Retailers like Wal-Mart Stores, Dollar General and Best Buy ordered a lot of products ahead of the holiday season, but reports of soft post-holiday sales and excess discounted inventory could result in suppliers to the big retailers facing more chargebacks and deductions in 2014.

Boyd Evert, CEO of Harvest Revenue Group in Bentonville, said post-payment audit claims tend to increase when items are marked down for quick sale. He said suppliers have to be vigilant in tracking post holiday mark downs at the store levels, documenting what the product supplier will and will not agree to.

“The documentation is important because a year from now, a third-party auditor will likely be scrutinizing payment invoices that will come in short, after the discounts have been applied at the store level. A chargeback or post-payment deduction could occur and at that point the supplier will have to prove it didn’t authorize the lower price to be able to refute the chargeback,” Evert said.

Jami Dennis, a supplier consultant, said by sheer volume, suppliers are more at risk when shipping modular sets – i.e., large amount of product in a display area – at peak seasons as there are more cases and more room for error.
 
A replenishment specialist who works in the region, agreed that modular sets (the physical space inside a Walmart Store) involving price markdowns can trigger chargebacks, and require extensive due diligence from the supplier to ensure they aren’t shortchanged. He said it is important to understand what items are being deleted from a modular a few months prior to the new set date.

“If you can manage your weeks of supply at an efficient level (1.5 to 2 weeks products on hand at distribution center or store) you will reduce your markdown liability. Wal-Mart will start marking this product down two weeks prior to modular set in order to move through it,” said the replenishment specialist who asked to remain anonymous.

SHIPPING AND RETURNS
Dennis and the other experts said suppliers also see thousands of dollars in returns because of shipping damages. They recommend suppliers pay close attention to their products and make sure the items are double stackable. If not, the weight riding on top of the product will crush the product below.

Sometimes this is not noticeable until the product arrives at store. And this common is seen most often with promotional shippers. The replenishment experts recommend that suppliers should be checking their freight in the back room of the stores and looking for these "crush factor" signs.

Dennis said direct-to-store suppliers are at a higher risk because store associates may not properly check-in the products. She said shipments that go through the distribution center must pass several checks and balances that are not necessarily there in the direct to store arrangement.

SHARED EXPERTISE
Dennis said most small suppliers do not have a designated Wal-Mart team to closely monitor their business on retail link, and the bulk of those duties can fall on one person.

She and two other replenishment and logistics experts who asked for anonymity, said there are tactics small suppliers can use to fend off chargebacks and deductions related to shipping and receiving errors.

• Don’t Backorder
When a supplier breaks a single purchase order into multiple invoices and multiple shipments for that purchase order, it results in multiple receiving’s at the warehouse. Because of timelines involved in the invoice payment process, this will increase deductions being filed. Dennis said suppliers should bill and ship one invoice per purchase order. This is referred to this as ‘Fill and Kill’ the PO.

• Don’t Ship Partial Orders
If a supplier can’t fill the full order, it is not wise to ship a part of it because often a deduction or chargeback will occur when the invoice, purchase order and receiving ticket do not match.The supplier will take hit on the fill rate and run the risk of not getting paid on partial orders. The experts suggest contacting the replenishment manager at the retailer and canceling the purchase order.

• Labeling/Packing Mistakes
To avoid unnecessary adjustments, a supplier needs to ensure that the label description and count match the contents within. The experts recommend that the load be completed by layer before starting the next item. Consider marking cartons with different color inks when shipping multiple items in similar sized cartons (Consider different size fonts to help identify similar vendor stock numbers.) so packers and unloaders can avoid mistaken identity.

Suppliers should also consider slipsheets to help distinguish a change in items when layering out a pallet. Some companies hire auditors to double/triple check shipment accuracy before they release to carrier. It is also important to shrink wrap the top of the pallet in addition to the sides to reduce “pallet shopping”, along the supply chain. Require a photocopy of driver badge for every driver before they leave with load. Using the terms “non-negotiable” on the packing slip will help when investigating any carrier issues. Be proactive and run “Retail Link” reports to identify trends in over/under shipments and perhaps carrier/warehouse specific issues.

• Don’t Make Substitutions
Dennis said a three-way matching process at Wal-Mart collates the invoice, purchase order and receiving ticket and when a product substitution is made that system won’t line up and will trigger a deduction for item shortages. Some suppliers think substitutions will resolve their issues with certain product shortages, but it will likely cost them three-fold. This is a charge for shortages/overages, a substitution charge, and rarely do they get the incorrect product returned or any credit for it. Product substitutions do not pay, Dennis said.

