october 2012 michigan retailer

3 5 9Confronting ShopliftersRetailers have a legal right to detain suspected shoplifters, but there are limits to what you can do. Page 9

Lower Electric RatesPassage of “electric choice” legislation would increase competition and drive down electric rates, a new study finds.Page 5

Sales MomentumSolid back-to-school numbers lifted Michigan retail sales during August after a two-month slide.Page 3

‘Proposition 1 is a yes, no on the rest’The mantra, penned by editorial

writers at The Detroit News, mirrors the positions of MRA’s Board of Di-rectors. The board, after studying all of the ballot issues, is urging a No vote on all of the November 6

Michigan lawmakersmoving bills to fightorganized retail theft

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When it comes to the six pro-posals on the November 6 ballot, Michigan Retailers Association rec-ommends voters act on a slogan making the rounds: “Prop 1 is a yes, no on the rest.”

ballot proposals except Proposal 1, the referendum on the Emergency Manager law.

The board supports reinstating the emergency manager law, which has been suspended pending the outcome of the election. A Yes vote favors reinstatement.

“The Emergency Manager law is an effective tool for the state to help local governments avoid bankrupt-cy,” said MRA President and CEO James P. Hallan.

“Retailers are an integral part of their communities and, like all resi-dents, can be harmed when local finances are in disarray.”

Proposals 2–6 are proposed con-stitutional amendments that MRA believes should be defeated, Hallan said.

“These proposals do not represent good public policy and should not be part of our state constitution.”

Summaries of the proposals and MRA’s positions follow. In addition, MRA has prepared a tear-off card for voters to take with them to the polls. A similar card also can be downloaded from MRA’s website, www.retailers.com.

®

October 2012 Vol. 37 No. 5 The official publication of the Michigan Retailers Association www.retailers.com

New laws that would give law en-forcement agencies better tools to go after organized retail crime are mov-ing through the Michigan Legislature.

The package has strong backing from Michigan Retailers Association and Governor Rick Snyder, who in-cluded this growing crime problem in his March 7 Special Message on Public Safety. MRA worked with the governor’s office on the issue and is working with lawmakers to help en-act the legislation.

House Bi l ls 5843 and 5902, sponsored by Rep. Joe Graves (R-Argentine Township), were approved by the House Commerce Committee on September 27 by a unanimous, bi-partisan vote and sent to the House floor for a vote. Senate action also is required.

Criminal rings“Organized retail crime is respon-

sible for a large and growing share of the estimated $15–30 billion in an-nual retail theft across the nation,” said MRA President and CEO James P. Hallan.

“Those involved aren’t the conven-tional shoplifter, but sophisticated rings of professional criminals who often sell the stolen merchandise for cash or drugs, which can be used to fi-nance other major criminal activities.”

The legislation defines organized retail crime as the theft of retail mer-chandise from a retail merchant with the intent of reselling, distributing or transferring stolen merchandise to another merchant or person in exchange for anything of value. The crime would be a felony with a maxi-mum penalty of five years in prison and a fine of $5,000 plus the cost of

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Ideation leader Ungrodtelected MRA board chair

Tom Ungrodt, president and CEO of Ideation in Ann Arbor, is the new chair of the Michigan Retailers As-sociation Board of Directors.

He succeeds Barb Stein of Great North-ern Trading C o m p a n y in Rockford and is among several new o f f i c e r s a n d b o a r d m e m b e r s

elected at the Association’s An-nual Meeting and board meeting on August 21.

MRA’s longstanding partner in pro-viding health insurance solutions has changed its identity.

MDA Insurance is now Member Insurance Solutions. Along with the name change come a new logo, new website and new telephone number to better serve MRA members.

For many years, MDA Insurance has worked with members of the association community to meet their health, commercial and per-sonal insurance needs. The new business name reflects the com-pany’s growing commitment to serving membership organizations in Michigan.

The new identity will make it easi-er for MRA members to understand whom the insurance agency serves

Insurance partneradopts new name

Ideation is a leading producer of marketing solutions for inde-pendent gift retailers across the nation. Ungrodt also oversees two Michigan gift stores, Crown House of Gifts in Ann Arbor and Dayspring Gifts in Chelsea.

He was first elected to the MRA board in 2007 and served as vice chair the past two years. He is also a past chair of the Retailers Mutual Insurance Company Board of Directors.

Dan Marshall, president of Mar-shall Music Company, will serve as MRA board vice chair for 2012-13. His family-owned com-pany is one of the largest full-line music retailers in the country and operates stores in Lansing, Kalamazoo, Grand Rapids, Troy, West Bloomfield, Allen Park and Traverse City.

Marshall chaired the Retail-ers Mutual board the past two years and was first elected to the

Tom Ungrodt

2

The item pricing reforms we all worked so hard to achieve last year are working.

That doesn’t come as real news to any of us, but it’s good to see recent government economic data confirm that fact.

We knew, of course, that the old item pricing regulations had cost retailers and consumers hundreds of millions of dollars annually. We knew dropping the

Michigan Retailer www.retailers.com

by James P. Hallan, MRA President and Chief Executive Officer

Keep it working - Vote!

price-stickering requirement would benefit retailers, shoppers and retail employees. We knew Gov. Snyder and state legislators were doing the right thing by en-acting the Shopping Reform and Modernization Act.

And, sure enough, the new data indicate that the young reforms are indeed helping keep costs and prices down and helping create jobs.

Two economists, Scott Watkins of

Anderson Economic Group in East Lansing and Donald Grimes at the University of Michigan, point out the following:

• Grocery store prices from the first half of 2011 to the first half of 2012 increased far less in Michigan (2.5 percent) than at the national level (3.7 percent). (Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Consum-er Price Inflation, Food at Home category.)

• Grocery store employment is currently at 60,700, up from the 2011 figure of 60,600. This is the first increase in grocery store em-ployment in Michigan since at least 2002. (Source: Michigan Department of Technology, Management and Budget.)

• Total wages paid by Michigan food and beverage establishments, including grocery stores, showed a significant increase from first quar-ter 2011 to first quarter 2012 ($361.4 million to $390.5 million). (Source: U.S. Quarterly Census of Employ-ment and Wages.)

The larger point is that these re-forms didn’t just happen. We tried for decades as an industry to get them through the legislature, with-out a successful end result. And then, after more than 30 years of trying, Michigan “suddenly” had the right governor and enough leg-islators committed to improving the retail business climate. They made the changes.

It’s a clear-cut example of why elections matter. It’s also a glaring reminder that every one of our votes is valuable, and we should go into the voting booth armed with knowledge on which candi-dates or ballot issues are likely to help make Michigan’s business climate better.

In this edition we have included a helpful guide to the six proposals on the November 6 statewide ballot, as well as our Friend of Retail list of can-didates. Please give them a good look before you vote.

We should also be mindful that there are other organized groups that have an agenda far different than ours. There are those who would gladly undo the item pricing and other reforms, despite the fact they’re working.

