Associations

New York City -- Attendees at the 2012 National Retail Federation convention (“The Big Show”) in  New York who donate $20 to The Retail Orphan Initiative (RetailROI) will take home a Build-A-Bear Teddy Bear. The annaul event will be held Jan. 15 -18, at the Jacob Javits Center.

In an initiative designed to raise funds for charities sponsored by RetailROI, Oracle is providing 2,000 Build-A-Bear Teddy Bears dressed in a custom RetailROI t-shirt at its booth on the exhibit floor (booth #1319).

WASHINGTON — The National Retail Federation announced that it has issued an open letter to President Obama urging him to call for action on initiatives that support a strong retail sector when he delivers his State of the Union address later this month. The letter was signed by Macy’s chairman, president and CEO Terry Lundgren, who chairs the NRF doard of directors, and NRF president and CEO Matthew Shay.

ARLINGTON, Va. — The Retail Industry Leaders Association announced that Kirt Johnson will join the association as VP tax policy. 

An expert with nearly 30 years of experience navigating tax policy on Capitol Hill and in the private sector, Johnson will lead RILA’s tax agenda, including the pursuit of comprehensive tax reform. Johnson will also provide support to RILA’s aggressive campaign to level the playing field in terms of sales tax collection between Main Street retailers and their online competitors. 

Mahwah, N.J. -- The Metropolitan Furnishings Association said it has selected TD Retail Card Services’ Renovate Card private label credit program for use by the organization’s 75 retail members in New Jersey.

ELMWOOD PARK, N.J. — The Craft & Hobby Association (CHA) board of directors has announced Andrej Suskavcevic as new president and CEO of CHA. The appointment of Suskavcevic concludes an eight-month executive search during which Tony Lee, VP meetings and expositions, served as CHA's interim leader.

New York City -- A report released Wednesday by the International Council of Shopping Centers and Goldman Sachs said that post-Christmas shopping surges propelled U.S. same-store sales significantly forward during the week after Christmas.

Las Vegas -- Crystals Retail & Entertainment District at CityCenter has earned Gold sustainable design awards from the International Council of Shopping Centers. The awards were earned in ICSC's annual U.S. Design and Development Awards competition.

New York City -- A report released Wednesday by the International Council of Shopping Centers found that a last-minute shopping surge gave merchants a solid lift during the final week before Christmas.

According to the ICSC-Goldman Sachs Weekly Chain Store Sales Index, same-store sales rose 0.9% for the week ended Saturday compared with the previous week. That is also up 3.4% from the week before and up 4.5% over the same period a year ago.