SPRINGFIELD, N.J. -- With an eye on diversity and adaptation, the Asian American Retailers Association (AARA) will host its second tradeshow of the year today from 1 to 7 p.m. at Royal Albert's Palace in Fords. The AARA represents convenience-store owners and other independent retailers in the state of New Jersey.
Nationwide we're seeing a lot of different trends in retail, and everyone is trying to evolve to meet the needs of the market right now, Satish Poondi, director of policy for AARA, told CSP Daily News. The industry is growing enormously and [image-nocss] evolving enormously at the same time. As far as pressing issues for our members, it's about managing their own business models to help them grow. And there are always policy battles on the table.
In the wake of AARA's first show in Atlantic City earlier this year, the organization fought to battle back a proposed increase in state excise taxes on cigarettes that would have tacked an additional 60 cents, at the urging of the American Cancer Society, onto each pack purchase. The increase would have boosted the per-pack excise tax to $3, potentially injuring retailer sales via the threat of smokers buying their cigarettes in adjacent states or through alternative means.
The association rounded up a petition containing more than 8,000 signatures opposing the increase. Through this and other efforts, AARA helped to defeat a proposed increase of 35 cents per pack floated by Gov. Jon Corzine that ultimately settled at 17.5 cents per pack. Poondi declared the halved increase a victory for the association and its members. The increase, which passed in July, along with the state's 1% increase in sales tax, pushed the average price per pack to $6.35, according to a Press of Atlantic City report.
The group's fall trade show will feature more than 60 vendors and is expected to draw more than 1,000 retailers from across the state, both of which are increases over the first show, according to Poondi. Our goal is that everyone who comes will go home with something, he said, whether it's a new product, service, relationship or whatever it might be. This [event] is going to be even bigger than our first, with even more vendors and a more diverse group of vendors, too.
The 1,000 retailer attendees represent between 1,500 and 2,000 independent stores in New Jersey and surrounding areas, according to AARA spokesman Prashant Desai. By moving the show from Atlantic City to the central part of the state, AARA expects to pull more retailers from New York, Philadelphia and northern New Jersey, Desai said.
AARA represents owners and operators of c-stores, liquor stores, gas stations and pharmacies throughout the state of New Jersey. AARA is one of the largest organized movements in the retail community and the South Asian American business community. More information is available at www.aarausa.com or by calling (973) 315-3118.
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