Let’s make sure they keep working. Be sure to vote.

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Board of Directors:

Thomas UngrodtChairIdeation, Ann Arbor

James P. HallanPresident and CEOMichigan Retailers Association

Dan MarshallVice Chair Marshall Music Company, Lansing

Peter R. SobeltonTreasurerBirmingham

Jean SarasinSecretaryMichigan Retailers Association

Barb SteinPast ChairGreat Northern Trading Co., Rockford

Brian DucharmeAT&T

Becky Beauchine KulkaBecky Beauchine Kulka Diamonds and Fine Jewelry, Okemos

Orin Mazzoni, Jr.Orin Jewelers, Garden City

Joseph McCurryCredit Card Group

Larry MullinsBrandon Tire & Battery, Ortonville

R.D. (Dan) Musser IIIGrand Hotel, Mackinac Island

Joe SwansonTarget Corp.

James WalshMeijer, Inc., Grand Rapids

D. Larry ShermanBoard Member Emeritus

Michigan Retailers Services, Inc.Board of Directors:

Bo BrinesLittle Forks Outfitters, Midland

Bill GoldenGolden Shoes, Traverse City

Lisa McCalpine-WittenmyerWalgreens

James P. Hallan Thomas B. ScottPublisher Editor

Pat KerwinDesign Manager

Publication Office:603 South Washington AvenueLansing, MI 48933517.372.5656 or 800.366.3699Fax: 517.372.1303www.retailers.comwww.retailersmutual.com

Subscriptions:Michigan Retailer (USPS 345-780, ISSN 0889-0439)is published in February, April, June, August, October and December for $20 per year by Michigan Retailers Association, 603 South Washington Ave., Lansing, MI 48933. Subscription fees are automatically included in the Michigan Retailers Asociation membership dues. Periodical postage paid at Lansing, Michigan. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to 603 South Washington Ave., Lansing, MI 48933. The Michigan Retailer may be recycled with other white office paper.

MRA board in 2008.Continuing to serve as officers

are: James P. Hallan, president and CEO; Jean Sarasin, board secretary; and Peter Sobelton, treasurer. Sara-sin is MRA executive vice president

and chief operating officer, and So-belton is a Birmingham resident and owner-partner in several retail

property companies.

New directorAt the Annual Meeting of the

membership, held in Lansing, Brian Ducharme was elected to the board

for the first time. The vice president and general manager of the Mobility Division of AT&T for Michigan and Indiana had served on the board of Michigan Retai lers Ser vices, Inc., the wholly owned

subsidiary of MRA, since 2008. Ducharme oversees AT&T’s 101

company-owned retail stores and 120 indirect retail locations in the two states. He was elected to a three-year term.

Sobelton also was re-elect-ed to the MRA board for a three-year term, as were: Joe McCurry, an executive with Credit Card Group and retired Detroit district general manag-er for Sears; and Larry Mullins, owner of Brandon Tire & Bat-tery in Ortonville. McCurry has served on the board since 1997. Mullins joined the board in 1996. Sobelton has been a board member since 1998.

Retiring from the board after six years was John Smythe, retired Lansing banking executive.

Ungrodt elected MRA board chair

Ungrodt Hallan Marshall Sobelton

JoyceMcCurry Miller

Sarasin Ducharme

Mullins

President and CEO James P. Hallan presents out-going MRA chair Barb Stein with a crystal plaque recognizing her two years leading the board.

October 2012 3

More Michigan retailers increased sales in August, the first time in three months the overall retail industry has improved its performance, according to the Michigan Retail Index, a joint project of Michigan Retailers Association (MRA) and the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago.

“Sales in late summer, the peak of back-to-school shopping, helped the retail industry rebound from a two-month slip,” said Tom Scott, MRA senior vice presi-dent communications and marketing.

“The apparel, shoes and general merchandise categories were strong, suggesting that back-to-school shop-ping was helpful in reversing the trend from early and mid summer.”

Sales improved despite the drag caused by a continued rise in Michi-gan’s unemployment rate, Scott noted. In August it jumped from 9.0 to 9.4 per-cent, the fourth monthly increase after dropping nine consecutive months.

The August Michigan Retail Index found that 54 percent of retailers in-creased sales over the same month last year, while 27 percent recorded declines and 19 percent saw no change. The results create a season-ally adjusted performance index of 61.7, up from 56.1 in July and 58.6 in June. A year ago August it was 55.9.

The Index gauges the performance of the state’s overall retail industry, based on monthly surveys conduct-ed by MRA and the Federal Reserve. Index values above 50 generally indi-cate positive activity; the higher the number, the stronger the activity.

Looking forward, 56 percent of retailers expect sales during Sep-tember-November to increase over the same period last year, while 14

Seasonally adjusted diffusion index, calculated by adding the percent of respondents indicating increased sales and half the percent indicating no change, and then seasonally adjusting the result using the U.S. Census Bureau’s X-11 Seasonal Adjustment procedure. Index values above 50 generally indicate an increase in activity, while values below 50 indicate a decrease.

3-Month Outlook Index

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Be sure to complete youronline survey each month!

percent project a decrease and 30 percent no change. That puts the seasonally adjusted outlook index at 67.7, up slightly from 67.4 in July. A year ago August it was 61.1.

The U.S. Commerce Department re-ported that national retail sales rose 0.9 percent from July to August, but only 0.1 percent in non-auto and non-gasoline categories.

Michigan sales tax receipts totaled

$634.1 million in August, up 0.1 percent from August 2011. For the year, sales tax collections are up 3.6 percent.

Complete results of this month’s Michigan Retail Index—including data on sales, inventory, prices, promotions and hiring—are available at www.retailers.com/mra/news/michigan-retail-index.html. The website includes figures dating back to July 1994.

64 Michigan Retailer www.retailers.com




“These proposals do not represent good public policy and should not be part of our state constitution.”

MRA: ‘Proposition one is a yes, no on the rest’The six proposals:

Proposal 1: Emergency Manager Law Referendum

Overview: A referendum to repeal Public Act 4 of 2011, known as the Emergency Manager law. The 2011 law gave emergency managers greater pow-ers to dissolve contracts and suspend elected officials’ power when han-dling a financial emergency in a public school district or a unit of local gov-ernment. Emergency managers have already been appointed in the follow-ing cities: Benton Harbor, Ecorse, Flint, and Pontiac as well as the Detroit, High-land Park, and the Muskegon Heights school districts. The City of Allen Park is undergoing a financial review.

Pros: Unions and many liberal law-makers consider P.A. 4 an undemocratic infringement on people’s right to have autonomous local elected officials.

Cons: With the referendum on the November ballot, the law is sus-pended and the emergency managers acting in seven cities and school dis-tricts have limited ability to perform their duties. A repeal of the law would halt all last resort activity to save cit-ies and schools from bankruptcy.

