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PRSM Mid-Year Conference
September 17-18
Sheraton Meadowlands Hotel and Conference Center
East Rutherford, NJ
Energy and economy are on all our minds. What better way to manage these areas then to learn from the best at the PRSM Mid-Year Conference. Packed in this day and a half will be some powerful educational sessions such as: Energy Management Today, Auditing your operations to identify cost, Managing an ever-changing retail environment, How to effectively problem solve while managing your priorities, and Green programs to fit in next year's plan and budget.
To close out the conference will be a fast pace 60 ideas in 60 minutes. Who ever comes up with the best retail facility maintenance idea could walk away with a great prize. So don't miss this great opportunity to mingle with your retail friends, vendors, PRSM BOD, staff to learn things that can make you job easier!
You can participate in the 60 ideas in 60 minutes, virtually. We need your help. Send ONE OR TWO retail facility maintenance IDEAS to education@prsm.com.
If you are interested in sponsoring or exhibiting at Mid-Year-click here for more information. |
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Make travel time pay with AudioQueue. For as little as $13.95 per month you can listen to some of the best authors in the business world. Use your travel time to improve yourself with titles on Selling, Management, Communication and Self-Development.
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Visit the PRSM Online Resource Center
The Online Library is now open for all members. This resource is full of many references, whitepapers, and guides to assist you with your job. Many of these contain powerful information on interesting subjects.
There are also several PRSM2008 National Conference educational session handouts for you. More will be added each week. If you didn't get a chance to attend an educational session, well now you can see the facilitators PowerPoint. If you would like to order an audio of the session or of the Conference, you can by going to www.conferencemediagroup.com to purchase an audio.
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As members of the only association dedicated to retail facilities maintenance, we want to keep you connected with what is happening in the association and help you to evolve in the industry.
Each issue of Shop Talk will give you a tip on how to stay connected with the association and the retail facilities industry.
Tip For June
Grow and Expand your knowledge. PRSM Association is your link to retail facilities education. Make plans now to attend a Retailer2Retailer Best Practices Series in a city near your, be a part of the new and improved Mid-year Conference and it is never too early to plan to attend PRSM2009! Be Educated. Be Challenged. in Phoenix, Arizona.
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Greetings!
Welcome to the June issue of Shop Talk, your monthly e-Newsletter and your one-stop "Shop" to the world of professional retail facilities maintenance management.
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PRSM Announces Keynote Speaker for the Mid-Year Conference
HAROLD C. LLOYD
Leading Expert in the Retail Industry
With more than 25 years of experience in retailing, Harold C. Lloyd is one of the retail industry's most popular and innovative speakers. He strives to give audiences that "Push in the Right Direction" toward their goals and success. Harold provides practical solutions to the issues that retailers confront every day in their stores such as customer service, management and time management. Lloyd authored the time management book It's About Time and his most recent book, Am I the Leader I Need to Be? helps managers and leaders improve their Leadership Quotient and find their Genuine Leader. Click here to view a video clip from one of Harold's presentations.
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PRSM Green Council "Cool" Topics
Over the next six months, Shop Talk's Green Article will feature discussions covering a recent "cool" topic affecting green retailers. This month, the focus is on lighting, including energy efficient retrofits, lighting types, and some benchmarking information to apprise readers of the current retail landscape.
LIGHTING
 Lighting design has typically been all about balancing ambient washing with feature spotting. The main goal has centered on obtaining the intangible result of inspiring our guest to "love" the store, see the store at the desired mood level, and buy-in to our retail story. Lighting manufacturers and vendors have been leading us to consider efficiency and life-cycle solutions for years. Recent advances with light-emitting diodes and lower wattage bulbs have combined with green "pressure" and rapidly escalating energy rates to force the issue with retailers and their architects. More architects than ever are in the middle of spending long hours with lighting vendors and design teams to determine the precise formula which produces maximum foot-candle influence and optimal guest experience using minimum energy demand.
A recent survey, conducted by an investment research company called "Off the Record," determined that 75% of its respondents are in the midst of conducting phased lighting retrofits of the entire store chain. Retrofits cited entailed replacement of 30-35 watt bulbs with 28 watt bulbs and high-efficiency ballasts. Of these, 67% reported their energy costs have increased between 0% "flat" to 5% for retrofitted stores with corresponding average supply cost increases of 6%-11%. This represents a definite success for demand-side energy management.
When asked about the main reason for approving lighting retrofits, the most popular answer has been "ROI" (return on investment). In the current retail climate, this is certainly not surprising. Yet, what at times is misplaced in the discussion is the truth that ROI equals GREEN when applied to facilities management! We are the professionals at the edge of the "future" with the lead responsibility for reporting on projects that have both attractive ROI's attached with the ever popular "green" benefit. Lighting retrofit projects provide the simplest proof of this since longer life, lower-power burning bulbs have the doubling green effect of saving on waste while reducing energy demand.
