry – particularly from a job-creation standpoint,” said Deborah Dowdell, president of the NJRA.

“NJRA applauds this proposed legislation not only because it would improve restaurant sales, but also because it would directly benefit small-business owners and their employees, many of whom are part-time workers who have lost employment opportunities because of the negative impact of the deductibility restrictions,” Dowdell added.

Studies have shown that two-thirds of the companies that claim the business meal tax deduction are small-business owners, who tend to use restaurants as “conference rooms” for conducting business with customers and prospects. Consequently, the tax deduction has historically benefited small enterprises, which rely on it to help them from both a marketing and customer relations standpoint.

Jamie Hoyos, of the Manhattan Steak House and 2010 chairman-elect of the NJRA added, “The reduction in business meal tax deductions has clearly had a negative ripple effect on businesses in New Jersey and across the country. To increase the percentage of deductibility to its former level would have a similar ripple effect – but in a dramatically positive way.”

The NJRA believes restaurants will continue to face serious financial challenges in the year ahead.  “Despite the fact that we’re sensing an imminent upturn in the economy, restaurants will still contend with onerous market conditions in 2010. Increasing the business meal tax deduction will go a long way to helping the restaurant industry, as well as other sectors of the economy –  like business travel and tourism industries – which also rely on the tax deduction,” continued Dowdell.

            When looking at jobs creation and the impact that jobs in the restaurant industry have had on society, nearly one-half of all adults have worked in the restaurant industry at some point during their lives while 32% of all adults got their first job experience in a restaurant. America’s eating-and-drinking places employ more minority managers than any other industry.  One-quarter of restaurants are owned by women, 15% by Asian-Americans, 8% by Hispanic- Americans and 4% by African-Americans.         

“Restoring business meals deductibility will benefit all segments of the industry from casual to fine dining, and will be beneficial to urban revitalization that relies so heavily on the labor intensive-job creating restaurant industry that employs so many first time job holders, teenagers and entrepreneurs looking to transition to new careers by starting their own businesses,” noted Dowdell. 

The NJRA represents owners and operators of full-service restaurants, catering facilities, taverns and pubs, brew pubs, diner restaurants, hotel restaurants, coffee shops, limited and quick service restaurants, institutional feeders, delis, pizzerias, country clubs, culinary students and schools.  Today, the New Jersey restaurant and hospitality industry includes 23,000 eating and drinking establishments with over 300,000 employees – making restaurant and hospitality the largest private-sector employer in New Jersey.  Visit www.njra.org.

The post NEW JERSEY RESTAURANT ASSOCIATION AND LOCAL RESTAURATEURS RALLY BEHIND PROPOSED INCREASE IN BUSINESS MEAL TAX DEDUCTION first appeared on River View Observer.

By Sally Deering

Most folks werenâ€t around to witness The Great Depression of 1929 when the stock market crashed and people lost their savings, their jobs and sometimes their lives. But many of us do remember the Dotcom crash of 1987 that caused the stock market to nosedive and Internet entrepreneurs to lose their cybershirts. Well, here we are again, folks, rafting through the troubled waters of another recession in a yellow rubber dingy without a paddle.
Uncle Sam is up to his red, white and blues in I.O.U.â€s. We owe a trillion and change to to China and according to CreditCard.com, every household in America has more than $8 grand in credit card debt with no end in sight. But Americans are a rugged bunch. When all we have are lemons in the fridge, we thumb our nose at the bad times and toast to better days with a swig of lemonade. 
Itâ€s the American Way and itâ€s the Hudson way, too.