MRA Recommends VOTE YES.This would not directly affect retailers but may affect the quality of resourc-es available and the value of the overall community if the state cannot help prevent local governments from going through bankruptcy.

Constitutional Amendments

Proposal 2: Right to Collective Bargaining

Overview: This would create a guarantee of collective bargaining rights for both public and private employees in the Michigan Constitu-tion. The amendment would also ban the Michigan legislature from making Michigan a right-to-work state.

Pros: Supporters say this would prohibit state and local governments from interfering with collective bar-gaining rights and protect current laws establishing minimum wages, hours and working conditions.

Cons: If the amendment is ap-proved, it could invalidate as many as 80 laws that were passed during the 2011-2012 legislative term. Many of the laws that may be invalidated were designed to help control skyrocketing costs and liabilities for local govern-ments and schools. If cost controlling measures are removed, taxes may be increased on residents, property and businesses.

MRA Recommends VOTE NO.MRA believes that employers should be able to continue making decisions about collective bargaining with

employees and not have rights con-stitutionally guaranteed. Unions have been attempting to organize different sectors and may expand to retail em-ployees if this passes. Retailers should also be concerned over the impact of overturning these laws – many of

which were designed to help control skyrocketing costs and liabilities for lo-cal governments and schools. If cost controlling measures are removed, taxes may be increased on residents, property, and businesses.

Proposal 3: “25 by 25” Overview: This proposal would re-

quire utility companies to obtain at least 25 percent of their electricity from clean renewable energy sources by 2025. A 2008 law required that at least 10 percent of Michigan’s energy sold be produced from renewable sources by 2015. This proposal would raise that requirement an additional 15 percent over 10 years.

Pros: Only 3.6 percent of the energy used in Michigan is currently from re-newable sources. Supporters claim that the 25% by 2025 requirement would bring $10 billion of invest-ment to Michigan and create jobs for Michigan workers in the clean energy sector. Using more wind and solar energy will reduce pollution and give Michigan cleaner and healthier air and water, and protect the Great Lakes.

Cons: Utility companies have in-dicated that they do not believe the resources exist to meet the 25% by 2025 standard. Renewable energy is significantly more expensive and re-cent estimates put the cost starting at $10 billion, depending on which renew-able sources are used.

MRA Recommends VOTE NO.With the higher energy costs falling to retailers, MRA recommends opposing this proposal. Retailers should expect higher energy bills in the future if this amendment is adopted in November. Additionally, MRA supports electric-deregulation legislation, which would increase consumer choice and de-crease electricity costs for retailers.

Proposal 4: Michigan Quality Home Care Council

Overview: This would establish the Michigan Quality Home Care Coun-cil, which would create a registry of workers from which consumers could choose their care provider, require training of home care pro-viders, and provide limited collective

bargaining rights to home help care workers. The state currently has about 50,000 Medicaid recipients re-ceiving assistance support through the home help program.

Pros: The registry of home health workers may help Medicaid re-

cipients find health professionals that meet their needs.

Cons: Opponents of the proposal consider this an attempt to force unionization of private caregivers and to si-

phon off money from the state. MRA Recommends VOTE NO.

This proposal would not likely affect the retail community. However, it sets an alarming precedent in potentially organizing large groups of private in-dividuals into a union organization.

Proposal 5: Two-Thirds SupermajorityVote for Tax Increases

Overview: This would prohibit the imposition of new or additional taxes or expansion of the base of taxation by the State of Michigan unless ap-proved by a 2/3 majority of members in each chamber of the legislature or by a statewide vote of the people.

Pros: A two-thirds superma-jority before raising taxes would prevent job losses to neighbor-ing states with lower taxes, like Indiana. Michigan requires a three-fourths supermajority to raise the state educational property tax, which supporters claim has saved Michigan taxpayers billions of dollars in prop-erty taxes since 1994.

Cons: This could create minority rule in the Michigan Legislature, let-ting a handful of politicians stop the majority when it comes to tax issues. Without the flexibility to increase or expand the tax base, residents could

see their quality of life deteriorate. MRA Recommends VOTE NO.

The bipartisan opposition to this proposal reflects MRA’s position that while retailers do not believe raising taxes should be taken lightly, this would significantly limit the legisla-ture’s ability to control funding and balance the state budget.

Proposal 6: Public Vote on a NewInternational Crossing

Overview: This would require a vote of the people before the State of Michigan can construct or finance new international bridges or tunnels for motor vehicles. This is a response by the Ambassador Bridge Company, the owners of the existing private Detroit-Windsor span, to the New International Trade Crossing (NITC).

Pros: The proposal would give Michigan taxpayers a direct voice on how or if their tax dollars should be spent on international transportation projects.

Cons: There is some question what effect this would have on the current NITC project supported by Governor Snyder. The Administration does not believe it would impact the project, since no public funds will be used. If it did impact the NITC, that could hurt commerce by blocking the new bridge that is designed to reduce traf-fic and make U.S.–Canada commerce more efficient.

MRA Recommends VOTE NO.MRA feels that the NITC will ben-efit retailers by reducing the time and current travel constraints be-tween the U. S. and Canada. We recommend opposing this pro-posal and allowing the governor and legislature through representa-tive government to do their job to improve infrastructure without re-quiring a vote of the people.

stolen or destroyed merchandise.Current Michigan laws are limited

and deal primarily with personal shoplifting, according to Hallan. That means prosecutors are left with a patchwork of criminal statutes that don’t apply specifically to organized retail crime and make enforcement

Moving bills to fight organized retail theftdifficult.

“Organized retail crime not only hurts retail businesses, it has far-reaching negative effects throughout society,” Hallan said. “We appreciate the governor and lawmakers address-ing this problem, and we continue to help every way we can.”

and what it does (find insurance solutions for members), and to find information about products that MRA endorses.

Contact information for Member Insurance Solutions is:

• New phone number: 800.878.6765• New website: www.memberinsur-

ancesolutions.com• Same fax number: 517.484.5460.All the MDA Insurance personnel

MRA members have worked with remain on the job with Member In-surance Solutions, which operates out of the same Okemos office that MDA Insurance has occupied.

Insurance partner adopts new name

5October 2012

Passage of “electric choice” legis-lation will increase competition and drive down electric rates for retail-ers as well as other businesses and residents, according to a new study of Michigan’s electric utility industry.

The study was released August 24 at a news conference hosted by Mich-igan Retailers Association.

“Retail Electric Competition in Michigan: Growing Michigan’s Eco-nomic Garden,” found that by raising the current 10 percent cap on com-petitive electricity in Michigan, costs for businesses and consum-ers would drop, stimulating economic growth and creat-ing thousands of new jobs for Michigan residents.

Prepared by Dr. Jonathan Lesser, president of Continental Economics, Inc., and sponsored by the Energy Choice Now co-alition, the study concludes that allowing more customers to shop for electricity in the competi-tive market would save an estimated $170 million per year on electric costs, money that could be reinvested to grow Michigan’s businesses.

