MONTGOMERY– Gov. Kay Ivey signed a proclamation declaring Tuesday, Oct. 16, 2018, as “Alabama Retail Day.” The day celebrates the retail industry in our state and the impact retailers have on Alabama and its communities. Retail, including food and beverage establishments, is Alabama’s largest private-sector employer, supporting 1 in 4 jobs in our state.

“Alabama retailers employ more than 400,000 of our great state’s citizens,”  Ivey said in her proclamation. She also spoke of the impact retail has on the state’s economy, saying,  “Alabama’s retailers supply vital income and taxes to the state of Alabama, supporting this state as its economic backbone.”

Rick Brown, president of the Alabama Retail Association, said, “Outside of government, retail is the industry sector that employs the most Alabamians. Alabama retailers support the state’s economy and communities; and the Alabama Retail Association supports its member retailers’ efforts to create an economic climate conducive to growing their businesses and adding even more jobs.”

RETAIL BY THE NUMBERS:

• Retailers employ 1 in 4 of all employees in the private sector in Alabama
• Alabama retailers employ more than 400,000 of our great state’s citizens, making retail Alabama’s largest employer
• Alabama retailers’ annual payroll exceeds $8.7 billion
• Alabama has more than 57,000 retail establishments, which means our state has more than one retail business for every square mile of the state
• Our state’s retail sales account for 1.5 percent of all retail sales nationally, which means an estimated $86 billion in retail sales for our state in 2017
• Retailers each year collect $2.3 billion in sales taxes on behalf of Alabama’s state government
• Retail trade plus food and drinking establishments account for more than $19 billion, or 9.5 percent of the state’s gross domestic product, placing retail in the state’s top five highest-producing industries

The Alabama Retail Association will honor 15 retail businesses with stores in 78 Alabama cities as Retailers of the Year and Centennial Retailers on Tuesday, Oct. 16, in Birmingham during the 2018 Alabama Retail Day luncheon. Carr, Riggs & Ingram CPAs and Advisors, Slappey Communications and the University of Alabama’s Culverhouse College of Business are the luncheon sponsors. Alabama Retail has been presenting the Retailer of the Year Awards since 1999 and the Alabama Centennial Retailer awards since 2002.

This year, Alabama Retail Comp will also recognize a Centennial Insurance Agency, an awards program that began in 2008.

Stacy Brown, founder of Auburn-based Chicken Salad Chick, will be the keynote speaker for the luncheon. The stay-at-home-mom, along with her late husband, Kevin, turned a recipe into a restaurant in 2008 and then spread the brand to nine states with more than 90 locations, including 19 in Alabama.

 

 

 

The Alabama Retail Association represents retailers, the largest private employer in the state of Alabama, before the Alabama Legislature and the U.S. Congress. Through sales of food, clothing, furniture, medicine and more, our 4,200 independent merchant and national company members touch almost every aspect of daily living. Since 1943, we’ve worked to promote what’s best for the retail industry in Alabama. Whether voicing the retail view when public policy is made, educating members about issues that impact them, negotiating rates for benefits and services or communicating the retail story, the Alabama Retail Association and its members are better together.

MEDIA CONTACT:
Melissa Johnson Warnke | 334.551.0631 | 256.338.0621