Manufacturers offering free consultation on lighting retrofits include the well-known majors General Electric, OSRAM SYLVANIA, and Phillips Electronics, as well as, Acuity's Lithonia and Optimum Lighting. Moreover, rebate programs are possible now in most states and regions, well beyond the popular PG&E and SDG&E territories of California. It was exciting to discover at PRSM2008! last April how attuned our lighting vendors are with existing rebate systems in nearly all states.
To participate in a rebate program, simply determine your greatest area of need, by concentration (geographically or highest electrical rate), and ask one of these resources for help navigating the application process.
Finally, Light-emitting diode (LED) technology is starting to breakthrough.
Yet, most people watching and studying the technology believe it will not be ready for broad scale deployment for another 2-5 years. This belief is based on the current high price and ongoing product refinement. As an example, 83% of the "Off the Record" respondents mentioned do not plan to use LED within the next year or more. As a result, retailers which aggressively pursue lighting retrofits now, using a 3 to 4 year life-cycle, may leverage paybacks to pursue LED as the next generation retrofit. How exciting! We can hardly wait!
So, with the passing of June, spring is out and summer is in. With plenty of sunlight in the forecast, next month's Green article will focus on the benefits and difficulties of implementing a "Daylight Harvesting" program.
This cool topic has a spin for use in any size retail box. The only requirement is exposure to natural light. Even for those of us formatted for the middle of a mall food court, you'll hear how you can convince your favorite developer to build a naturally lit atrium roof!
Happy "Spring Out" Everybody.
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Getting What You Want - and Deserve - from your Commercial Landlord
 By: Dale Willerton - The Lease Coach
Commercial landlords can extend initiatives to both potential tenants to sign and current tenants to stay put. However, many tenants do either not know what to ask for or how to ask for it. Over the next few issues of the PRSM Magazine, I will discuss these following points and provide some easily digestible knowledge on how you can get what you want from the landlord, without bloodshed!
One of the frequently-overlooked points to consider is Common Area Maintenance (CAM) charges or Operating Costs - those actual fees associated with operating a property including maintenance, repairs, management, utilities, taxes and insurance which are proportionately charged back to you as a tenant based on what percentage of the property you rent. In simpler terms, should you take up five percent of the property, you will pay five percent of the Operating Costs. By all means, verify those amounts with your landlord by means of an Operating Cost Audit. By having this done by an outside professional and third party, you can guarantee you will not be overcharged by your landlord.
Another aspect relating to your rental property to confirm is Phantom Space. Your rent is based on the amount of square footage, but, like Operating Costs, those figures come from your landlord or property manager. While you may believe your space is "Y" number of square feet (this is, after all, what is stated in your Offer to Lease and the Formal Lease Agreement), in reality, it will be only "X" number of feet instead leaving you to pay the difference,this can total up to thousands of additional dollars paid out of your pocket over the course of your lease term. Getting your space measured is an easy thing to do and can provide significant savings for the tenant.
Dale Willerton is Founder of The Lease Coach. As a Certified Lease Consultant, he has been working with commercial, office and retail tenants throughout the United States and Canada on lease-related issues since 1993. Dale has spoken at both IFA and CFA Franchise Shows plus has written a best-selling book, "Negotiate Your Commercial Lease", now selling in surplus of 20,000 copies throughout North America. He can be reached at 1-800-738-9202 or, via e-mail, to dalewillerton@TheLeaseCoach.com. Alternatively, please visit www.TheLeaseCoach.com.
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Industry Research  In July, PRSM will be e-mailing a survey to all members. We know your time is valuable, so the survey will only take a couple of minutes. This survey is very important to the strategic development of PRSM and will give us a better understanding of who are members are and what value-added benefits PRSM can provide so members can get the best return on their investment.
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Join your peers at a Retailer2Retailer
Best Practices Series this year!
This is a one-day no cost retailer only event, hosted by one of your peers at their corporate headquarters. This is a fabulous opportunity for all Retailers (PRSM Members and Non-Members) to get together and collectively discuss the current trends and day-to-day challenges in managing retail facilities. Brainstorm and learn from each other on best practices including; HOT topics such as HVAC, Vendor Relations, Maintenance Software Programs, Energy Management and etc.!
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Academy Sports + Outdoors
Host: Cathy Stolte
9:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Sobey's
Host: Doug Humphries
9:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Toronto, ON, Canada
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Pier 1 Imports
Host: Olivia Walker
9:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Gap
Host: Paul Walsh
9:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
San Francisco, CA
There are still opportunities to host or sponsor the R2R in 2008/09, for more information please contact Len Williams at lwilliams@prsm.com or 972.231.9810. | |
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