MRA President and CEO James P. Hallan said the Association sup-ports new legislation (House Bill 5503 and Senate Bill 1035) intro-duced by Representative Mike Shirkey (R-Clark Lake) and Senator Arlan Meekhof (R-West Olive) that would raise the cap and open com-petition for all customers.

Lack of competitionThe report documents how a lack

of competition in Michigan, a result of 2008 legislation that capped competi-

Competition lowers electric ratestion at just 10 percent of total electric use, contributed to a steady and signifi-cant increase in electricity rates by the state’s two largest utilities, Detroit Edi-son (DTE) and Consumers Energy (CE).

Between 2000 and 2008, when all Michigan consumers were able to choose their own electric supplier, the gap between Michigan retail elec-tric rates and those of neighboring and competing states began to close, and rates in Michigan fell below the national average, Lesser found. After the 2008 legislation that capped com-

petition, rates increased – as much as 47 percent for residential customers, 40 percent for commercial custom-ers, and 35 percent for industrial customers.

Businesses that were able to choose their electric provider be-fore the 10 percent cap was reached have enjoyed over $350 million in electricity cost savings over the past three years.

“It’s no coincidence that Michigan businesses, which are denied the op-portunity to shop for electricity in the competitive market, suffer from the highest electricity rates in the Midwest and rates that are higher than the national average,” said Wayne Kuipers, executive director of

Michigan Retailers Association has endorsed seven candidates and desig-nated 65 others as a “Friend of Retail” in the November 6 elections for the Michigan House of Representatives.

The seven endorsed candidates have gone “above and beyond” by taking leadership roles on key retail issues such as the successful Shop-ping Reform and Modernization Act of 2011 and the current campaign for Main Street Fairness, accord-ing to William J. Hallan, MRA vice president government affairs and general counsel.

MRA designated another 65 can-didates as a “Friend of Retail” for demonstrating an understanding of the retail industry’s priorities and a willingness to work toward solutions, Hallan said.

All of the candidates running for state representative were invited to answer a retail issues questionnaire sent by MRA this past summer.

“Michigan Retailers Association looks forward to working with these candidates as legislators next year in our continuing efforts to promote, protect and grow the retail industry here in Michigan,” he said.

The following candidates, listed by district, received endorsements:

District # Candidate 44. Eileen Kowall (R-White Lake) 49. Jim Ananich (D-Flint) 74. Rob VerHeulen (R-Walker) 86. Lisa Posthumus Lyons (R-Alto) 90. Joe Haveman (R-Holland) 98. Jim Stamas (R-Midland) 104. Wayne Schmidt (R-Traverse City)

The following 65 candidates have been designated as a Friend of Retail:District # Candidate 2. Daniel Grano (R-Grosse Pointe Park) 10. Phil Cavanaugh (D-Redford Twp) 13. Andrew Kandrevas (D-Southgate) 15. Priscilla Parness (R-Dearborn) 17. Anne Rossio (R-Carleton) 19. John Walsh (R-Livonia) 20. Kurt Heise (R-Plymouth) 22. Harold Haugh (D-Roseville) 23. Pat Somerville (R-New Boston) 24. Anthony Forlini (R-Harrison Twp) 25. Henry Yanez (D-Sterling Heights) & Sean Clark (R-Warren) 26. Jim Townsend (D-Royal Oak) 30. Jeff Farrington (R-Utica) 31. Lynn Evans (R-Fraser) 32. Andrea LaFontaine (R-Clinton Twp) 37. Bruce Lilley (R-Farmington) 38. Hugh Crawford (R-Novi) 40. Mike McCready (R-Birmingham) 42. Bill Rogers (R-Brighton) 43. Gail Haines (R-Lake Angelus) 46. Bradford Jacobsen (R-Oxford) 47. Cindy Denby (R-Fowlerville) 51. Joseph Graves (R-Linden) 52. Mark Ouimet (R-Ann Arbor) 56. Dale Zorn (R-Ida)

MRA endorses 7, names 65 ‘Friends of Retail’ 58. Kenneth Kurtz (R-Coldwater) 59. Matt Lori (R-Constantine) 61. Margaret O’Brien (R-Portage) 62. Mark Behnke (R-Battle Creek) 63. Jase Bolger (R-Marshall) 64. Earl Poleski (R-Jackson) 65. Mike Shirkey (R-Clarklake) 67. Jeff Oesterle (R-Mason) 68. Andy Schor (D-Lansing) 70. Rick Outman (R-Six Lakes) & Mike Huckleberry (D-Greenville) 71. Deb Shaughnessy (R-Charlotte) 72. Ken Yonker (R-Caledonia)

Kowall Ananich VerHeulen Lyons Haveman Stamas Schmidt

73. Peter MacGregor (R-Rockford) 77. Tom Hooker (R-Byron Center) 78. Dave Pagel (R-Berrien Springs) 79. Al Pscholka (R-Stevensville) 80. Bob Genetski (R-Saugatuck) 81. Dan Lauwers (R-Brockway) 82. Kevin Daley (R-Lum) 83. Paul Muxlow (R-Brown City) & Carol Campbell (D-Lexington) 87. Mike Callton (R-Nashville) 88. Roger Victory (R-Hudsonville) 89. Amanda Price (R-Holland) 91. Holly Hughes (R-Montague) &

Collene Lamonte (D-Muskegon) 93. Tom Leonard (R-Lansing) 94. Tim Kelly (R-Saginaw) 97. Joel Johnson (R-Clare) 99. Kevin Cotter (R-Mt. Pleasant) 100. Jon Bumstead (R-Newaygo) 102. Brendan Maturen (D-Stanwood) 103. Bruce Rendon (R-Lake City) 105. Greg MacMaster (R-Kewadin) 106. Peter Pettalia (R-Presque Isle) 107. Frank Foster (R-Petoskey) 108. Ed McBroom (R-Vulcan) 110. Matt Huuki (R-Atlantic Mine)

Energy Choice Now. “Higher electric costs are crippling

Michigan businesses and serving as a deterrent to economic growth, which is why nearly 10,000 busi-nesses are currently languishing on a waiting list to gain access to com-petitive electricity.”

Waiting listNearly 10,000 businesses are

currently on a waiting list to gain access to competitive electricity, according to the coalition. Lack of

electric service competition stifles Michigan’s efforts to remain com-petitive as it struggles to climb out of the recession.

Rep. Shirkey called for businesses to become active on the issue and push for a hearing in the House En-ergy and Technology Committee.

Energy Choice Now is a coalition of businesses, consumers, suppliers, trade associations and other inter-ested stakeholders that are commit-ted to passing legislation that will raise the current cap on Michigan’s electricity suppliers, increase com-petition and lower energy costs.

A link to the full report is available at the coalition website, http://www.ECNstudy.com/.

