Alabama Retail Day

WHEREAS, every day, Alabama retailers sell the quality produce grown in Alabama and the world-class goods made in Alabama as well as those produced and made throughout the world; and

WHEREAS, Alabama has more than 50,000 retail establishments or slightly more than one retail business for every square mile of the state; and

WHEREAS, Alabama retailers employ some 400,000 of our great state’s citizens, making retail Alabama’s largest private employer; and

WHEREAS, retail accounts for one of every four Alabamians employed in the private sector; retail, along with the related hospitality industries, have added more jobs in 2012 than any other sectors; Alabama retailers’ annual payroll exceeds $5.2 billion; and

WHEREAS, retail trade accounts for eight percent of the state’s gross domestic product, making retail the state’s third highest producing industry; and

WHEREAS, our state’s retail sales, which exceed $57 billion annually, account for 1.5 percent of all retail sales nationally; Alabama retailers each year collect almost $2 billion in sales taxes on behalf of Alabama’s state government; Alabama’s retailers also supply vital income and property taxes to the state of Alabama; and

WHEREAS, such national and regional retail chains as Books-A-Million, Hibbett Sports, Simply Fashion, Jack’s, Shoe Station, Jim ‘N Nick’s Bar-B-Q, Chicken Salad Chick, Factory Connection, Moe’s Original Bar-B-Que, Private Gallery and 32° are based in Alabama; other major retailers have divisional headquarters or distribution centers in Alabama, including Belk, Wal-Mart Stores Incorporated, CVS Caremark Corporation, Target, Kmart and Dollar General; and

WHEREAS, the Retail Excellence Initiative in the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Business promotes the study and practice of retailing in Alabama and the pursuit of careers in retailing by UAB students; and

WHEREAS, the 4,000-member Alabama Retail Association and Firestone Complete Auto Care join the Retail Excellence Initiative in this mission:

NOW, THEREFORE, I, Robert Bentley, Governor of Alabama, do hereby proclaim October 8, 2013, as

Alabama Retail Day

in the state of Alabama.