Here are a handful of Hudsonites dealing with our tough economic times and in the process, they keep a positive outlook on a cloudy horizon. And what seems to be evident for all of these folks is that when the economic gloom rains down, they slip on a smile, open their umbrellas and dance in the puddles.
Grace Stenlake and Frances Oakley of Jersey City are living proof that you can get through the hard times with a song in your heart and a swing in your step. Living on fixed incomes, the two sisters keep a busy social life that includes free concerts in Hudson and boat rides on the Hudson. And they keep company with other gals and guys at the West Hudson senior center. By the way, Grace is 90 and Frances is 101.
Frances remembers the day of the stock market crash of 1929. She was waiting for her beau – a stock broker and her future husband — to take her out on a date, but he never showed up.  The next day, he came by to tell her he had been up all night informing clients that they had lost everything.
And as the Great Depression wore on, Frances recalls neighbor-helping-neighbor.
“I had three children and my next-door neighbor had five children,” Frances says. “She would get a cauliflower and give me the leaves and I would make a sauce when them. We used everything.”
Back in the day, Frances and Grace were members of an all-girl band, the North Hudson Girls F D & B Corps where Frances tapped out tunes on the glockenspiel and Grace served as band director and played the fife.  She also twirled batons.
Grace appeared with Ed Sullivan at the closing of Ellis Island and performed with several Big Bands.
“I was very lucky,” Grace says. “I traveled all over. I played with the Paul Whiteman Orchestra and Johnny Pineapple and His Hawaiian Orchestra. I was All-American Fifer for Hawaii, the U.S. and Canada.”
And when it comes to getting through hard times, Graceâ€s philosophy is simple.
“You have to make your life fun,” Grace says. “Do something to make it fun.”

Like Grace and Frances, Monya and Brian McCarty of Jersey City rely on each other during the hard times and keep the quality of their lives set on “happy.” 
Monya remembers the Dotcom crash of 1989 and how it put Brian out of a job and on the unemployment line.
“That was the most frightening,” Monya says. “We had three kids at the time, the youngest was three, and I hadnâ€t worked in four years. While Brian looked for design work, I got a waitress job at Arthurâ€s Landing in Weehawken. Then Brian started to do freelance design which led him to the job he has now.”
During the Dotcom recession, Monya took a new career path and she now holds a Bachelor of Science degree in nursing and works as school nurse for the Learning Community Charter School in Jersey City.  And when Brian freelanced, he decided to try something he always wanted to do – improvisational acting.  It was not only fun, but it gave him a platform to express his sense of humor, a gift Monya says that keeps the family in high spirits no matter how tough things get.
 “My husband sees life from the absurd point of view,” Monya says. “Iâ€m grateful to have a husband whoâ€s funny.”
The McCartyâ€s oldest son just graduated from Rutgers University and their youngest is a student at McNair High School, heading to college in a couple of years. And as the McCartys brace themselves for another college tuition, their family has something priceless – a fun dad with a wit that fills a home with laughter.
Starting a family can be tough during an economic slow-down, especially when you have  a business.

 Angie and Michael Schwartz are the owners of Antheia floral shop and design on Montgomery Street in Jersey City (www.Antheia.net) a tiny storefront that looks like its right out of a scene from “My Fair Lady.” Potted flowers and plants adorn the entrance and the windows are filled with pretty floral arrangements. The shop specializes in weddings, birthdays and other celebrations and although business has dropped some, the Schwartzes are positive about the future.
 “Thereâ€s no reason to freak out,” Angie says. “People are still getting married and even though theyâ€re spending less, weâ€re still able to be creative.”
Several stores in the neighborhood have already closed, so Angie and Michael make it a point to shop locally and support other Grove Street store owners, who do the same for them.
“Itâ€s brought the Grove Street store owners closer together,” Angie says.
The recession has also given Angie and Michael more time to plan their future and in a few months, two becomes three when they bring home their new adopted baby.
“We have a lot to look forward to,” Angie says.