Comparison of Average Electric Rates by Sector, 2011


Health care reform law: questions and answers

Continued on page 8

This is the second of two parts of an article provided by Member Insurance Solutions (formerly known as MDA Insurance), Michigan Retailers Asso-ciation’s partner in providing health care insurance service to MRA mem-bers. The first part ran in the August Michigan Retailer and is available online at www.retailers.com under the News/Michigan Retailer section of the website.

When the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the Patient Protection Affordable Care Act (PPACA) as constitutional back in June, it left everyone asking: So now what? The following are some of the key questions and answers regarding the big changes coming in 2014.

What is an insurance exchange?In theory, it is a website where peo-

ple and small businesses can learn about and buy health insurance. Small business owners and individu-als and families would be able to enroll in private or public health in-surance coverage on the exchange.

The exchange is supposed to in-crease the purchasing power of small businesses by allowing them access to more competitively priced health insurance plans. The exchange is also supposed to include customer assis-tance tools to help them learn about prices, quality and physician and hos-pital networks.

Personal assistance should also be available. At this time it remains unclear what type of help will be offered, or from whom it will be avail-able. Your endorsed health insurance agency has been working with state officials to ensure that licensed insur-ance agents will be able to participate with and help advise their clients in the exchange setting.

What does Michigan need to do?The state legislature had to decide

whether to move forward with cre-ating the state Affordable Insurance Exchange (or MiHealth Marketplace ) which, according to the health reform law, is supposed to be open for busi-ness October 1, 2013.

The governor and state Senate wanted Michigan to move forward because of tight implementation deadlines and the availability of fed-eral funds. They believed that if we must have an exchange, it is better to run it instate than wait to see what is forced on Michigan residents by the federal government.

The state House, however, had se-rious reservations about the cost

involved and blocked any legislation enabling the exchange. Lawmakers ar-gued that it was premature to set up the exchange before knowing who would win the presidency; Mitt Romney has said that if elected he would work to overturn key parts of the health law.

In the end, Gov. Rick Snyder reluctant-ly conceded that House Republicans would not move ahead in the imme-diate future with legislation to create a Michigan-run exchange, and his ad-ministration will now try to develop a federal-state partnership on the issue.

In Washington, arguments have al-ready begun about whether federal subsidies will be available to individuals in states that do not enact exchanges, since the law says money is to be used to purchase from state exchanges.

What is “pay or play” for employers?Under the pay-or-play rules, cer-

tain employers with at least 50 full-time-equivalent employees will face penalties if one or more of their full-time employees obtain a premium credit through an exchange. An indi-

vidual may be eligible for a premium credit either because the employer does not offer health care coverage or the employer offers coverage that is either not “affordable” or does not provide “minimum value.”

Effective January 1, 2014, “ap-plicable large employers” have to offer “affordable” minimum essential coverages, or pay a penalty on their taxes. Some details:

• A company that employs an aver-age of 50 or more full-time employees during the preceding calendar year is an “applicable large employer.” If you have fewer than 50 employees, you are not mandated to provide health insur-ance, but you may want to do so for recruitment and retention purposes.

• Minimum essential coverage is a plan that covers 60 percent of the expected benefit costs. These plans may be purchased from insurance agents or from the state or federal health insurance exchange.

• If the large employer does not offer health insurance, the penalty – or tax – kicks in only if at least one employ-ee enrolls in a plan from the health insurance exchange and qualifies for premium subsidies or other tax cred-its from the federal government.

• Simply put, an “affordable” plan is one that requires the employee to pay no more than 9.5 percent of his or her income on health insurance premiums.

• If you employ 50 or more and you offer employees a plan that costs them more than 9.5 percent of their income, these employees may opt to purchase a plan on the health care exchange and receive a federal pre-mium subsidy or other tax credit. If at least one employee purchases insur-ance on the exchange and is eligible for the federal subsidy, your business is subject to a penalty.

How much is the tax/penalty for not providing a plan with minimum es-sential coverage – or any health plan?

The penalty is assessed monthly and is triggered for that month if one of your employees buys insurance on the exchange and is eligible for a fed-eral subsidy or tax credit.

If you have 50 full-time employees, here’s how you figure the penalty. The employer receives a credit for 30 full-time employees, so subtract 30 from the total number of full-time employ-ees and calculate the penalty based on 20 employees. The annual per-employee penalty is $2,000. To find the monthly penalty, divide $2,000 by 12 ($166.67), and multiply that by 20 (the employee base), for $3,333.40. That’s your penalty for the month.

How much is the penalty for not providing an affordable plan?

The annual per-employee penalty

for failing to offer affordable cover-age is $3,000. The penalty is figured monthly and is triggered for that month if one employee buys insur-ance on the exchange and is eligible for a federal subsidy or tax credit.

In this case, you are only penalized for the number of employees who actu-ally purchase health insurance through an exchange and receive the subsidy. Let’s say you have 5 employees who qualify. Divide $3,000 by 12 ($250) and multiple that by 5. The monthly pen-alty is $1,750. Keep in mind that this penalty is in addition to any health insurance premiums you are paying on behalf of your other employees.

What is the “individual mandate?”Individuals must maintain minimum

essential coverage for themselves and their families (lapses of less than three consecutive months are okay) or pay a penalty (now ruled a tax by the U.S. Supreme Court). Even if you don’t employ 50 or more people and do not have to provide employer sponsored insurance, be aware that the individual mandate will apply to most of your employees. They will be required to obtain coverage for them-selves from somewhere by 2014. They may look to you for answers. We want you to know Member Insurance So-lutions is here to help you and your employees through these times.

What is the tax if an individual fails to buy health insurance?

Beginning in 2014, a sliding tax sched-ule is imposed. Initially, the tax will be as low as $95. Ultimately, the penalty will be the greater of $695 per year, up to a maximum of three times that amount, or 2.5 percent of household income.

Who qualifies for subsidies?To qualify for a subsidy on the ex-

change, a taxpayer under the age of 65 must have annual household in-come between 100 percent and 400 percent of the federal poverty line for the taxpayer’s family size. In 2012 the federal poverty line for the 48 contiguous states for a two-person household is $15,130; for a family of four, it is $23,050.

The taxpayer cannot be claimed as a tax dependent of another taxpayer and must file a joint return if married. Rules disqualify the taxpayer from receiving a subsidy if he or she is eli-gible for minimum essential coverage through an employer-sponsored plan (unless the 9.5 percent threshold ap-plies) or a government-sponsored plan, such as Medicare or Medicaid.

What does this mean to the insurance marketplace?

In theory, the exchange will allow

7October 2012

RETAIL TECHNOLOGY NEWS

John Mayleben CPP, is MRA senior vice president technology and new product development and a national expert on electronic payment processing. He is the first person in Michigan and among the first in the nation to receive the Certified Payments Professional designationfrom the national Electronic Transactions Association.

Smartphones signal change

In the world of merchant pro-cessing, as with many aspects of daily life, the only constant seems to be “change.” And there are several important changes coming

in merchant processing. Some of these changes are available

today, and some aren’t going to hap-pen for a number of years – but it is prudent to understand what is coming so you can make decisions today that will save you money in the future.