• Lead Time Audits
Another area where fines can be levied against suppliers by the retailer is when deliveries are late. The experts suggest suppliers complete a lead time audit at least once a year to make sure they are giving themselves enough time to deliver. They also caution that less-than-truckload carriers do not typically deliver on or ship on the weekends, which can cause orders to arrive late. The experts agree suppliers have to micromanage their shipments from their own warehouses until they arrive and are fully accounted for at the distribution center or store.

“Wal-Mart gives suppliers an immense amount of information within Retail Link that can be used to track the products through the point of sale. Other retailers don’t come anywhere near this level of visibility. But no one is babysitting the supplier. It’s up to them to jump in there and figure it out,” Evert said.

The experts agreed that it’s a “he said, she said” game when combating the deductions and chargebacks. Suppliers who have the most documentation and have been the most diligent in monitoring their shipments will be the ones who get paid.

Agriculture is still king in Arkansas despite being the home of the world’s largest retailer, a robust trucking industry and a quickly evolving start-up sector.

Farming is an $8 billion industry in the Natural State, according to Travis Justice, senior economist with the Arkansas Farm Bureau. But while the total receipts continue to rise, farmers report having only a fair year at best in 2013. But, as is the nature of farmers, they hold out hope for a better 2014.

CHICKEN TALES
Poultry comprises a lion’s share of the state’s net receipts from agriculture behind the production of Arkansas-based companies like Tyson Foods, Simmons Foods, George’s and O.K. Foods. Another half dozen poultry firms have processing facilities in state.

The production of poultry is valued in excess of $2.4 billion annually, with 1.2 million broilers and roughly 24 million turkeys grown and processed in Arkansas. Poultry integrators have reported a solid year in terms of profits, helped by lower grain costs, higher retail prices amid steady consumer demand.

In fiscal 2013, Tyson Foods’ chicken division generated operating income of $646 million, up from $484 million in fiscal 2012. Tyson achieved these results in spite of incremental feed expenditures of $30 million and $470 million, in the quarter and year, respectively. Donnie Smith, CEO of Springdale-based Tyson Foods, said lower grain costs with the recent bountiful harvest and lower market pricing won’t show up in production results until early second quarter of 2014.

Total chicken sales for fiscal 2013 totaled $12.296 billion, helped by a 1.9% increase in volume and a 6.1% hike in prices. Smith said Tyson captured share as the No. 1 chicken brand in the U.S. during the quarter, according to Nielsen. He said the company will continue its “buy versus grow” policy through 2014, as it works to keep excess supplies out of the freezer.

“We will continue to buy breast meat in the open market that goes into valued-added products, in order to keep dark meat surpluses from occurring. We will also work toward more product innovation with dark meat products,” Smith said during the earnings call with analysts.

FARMER TALES
Poultry growers from Berryville to Springdale said corporate strategies to buy chicken in lieu of growing it has come at their cost.

“This has been the worst year I have seen in the 12 years I have been growing. I invested $170,000 retrofitting three of my seven houses and had my flocks per year reduced to four instead of five. Cash was so tight I had to take a part-time job to keep food on the table,” said Casey Wilson, a Tyson Foods grower near Huntsville.

He said chick quality has also been more inconsistent this year which has created some volatility in the payout structure based on the tournament system used throughout the industry.

“My farm goes from the top to the bottom from one flock to next and my operations are consistent in these houses year-in and year-out. It’s a complete puzzle to me how these results can vary so widely,” Wilson said.

Randy Robinson has been farming for 30 years and operates 10 broiler houses for Tyson Foods. He gives 2013 a “C-” rating citing the longer layout times between flocks, which have cut his farm’s total production. He also raises cattle near Springdale.

Gene Pharr, a grower for George’s Inc. near Lincoln, said 2013 has been on par with his expectations, but he also cites a slight reduction in layout time between flocks and recent concerns over diseased birds.

A few years ago, Pharr invested in LED lighting in his poultry houses and that has reduced his energy costs by more than 60%. Pharr said that investment in the lights is paying off and helping the farm’s total bottom line. There are five houses on his farm and his biggest concern is the supply of birds he may or may not get, depending on production goals.

