UAB Retail Day September 23: Retail as Economic Development

The University of Alabama at Birmingham’s School of Business hosts Retail Day 2008 9 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 23, at The Club, 1 Robert S. Smith Dr. in Birmingham.

September 11, 2008

• Greater Birmingham retail experts

• Statistics on retail's increasing economic importance

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The University of Alabama at Birmingham's School of Business hosts Retail Day 2008 9 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 23, at The Club, 1 Robert S. Smith Dr. in Birmingham.

Retail Day will host some of the business community's biggest names, including keynote speaker Martin McDonald of Bass Pro Shops, the retail giant opening a highly publicized store in Leeds, just east of Birmingham. 

The theme for the event, Retail as Economic Development, reflects the important role retail business plays in the economic health of a community, said Robert Robicheaux, Ph.D., chairman of the UAB Department of Marketing and Industrial Distribution.

"The sales and ad valorem taxes along with business license fees paid by Birmingham area retailers fund as much as 30 to 50 percent of community services, which include schools, police and fire departments and street services," Robicheaux said.

The panel of experts at Retail Day will offer insights into how a community's retail landscape can affect the quality of life for its residents, a question more relevant than ever with the country's economy slowing and retail revenues threatened.

MAJOR RETAIL PLAYERS

Along with Martin McDonald of Bass Pro Shops, David Carrington, the CEO of Pelham based RacingUSA.com that made headlines for capping his employees' commuter gas costs at $2.99 a gallon amid record high prices, will serve as the event's moderator.

Jeff Bayer of Bayer Properties, State Legislator Cam Ward and Hugo Isom of the Shopping Center Group are also scheduled to make presentations.  The Alabama Retail Association Retailers of the Year and Centennial Retailers will also be announced.

The Department of Marketing and Industrial Distribution in the UAB School of Business created UAB Retail Day in 2006 to make students aware of the many and varied professional business career opportunities offered in retailing for marketing, accounting, finance and other business graduates.