First, Apple has announced the new iPhone, and more people are carry-ing various smartphones. One of the things that a smartphone can do is operate like a credit card terminal. If you think you might want to use a smartphone as a terminal, as more retailers are doing, there are some issues you need to consider.

One of the primary issues to ad-dress is, whose smartphone are you going to use? Your personal phone? A business phone? And what are your various employees, who aren’t owners, going to use? Your phone? Business phones? Their own phones?

When you use a smartphone as a credit card terminal, you are, in essence, sending that credit card terminal home at night with yourself or an employee. Obviously, if this is your phone, you as the business owner still maintain control over the device. But what if you have five delivery people who have their own smartphones?

Would you send your countertop merchant-processing terminal home with them at night? Or think of that

last question another way: would you send your cash drawer home with an employee at night?

So, you need to look at your busi-ness and your own comfort level. If you make the business case for enabling various employees to use multiple smartphones, there are smartphone providers that can, at a very reasonable, fixed, monthly cost, provide you with a turnkey solution that includes the phone, a data plan, a mag stripe reader and a payment gateway. Your merchant-processing provider should be able to facilitate setting these up for you.

Another big change on the horizon is the introduction of “chip” cards. The U.S. is one of last places in the world where merchant processing systems don’t process transactions with a chip on the card instead of the mag stripe.

Chip cards are harder to counterfeit or steal data from. Visa recently an-nounced that it will be implementing changes to the card issuing process, and banks that issue cards will be encouraged to issue cards that have EMV chips on them.

There has been a lot of misinforma-tion in the marketplace about existing terminals. Cards issued after January 1, 2013, will, in most cases, have both an EMV chip and a mag stripe. Your current terminal will continue to pro-cess these cards.

In 2015, if you have upgraded your terminal (or added the appropriate peripheral device) and can process a chip-only transaction, you will be able to shift some of the chargeback liabili-ty back to the card issuer. So, between now and then, if you have a terminal failure or need to upgrade for other reasons, you may want to consider requesting a terminal that will be able to support chip transactions.


consumers to compare plans and make informed, knowledge-based decisions. They are also supposed to help control costs by mandating that all people must buy coverage.

In reality, however, buying health insurance is not nearly as easy as rent-ing a car or reserving a hotel room.

At this time, exchanges have not fig-ured out how to display something as complex as health insurance. Helping consumers compare and understand hundreds of different options with complex terminology and an alphabet soup of acronyms could prove very difficult in the online environment.

In addition, to the extent people decide to opt out of the exchange and pay the penalty (tax), and then buy health insurance (with no un-derwriting, no waiting periods and no pre-existing condition exclusions) when they suffer a significant injury or are diagnosed with a serious ill-ness, the exchanges could suffer from adverse selection and be left mostly with unhealthy citizens. That will lead to high premiums for those enrolled in an exchange.

Your advocatesWe expect MRA members will con-

tinue to choose us to help them select their health insurance plan. We have distinguished ourself in the market-place by providing first-class service and excellent health insurance plans.

Regardless of whether you have a group or individual plan through us, our staff advocates on your

behalf and works with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan to resolve claim and coverage issues for you. We save you incalculable hours of frustrating interaction with the in-surance carrier.

We are only able to provide this level of support and intervention be-cause we are your agent of record, and because we know the plans in-side-out. We are confident you won’t get this level of service and personal assistance anywhere else.

Ultimately, we believe people rec-ognize the complexity of purchasing health insurance and value the guid-ance and input that our licensed agents can provide. The consequenc-es of making a poor health insurance decision can be grave, and having a team advocating on your behalf if coverage issues arise is an invaluable service. We hope you think so, too.

Future of health care reformAlthough PPACA survived a major

hurdle when the Supreme Court up-held it, changes may be made to the health care reform law in the future by the courts or by Congress. Legal challenges to the law’s validity are likely to continue.

However, major legislative changes to the Patient Protection Affordable Care Act will likely require a signifi-cant shift in power in the legislative and executive branches of govern-ment and, thus, will depend most immediately on the outcome of the November 6 elections.


In addition, Bill Golden, co-presi-dent of Golden Shoes in downtown Traverse City, was named to the board of Michigan Retailers Ser-vices, Inc., joining Bo Brines of

Little Forks Outfitters in Midland and Lisa McCalpine-Wittenmyer of Walgreens.

Retailers MutualAt the Retailers Mutual Annual Meet-

ing and board meeting, both held on August 21 in Lansing, Peter Sobelton was elected chair for 2012-13.

Jeff Joyce, vice president and

Health care reform law: Q & AContinued from page 2

Ungrodt elected MRA board chairco-owner of Mieras Family Shoes in Grand Rapids, was named vice chair. He joined the board in 2010.

Policyholders elected Mark Miller, executive vice presi-dent of Hylant Group and president of its Ann Arbor office, to the board for a three-year term. Hylant is among the largest privately held insur-ance brokerage firms in the United States and maintains strong international broker-age relationships.

Hallan and Sarasin were both re-elected for three-year terms.

Retiring from the b o a rd w a s J o h n G o d f re y, re t i re d owner of the former Godfrey Jewelers in Battle Creek and a former Battle Creek mayor.

Godfrey had served on the board since it was established in 2006, as well as on the board of Retailers Fund since 1985. The self-insured Fund was the forerunner of Retailers Mutual.

Barb Stein recognizes retiring MRA board member John Smythe for his years of dedicated service.

On behalf of the Retailers Mutual board, Jim Hallan thanks Dan Marshall for serving as chair the past two years.

John Godfrey, retiring from the Retail-ers Mutual board after nearly three decades of service, receives tributes from Dan Marshall.

RE: RETAILERS

Downtown Birmingham is demon-strating new economic strength, with a significantly higher occupancy rate 10 years after longtime retail anchor Jacobson’s closed in 2002, according to an October story by the Observer and Eccentric newspapers.

John Heiney, manager of the Birmingham Principal Shopping District, told the newspaper that the occupancy rate stands at 96.3 percent, up from 91 percent when Jacobson’s closed. He said 40 new shops and eateries opened between September 2011 and mid-August 2012 or were announced to open yet this year.

The newspaper credited “a concert-ed move toward creating a better mix with retail, eateries, residential, en-tertainment venues and office space for financial, banking, legal, advertis-ing and marketing professionals” for helping “reignite” the downtown.

Grand Rapids-based Meijer, Inc. was the only Michigan-based retailer on the 2012 list of the nation’s top 100 retail-ers, coming in at number 27. That’s according to the National Retail Fed-eration, which compiled the rankings.

Meijer, which is privately held and doesn’t disclose sales figures, had sales estimated at $16.6 billion in 2011, up 7.1 percent from the previ-ous year, in its 197 stores.

Patrick Heller of Liberty Coin Ser-vice in Lansing received the 2012 Harry J. Forman Dealer of the Year Award from the American Numis-matic Association. The award was presented at the World’s Fair of Money kick-off event at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia.

