Retail Associations & Publications

Retail Trade Associations

Food Marketing Institute www.fmi.org

Membership includes 1600 grocery retailers and wholesalers. Maintains liaisons with government and consumers and conducts research programs. Publishes facts about supermarket development and supermarket industry financial review. Formed by the merger of the National Association of Food Chains and Supermarket Institute.

International Council of Shopping Centers www.icsc.org

Represents 35,000 owners, developers, retailers, and managers of shopping centers; architects, engineers, contractors, leasing brokers, promotion agencies, and others who provide services and products for shopping center owners, shopping center merchant associations, retailers, and public and academic organizations. Promotes professional standards of performance in the development, construction, financing, leasing, management, and operation of shopping centers throughout the world. Engages in research and data gathering on all aspects of shopping centers; compiles statistics.

Retail Industry Leaders Association www.rila.org

Formerly International Mass retailer Association. Association of Membership includes 750 mass retailing (discount) chains. Conducts research and educational programs on every phase of self-service general merchandise retailing. Publishes Operating Results of Mass Retail Stores/Mass Retailers' Merchandising and Operating Results annually.

National Association of Chain Drug Stores www.nacds.org

Member includes 1163 chain drug retailers plus manufacturers, publishers, and advertising agencies. Interpret actions by government agencies in such areas as drugs, public health, federal trade, labor, and excise tax.

National Association of Convenience Stores www.cstorecentral.com

Membership includes 4,000 retail stores that sell gasoline, fast foods, soft drinks, dairy products, beer, cigarettes, publications, grocery items, snacks, and nonfood items and are usually open seven days per week for longer

National Retail Federation www.nrf.com

Formed by a merger of the American Retail Federation (ARF) with a membership of 1,5000,000 smaller retailers and the National Retail Merchants Association (NRMA) with a membership of 55,000 department, specialty, and discount chain stores. The ARF was primarily concerned with the effect of legislation and government regulation on retailers. The NRF conducts extensive conferences and educational programs for retailers, provides statistical information and publishes Stores Magazine.

Shop.org www.shop.org

Shop.org is the only trade association to focus exclusively on Internet retailing. Its 300 members represent all segments of online retailing, including virtual retailers, conventional retailers, catalogers, manufacturers and companies providing products and services for online retailers. The organization sponsors studies on electronic retailing. Division of National Retail Federation.

Retail Trade Publications

These publications are used by retail managers to learn about industry trends and methods for improving the profitability of their business. Most University libraries do not have these trade publications. However, instructors or students can write or call the publisher and get information about the publication with some sample issues. In addition, many of these publications collect information about a specific aspect of the retail industry which are printed in separate reports and made available on request.

The center has compliled a list of Retail Trade Publications which includes descriptions, contact information, and website addresses.

Retail Trade Publications List