NRF asks Trump for 'essential' guidance
In an open letter to the White House, The National Retail Federation called for national guidance to help state and local authorities determine what qualifies as an “essential retail business.”
“There remains a need for clear national guidance to resolve questions caused by a number of conflicting state and local orders that are triggering consumer, worker and business confusion, leading to cascading negative impacts on communities across the country,” wrote Mathew Shay, NRF president and CEO, in the open letter.
Hardware and home improvement stores are on the NRF’s list of retail categories recommended to remain open during the coronavirus crisis. Nine other categories made the list, including grocery stores, convenience stores, gas stations and restaurants (as long as the food-service establishment takes appropriate social-distancing precautions).
The letter also reads: “When state and local governments give blanket orders to ‘close non-essential retail’ and ‘limit mass gatherings to 50 people,’ it causes panic and alarm. Consumers then swarm retailers, which exhausts existing supplies and overwhelms employees.”
[Read the NRF’s letter to the White House here.]
The NRF also asked the Trump Administration to consider relaxing rules against gatherings of 50 or more people for large format stores. Large stores have the area to accommodate more than 50 shoppers safely. Plus, limiting shoppers inside a large store often creates problems outside the store.
“When state and local governments enforce 50-person limits — often through law enforcement — it creates long lines outside stores, further alarming consumers that groceries and other supplies may be in limited quantity. Most often that is not the case. Further, having hundreds of customers lined up outdoors defeats the mass-gathering guidance.”
Meanwhile, the NRF pointed to the numbers of retail employees: one in four U.S. jobs and 52 million working Americans are in the retail sector.
The NRF's appeal for clarity comes at a time of active lobbying in the hardware and building supply industry for recognition in the eyes of the authorities as essential businesses. Leaders in hardware, lumberyards and farm and ranch have all made recent announcements in this regard.
“There remains a need for clear national guidance to resolve questions caused by a number of conflicting state and local orders that are triggering consumer, worker and business confusion, leading to cascading negative impacts on communities across the country,” wrote Mathew Shay, NRF president and CEO, in the open letter.
Hardware and home improvement stores are on the NRF’s list of retail categories recommended to remain open during the coronavirus crisis. Nine other categories made the list, including grocery stores, convenience stores, gas stations and restaurants (as long as the food-service establishment takes appropriate social-distancing precautions).
The letter also reads: “When state and local governments give blanket orders to ‘close non-essential retail’ and ‘limit mass gatherings to 50 people,’ it causes panic and alarm. Consumers then swarm retailers, which exhausts existing supplies and overwhelms employees.”
[Read the NRF’s letter to the White House here.]
The NRF also asked the Trump Administration to consider relaxing rules against gatherings of 50 or more people for large format stores. Large stores have the area to accommodate more than 50 shoppers safely. Plus, limiting shoppers inside a large store often creates problems outside the store.
“When state and local governments enforce 50-person limits — often through law enforcement — it creates long lines outside stores, further alarming consumers that groceries and other supplies may be in limited quantity. Most often that is not the case. Further, having hundreds of customers lined up outdoors defeats the mass-gathering guidance.”
Meanwhile, the NRF pointed to the numbers of retail employees: one in four U.S. jobs and 52 million working Americans are in the retail sector.
The NRF's appeal for clarity comes at a time of active lobbying in the hardware and building supply industry for recognition in the eyes of the authorities as essential businesses. Leaders in hardware, lumberyards and farm and ranch have all made recent announcements in this regard.