Author Archives: Craig Shearman, VP, Government Affairs PR

Craig Shearman

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Read more about Craig at the NRF.com website.

Gift cards have been one of retailers’ most popular items for many years now, and sales continue to grow every year. But a controversial new law in one state is threatening to make it so difficult to sell a gift card that some major players are pulling out and local retailers are afraid a “domino [...]

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The work NRF has done to boost its advocacy efforts and “cut a bigger profile inside the Beltway” is highlighted in a profile of President and CEO Matthew Shay published in the Capitol Hill publication Roll Call. “We are playing with a new level of aggressiveness and a new level of influence,” the newspaper quotes [...]

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Macy’s Chairman, President and CEO Terry Lundgren had a warning for the thousands of retailers who packed into the North Hall at New York City’s Javits Convention Center on Monday for the second day of Retail’s BIG Show. “Retail’s BIG Show for the last two days has been very big,” Lundgren said. “Judging by this [...]

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With efforts in Congress to level the playing field on sales taxes coming at the same time lawmakers are seeking equity throughout U.S. tax law, NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay has published an op-ed saying sales tax fairness could become “a down payment on fundamental tax reform.” The op-ed, published in today’s issue of [...]

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An NRF op-ed about Bank of America’s new $5 fee for debit card users is being picked up in newspapers across the country as television commentators and even some bankers join the public outrage against BofA. “The financial giant is trying to justify the move as a consequence of new federal regulations limiting the amount [...]

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You may have read a story in the New York Times earlier this week that cited “A Contradiction in the Cargo,” quoting some port officials as saying their cargo volume doesn’t match up with NRF’s forecast for 2.8 percent growth in retail sales during the holiday season or the numbers in our monthly Global Port [...]

Posted in: Research | Retail Trends Tagged |
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With the banking industry trying to kill swipe fee reform scheduled to take effect this summer, NRF has created a new video that explains how the fees drive up prices for consumers and why they need to be brought under control. “This is a debit card,” NRF Senior Vice President and General Counsel Mallory Duncan [...]

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The Wall Street Journal last week wrote a scathing, one-sided editorial headlined “Debit Card Debacle” that repeated misinformation spread by the banking industry about swipe fee reform while refusing to acknowledge how reform will benefit consumers. This morning, the Journal published a letter to the editor from NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay that refuted the [...]

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With the big banks fighting hard to delay or repeal debit card swipe fee reform and legislation to do so introduced this week, there’s a lot of misinformation being spread around Washington lately. It’s time to set things straight. Community Banks The banking industry’s wildest false claim is that mid-sized and small banks will somehow [...]

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NRF and the American Bankers Association met face-to-face on the PBS NewsHour program this week to debate debit card swipe fee reform that banks are trying to delay. NRF General Counsel Mallory Duncan and ABA Vice President Nessa Feddis were interviewed live Tuesday night by correspondent Judy Woodruff. “It’s a wonderful system,” Feddis said, referring [...]

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