Arlington

GoldMax USA plans to open 100 new stores in the U.S. in 2012, including five to 10 stores in Minnesota and 30 stores in the Dallas metro area. The chain already opened its first two stores in Texas, at 3601 S. Cooper St. in Arlington and at 2193 E. Buckingham Rd. in Richardson, as well as its first store in Minnesota in Roseville. Later in the year, it plans to open a location at the Mall of America in Bloomington. “People of all ages and economic backgrounds are rummaging through their jewelry boxes, closets and drawers, attics or basements

The Retail Industry Leaders Association criticized a final rule released by the Federal Reserve as failing to honor the intent of the bipartisan reforms passed by Congress. The rule, which guides implementation of the debit swipe fee reforms, is a startling departure from rules that the Federal Reserve proposed in December and will ultimately prevent the intended relief from reaching merchants and consumers.

A group of catalogers gathered last month in Arlington, Va., for the American Catalog Mailers Association’s inaugural National Catalog Advocacy & Strategy Forum to voice their opinions on key issues affecting their industry, most notably postal rates. During this two-day event, some numbers were presented to illustrate the far-reaching scope and influence of the catalog industry. Here’s a look at what was discussed. * The catalog industry, including online sales, had an overall economic value of $270 billion (2006 estimate), approximately 2 percent of the total U.S. gross domestic product; * 20,000 is the approximate number of catalog companies in the U.S.; *

Dear Editor, Your editorial in the July issue of Catalog Success regarding the American Catalog Mailers Association hit the heart of the issue, why do catalogers need another association? As one of the founding officers of the American Catalog Mailers Association (ACMA), I can only reiterate the questions now that we asked in March when we agreed to create the ACMA: 1. Are we satisfied that the organizations that already exist can fully represent the unique interests of the catalog mailing community? 2. Do we believe that the past rate case could have been more favorable to catalog mailers if we had a voice