Leadership Reports

President’s Report

#MineToo

January 30, 2018
Around the time I was thinking about what to write in this issue of 99Report, my 15-year-old son came to me with some questions about the high-profile cases of sexual harassment that have been in the news. I explained that sometimes people in power — especially men, but not always men — forget their obligations to treat others with respect and decency. Sooner or later, the truth comes out and it leads to their downfall. I am also the father of two girls. My oldest is 18 and has already entered the workforce. My youngest is 8 and she has a way to go. It’s difficult to imagine anyone harassing them and getting away with it. As their father, I hope that I have shown them how to be strong and provided them with good examples of what is and isn’t acceptable. But what if the situation they find themselves in is more intimidating than they are prepared for? Throughout my

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Secretary-Treasurer’s Report

E-commerce puts jobs at risk. What can you do about it?

January 30, 2018
The idea of e-commerce — buying and selling things over the Internet — emerged during the first “dot-com” boom and bust in the 1990s. Now it is finally taking hold, and the result is having important consequences in many sectors of the retail industry. The New York Times reports that between 2010 and 2014 e-commerce grew by an average of $30 billion each year. Now, average annual growth has increased to $40 billion. Some economists have declared we are at a “tipping point” as traditional retail stores operated by Sears, Sport Chalet and the like are closing their doors and e-commerce titans like Amazon.com are eating up more and more market share. Analysts predict that 25 percent of America’s shopping malls will close within a few years. So far, the grocery industry has been relatively immune to this trend. After all, people still enjoy the experience of browsing t

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