For artist Peter Bill of Jersey City ( www.peterbill.org), a lifelong passion to paint has kept him going during hard times. A Scot raised in England, Bill studied art in London and immigrated to the US in 1978. And while painting abstracts in the home-studio he shared with his wife, writer Ahn Behrens, Bill freelanced as a finisher making high-end packaging for the cosmetics industry.  When the economy went south, Bill lost his job and now pays his bills solely from the sale of his paintings.
His work can be seen at LITM restaurant and bar on Newark Avenue in Jersey City. The show, called “Hanging Around,” is a collection of Billâ€s abstracts, one of which is very personal to him. A little more than a year ago, Ahn died suddenly and Bill expressed his feelings in a painting of red, undulating waves called “I Grieve No More. “ He dedicates the painting to Ahn.
Bill says painting drives him, both emotionally and financially.
“Painting keeps me going,” Bill says. “Itâ€s a humble life.”

Itâ€s the actorâ€s life, for Margo Singaliese, a Hoboken school teacher who splits her time between the classroom and the stage. When the recession hit, Singaliese decided to rethink her spending habits and as she did, she realized that all the money she put down eating out and shopping at fancy boutiques wasnâ€t fulfilling and when she returned to her first love, acting, her life changed.
 “The recession made me get back to the roots of what I love — arts, theater and home life,” Singaliese says. “I have a great relationship at home. We watch movies, cook dinner for friends and my life has more meaning because of tightening my belt.”
These days Singaliese spends her time rehearsing a show that will be performed at the Fringe Festival in New York. But her life changed in another way, too. Realizing she had become a spendthrift, Singaliese made a conscious decision to give to charity and every month she sends a check to Women for Women International, an organization that helps poor women rebuild their lives and families. Singalieseâ€s donations help a mother of six, a victim of the rape camps in Rwanda, care for her family and even run a little business.
“The recession helped me realize all the money I wasted,” Singaliese says. “And if this Rwandan mother can care for her family on the small amount that I send, I can certainly live within my means.  I was foolish to waste so much money on meaningless things. This woman became my role model. She taught me.”

Actors, musicians, and other eclectic types are a welcome sight at Another Manâ€s Treasures, a vintage store on Grove Street in Jersey City owned by Meika and Warren Franz (www.AMTvintage.com.) Visitors step inside the corner storefront and enter a world of retromania that dazzles the eye and tickles the memories. Sinatra-like fedoras from the 1940s, chiffon cocktail dresses from the 1950s, hippie-dippie shirts from the Woodstock generation and other trendy garments line the racks and shelves while store assistant, Laura Schaffnit of Jersey City helps customers find their inner-kitsch.
“The recession affected business a little bit,” Warren says, “but nobody wants to go into a shop and hear doom and gloom. We have music, good lighting, you step into a different world and forget.  Itâ€s a charmed atmosphere, a trip down memory lane.”
Because business is slow in the summer months, the Warrens participate every Friday in the Artisan Market outside the Grove Street PATH station, where they sell vintage T-shirts and other bargains.
“Vintage is fun,” Warren says. “If you canâ€t afford a new dress, buy a vintage necklace, instead. Itâ€s a cheap way to cheer up. Vintage is good for that.”
And for fun, the Franzes dress up in, what else? vintage clothes. They go to trade shows, flea markets and not only buy things for the shop, but also for themselves. Warren prefers styles from the 70s and Meika likes the Roaring 20s. 
“When it comes to vintage, weâ€re like moths to a flame,” Warren says. “And when I go home to visit family in England, Meika and I go straight for the flea markets.”

Fun has taken on a whole new meaning for Martha Higuera of West New York. Because of the recession, she now spends her time cooking, foregoing spending sprees at the mall and sharing quality time with her family.
An account executive, Higuera earned her Real Estate license a few years back, but shies away from breaking into the field while the housing market is in such flux. And since the recession hit, she has taken stock of her life and her spending habits.
 “Instead of killing time at the mall, I now use the time to be with other people,” Higuera says. “My girlfriend has cookouts and she invites all the girls for a get together and its fun. I didnâ€t do that before. And Iâ€m spending more time with my family. When you go through hard times, you realize whoâ€s close to you and whoâ€s not. Whoâ€s there for you and whoâ€s not.”

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