The award is presented annu-ally to an ANA-member dealer who shows uncommon dedication to strengthening the hobby and the Association. It’s named for the late Harry J. Forman, a Philadelphia coin dealer and author.

Heller opened his business in 1982, growing it from a three-person staff to 22 employees today.

Birmingham PSD showinggreater economic strength

This year is shaping up to be a strong one for Michigan’s tourism industry. The statewide average ho-tel occupancy rate for 2012 was at 56 percent as of July, the highest figure for the period since Travel Michigan began tracking the data in 2004.

“We are continuing to see increased hotel occupancy rates and record-setting tourism spending here in the state, helping to support local businesses and nearly 200,000 jobs in local communities across Michi-gan,” said George Zimmermann, vice president of Travel Michigan, part of the Michigan Economic Development Corporation.

Expansion continues to be a major theme of Gardner-White Furniture Co. as it marks its 100th anniversary. Its recent move to open locations in-side Best Buy stores in Bloomfield Township and Novi follows activity to open a new distribution center, 90,000-square-foot store and out-let, and corporate offices in Auburn Hills, shifting headquarters from Warren. The store and outlet be-come the Michigan chain’s largest showroom.

The first Gardner-White opened in 1912 on Mack Street near Mount Elliot in Detroit. In the late 1950s, the com-pany was purchased by Irwin Kahn, whose family still owns and operates the business. The company was an original member and incorporator of Michigan Retailers Association.

Art Van Furniture Inc., Warren, expected to open its first store out-side Michigan next year, on a site that served as a movie theater com-plex near Toledo, Ohio. The store is part of a larger plan to expand out-side the state with company-owned furniture and mattress stores with-in a 250-mile radius of its Warren warehouse, Crain’s Detroit Business reported earlier this year. Expan-sion for the company also includes franchising top furniture retailers in nearly two dozen smaller markets in Michigan.

IT’S THE LAW

Know legal limits whenconfronting shopliftersby William J. Hallan,MRA Vice President Government Affairs and General Counsel

Membership Services CornerQuick notes on key services. Call 800.366.3699 for details.

Credit Card Processing• You can now process credit card trans-actions with your iPhone or Android smartphone. Please call for details. • Credit card processing supplies can be ordered online at www.retailers.com or by calling 800.563.5981, op-tion 3. • Alert – Your credit card terminal may support Partial Authorization for gift card transactions involving a card without enough value to pay for the entire transaction. In that situation, the terminal receipt would display “Amount Due,” to be collected from the customer before completing the sale.

• Pin-based debit transactions cannot be voided. • Credit card fraud is on the rise. Call to verify any suspicious email, phone or Internet orders you receive. • Annual compliance with PCI Data Security Standards is mandatory! So is documentation of compliance. Please visit www.compliance101.com to guide you through the steps. • These terminals are no longer PCI compliant: Zon Jr, Tranz, Omni and Hypercom T7P.

Social Media• MRA has begun holding contests on

S h r i n k a g e . Nothing causes re-tailers more stress than shrinkage. And the problem is growing. With current economic conditions and the ease of selling stolen merchan-

dise online, retailers are struggling to maintain their inventory.

What’s more is that the criminal has evolved. Juveniles and opportunistic amateurs are not the only ones steal-ing goods from retailers. Professional criminals are now stealing items – not for personal use, but to resell on the secondary market.

To combat this problem, Michigan Retailers Association helped introduce legislation that would create new penal-ties for organized retail crime (see Page 1). While new tools for law enforcement are important, a retailer should know how to apprehend a suspected thief when the circumstances call for it.

Legal privilegesThe law affords retailers certain

privileges in order to protect their goods and merchandise. Retailers are permitted under the law to de-tain a suspected shoplifter if there is probable cause to believe that the person has stolen something. This privilege applies to the merchant, the merchant’s employees, and an independent contractor providing security for the merchant.

Retailers should always keep the term “reasonable” in mind. Only rea-sonable force may be used to detain the individual, and the individual may

be detained only for a reasonable pe-riod of time (usually enough time for the police to show up).

Keep in mind that retailers do not have an absolute privilege to detain a suspected shoplifter. In other words, a plaintiff could bring an action against a retailer for false imprison-ment or defamation. However, the plaintiff would have the burden to show that the storeowner acted with unreasonable force, the detention lasted for an unreasonable amount of time, or that the storeowner lacked probable cause to detain the suspect .

Safety firstWith retail crime increasing, there

are several tips to keep in mind. Storeowners should tell their em-

ployees that safety always comes first. For instance, don’t chase a shoplifter who has left the premises or don’t confront a suspect if you think he or she has a weapon. Call the police and provide a detailed description.

Also, employees should be trained on proper protocol when confronting a shoplifter, such as asking the suspect to accompany the store manager to a private area to answer a few questions.

Many of these types of tips are dis-cussed in MRA’s popular publication “How to Prevent Shoplifting and Em-ployee Theft,” a copy of which is free to our members. (The publication will be updated to include a discussion of organized retail crime after the legis-lation is enacted.)

In the end, shrinkage isn’t going away, but knowing how to properly apprehend a shoplifter may help limit its impact.

9October 2012

Facebook. To enter for a chance to win a prize, all you do is “Like” Mich-igan Retailers and fill out the entry form. The prize for the first contest, which ended September 30, was $100 for a mini shopping spree. The con-test ending October 31 offers a free membership or membership renewal (up to $130 value) in MRA. Check out www.facebook.com/MichiganRetail-ers for the latest contest.

• For the latest breaking news in retail, business and retail-related leg-islation, follow MRA on Twitter: www.twitter.com/michretail.• We want to keep in contact with you via social media in order to know what’s happening at our mem-ber businesses. Let us know if your business is on Facebook or Twit-ter by contacting Laura Schilling at [email protected].

LOTTERY

by M. Scott Bowen, Commissioner

Michigan receives awardsat world’s lottery summit

The Michigan Lottery’s $100,000 Cashword instant ticket is popular with more than just Lottery players.

Our $3 ticket was selected as the North Ameri-can Association

of State and Provincial Lotteries’ Best New Instant Game in North America. The award was announced at a cer-emony during the World Lottery Association’s 2012 summit in Montreal.

In addition, the Michigan Lottery’s television show Make Me Rich! took the North American association’s award for Best Promotion.

With the everyday hard work of Lottery retailers, together we have achieved tremendous success; we make a great team!

The Cashword ticket, which launched January 31 and is still on sale, features an interactive compo-nent and extended play through the Lottery’s website, www.michigan-lottery.com, or a smartphone app. The WebPlay™ program features a custom app developed by Pollard Banknote Ltd., the Lottery’s instant ticket printing company.

There were one million Cashword interactive games played in the first sixth months of the program, according to Lottery Chief Deputy Commissioner and Commissioner of Marketing Tom Weber, who went on to share that he felt the interactive program has been a huge success.

InteractiveThe interactive component has

also spurred sales. The WebPlay™ program was responsible for a 52 per-cent increase in average weekly sales

of the Cashword family of games, from $2.3 million to $3.5 million. Of course, this equates to more commis-sions for you!

$100,000 Cashword is the Lottery’s second Best Instant Ticket award. The first, for the Lucky Dog ticket, was won in 2006.

Make Me Rich!, the Lottery’s televi-sion show that was hosted by former Brady Bunch star Christopher Knight, featured various second chance draw-ing giveaways conducted before a live studio audience. Make Me Rich! aired in eight episodes between October 2009 and January 2012 and featured 96 contestants who won over $27 million in cash prizes, two cars, one motorcy-cle and $1,300 worth of Lottery tickets.

The Lottery also awarded a total of $40,000 to television viewers who participated in a “text to win” compo-nent of the show.

Thank you, retailers, for your crucial role in our success and honors. We are proud to have you as our partners!

InstantsNo new tickets are being released

in November. Also, November 5 is the expiration date for IG 427 Cash @ Go™ ($1), IG 429 Bingo Bolt™ ($2), IG 431 Bag O’Cashword™ ($2) and IG 441 Lucky Millions™ ($10).

Retailers are reminded to always activate instant game tickets be-fore putting them on sale, to ensure players can redeem winning tickets.

In fiscal year 2012, the Lottery’s con-tribution to schools was approximately $770 million. Since its inception in 1972, the Lottery has contributed more than $17 billion to education in Michigan.

For additional information, please visit the Lottery’s website at www.michiganlottery.com.


(From left) Michigan Lottery Commissioner M. Scott Bowen, Michigan Lottery Public Relations Director Andi Brancato, Ontario Lottery and Gaming Vice President of Lottery Marketing and Sales Wendy Montgomery, and Michigan Lottery Deputy Commissioner of Marketing and Chief Deputy Commissioner Tom Weber.

Sandy and Matt Werner are now owners of the historic Hexagon House in Pentwater.

Ada Attic, AdaAllegan Rentals Inc., AlleganUniversity Living, Ann ArborIdle Hour Restaurant & Lounge Inc., Battle CreekCostume Wear House Inc., Bay CityBig Bay Depot, Big BayArtVentures Inc., BrightonMorehouse Industries, CharlotteMid Michigan Family Eye Care, ClareKH Home, ClarkstonMega Wall Corporation, Comstock ParkEagle Inn, EagleGreat Lakes Photography LLC, Grand RapidsStepping Stones Montessori School, Grand RapidsMeekhof Lumber Company Inc., Grand RapidsKid’s Food Basket, Grand RapidsApogee Therapy Center, GrandvilleStraight Line Sheet Metal LLC, GrantBaumann & Degroot, HollandGrow It Again Hydroponics LLC, HollandSebright Products Inc., HopkinsRSS Security LLC Signal 88 Sec of Ann Arbor, HowellKey Largo Lounge, JacksonJackson Downtown Development Authority, JacksonTexas Corners Animal Hospital, KalamazooFraternal Order of Police, KalamazooSpa on the Lake, Lake OrionCity Salon, LansingBusiness & Community Institute LLC, LansingCassie’s Confections, LansingKnife Country USA, LindenRetirement Living Management, LowellThe Beauty Stop LLC, MarletteSchneider Tire Outlet Inc., MarneMarshall Historical Society Inc., MarshallMason Area Chamber of Commerce, MasonTodd Bills & Son, MioStony Lake Cutlery LLC, New EraNewaygo Veterinary Services PC, NewaygoSign-A-Rama Lansing East, OkemosMaurer Heating & Cooling, OwossoPlymouth Restaurant Inc. dba Denny’s, PlymouthAmerican Legion Post 443, SanfordSoutheast Michigan Census Council Inc., SouthfieldAll That Glass, SouthgateAscend Computer Technology, Sturgis

NEW MEMBERS & NEW MEMBER SPOTLIGHT11October 2012

Sandy and Matt Werner “fell in love” with bed and breakfast inns af-ter they were married in one in 1988. Since that time, they’ve celebrated anniversaries and other special oc-casions at small inns, enjoying the

warmth, comfort and unique ambi-ance they provide.

A little more than a year ago, they decided to turn their passion for inns into a new career and purchased the historic Hexagon House, a Pentwa-ter landmark. The stately two-story, six-sided former boarding house was built in 1870 by Sylvester E. Russell to house visiting lumbermen.

In the mid-1990s, former owners Jan and Kurt Warners transformed what was then a rundown property into the picture perfect inn it is today. It now features five suites, each with a private bath; more than 4,000 square feet of wrap-around porches; and a beauti-fully restored, Victorian-styled interior.

Currently, innkeepers Amy and Tom Hamel run the Hexagon House Inn, but the Werners plan to take over in 2013 after they make career tran-sitions and see their youngest child through high school.

The inn’s hexagon shape and inter-esting interior angles make it unique, but Sandy Werner said it’s the en-tire experience of staying there that makes it special.

“Pentwater is still a small, quaint town,” she explained. “Guests can have a very quiet time at the House, enjoy the property and then grab a bike or their tennis shoes and go into town for a nice dinner or to relax at Lake Michigan or Pentwater Lake.

“We have a lot of repeat guests who come every year to rejuvenate and enjoy the Hexagon House.”

As new owners, the Werners have made some small improvements to enhance the guest experience, such as adding cable tv and an outdoor fire pit. To keep the business side of things in tip-top shape, the Werners

Exceptional guest experience the hallmark of historic innby Jean B. Eggemeyer

rely on the Michigan Retailers Associ-ation for expert bankcard processing.

“The Warners recommended we stay with MRA once we bought the Inn,” said Sandy Werner. “We were ap-proached by other processors but we

get really good customer service and support from MRA.

“It’s really important to us that we have zero problems processing our guests’ credit cards, and MRA pro-vides that level of service.”

The Werners expect to take advan-tage of other MRA services, such as insurance lines, when they take over day-to-day management of the Inn.

The Inn, located at 760 Sixth S t ree t , Pentwater, and www.

hexagonhouse.com, is open from Mid-March to December.

Jean B. Eggemeyer is a freelance writer based in Illinois and a former employee of Michigan Retailers Association.

You plan every detail of your business in order to ensure its

success. Nothing is left to chance.

Don’t take chances with your health insurance. You and your staff deserve a quality Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan health plan. • Group Plans• Individual Plans

• Recognized worldwide• Solutions tailored to your

needs

Learn more about the affordable BCBSM plans available from the

MRA-endorsed health insurance agency, Member Insurance Solutions.

Call 800.878.6765 or visit memberinsurancesolutions.com today.

Protecting tomorrows. Today.

Protecting your health. Today.

Member Insurance Solutions is a marketing name of MDA Insurance & Financial Group

october 2012 michigan retailer

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