The average cost of operating a poultry house ranges from $100 to $250 per flock depending on barn size and age of the flock when it goes to market, according to Susan Watkins, professor and extension poultry specialist at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville.

Jim Yell of Lincoln said he sold his four broiler houses and 20 acres of land nearly two years ago. Yell said that despite tedious management, the business was a losing proposition and it didn’t matter with which company they contracted. Yell has grown poultry for Tyson Foods, Peterson Farms and Simmons Foods throughout the past decade. Yell held on to his Angus beef cattle operation.

BETTER BEEF
Justice said that broiler farms often work in tandem with beef cattle operations in Arkansas to help boost overall farm profits. He said cattle production across the state is valued at $500 million, with some 1.7 million head. Roughly 95% of that herd is configured in cow-calf operations with an average herd size of 100 to 150 head.

“Coming off a two-year drought that forced some herd liquidation, cattle farmers got a little relief in 2013. We have had adequate moisture, sufficient grazing conditions and ample hay supplies all while calf prices have escalated on the shorter supply numbers,” Justice said.

Cattle markets are heading into the final holiday period of 2013 at record or near record price levels across the board, according to Darrell Peel, extension livestock marketing specialist with Oklahoma State University.

Justice said Arkansas cattle farmers will likely hold their herds steady into 2014.

“On the bright side, the immediate liquidation has been stemmed given the good forage supplies, but the cost to add cattle right now is very high and many farmers are standing down,” Justice said.

JERSEY AND ANGUS
Robinson, the cattle farmer near Springdale, said his cattle herd numbers about 140 and he sold off all of his calves this past summer when prices reached high levels. The summer rally in calf and feeder cattle prices added $20 to $25 per hundredweight to steer calves and feeder cattle since late May. That is equal to $100 to $200 additional per head, and much of that gain is attributable to improved growing conditions for corn and forage this year.

Yell said he bought a Jersey milk cow so his wife Connie could make butter, cream and canned milk for baking, but within two months they had a two year’s supply so he put one of his beef calves on her.

“This one Jersey has raised three calves for me this year which I sold at roughly 350 pounds. The going price at $700 or better was a nice boost to the farm income. We still run a herd of roughly 160 Angus cattle and plan to keep that number steady in 2014,” Yell explained.

Yell markets his Angus beef on half or quarter side and said consumer demand has been somewhat tepid given the higher prices for the grass-fed cattle. Beef prices overall have been high this year, but that has not kept export demand down.

ROBUST BEEF EXPORTS
Justice said the exciting story in 2013 for the beef industry has been robust export demand from Japan and the Pacific Rim region. Japan has regained its No. 1 position as the biggest importer of U.S. beef. The U.S. Meat Export Federation reported through October gross metric tons of beef sold to Japan increased 48% from a year ago to 178.68 metric tons valued at $1.017 billion.

Justice said because Arkansas cattle producers provide calves that eventually make their way into feed yards which are sold for slaughter, there is a trickle down impact to local farmers when exports are strong. One big factor to watch in 2014 is consumer push back from higher prices that could temper domestic demand.

Peel said cattle slaughter and beef production are falling as the market transitions into a much tighter supply situation in 2014. With that, cattle and beef prices are expected to push to even higher record levels in 2014. Justice said domestic consumers will still want hamburgers and steak, but they may not be ordering them at higher-end restaurants.

Market research firm the NPD Group said the restaurant industry expected price increases for beef will create a headache for restaurant-goers, but it’s likely to hit consumers even harder. NPD Group vice president Harry Balzer said that while only about 30% of what we pay at restaurants reflects the costs of food, around 80% of our grocery bill is food costs.

Retail all-beef prices averaged $5.35 per pound in October, up 7% from a year ago, according to the last record available by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Wholesale prices rose 4.5% to $3.09 per pound. The net farm value totaled $2.74 per pound, up 2.8% from a year ago.

Experts predict those prices will escalate further into 2014 given tight feeder cattle and the smallest calf crop since 1940. Justice said the cattle industry has not yet turned the corner because it will take several more years to rebuild the herd from the sell off of the last couple of years. On a bright note, he said in 2013 beef exports finally surpassed the levels from the pre-2003 export bans related to Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy, commonly known as “Mad Cow Disease.”

“It took the industry a decade to recover that export volume lost in December 2003. The sustained drought and record grain prices of the past couple years also weighed heavy on the beef industry, but barring some weather catastrophe or disease outbreak, 2014 should be better for many Arkansas farmers,” Justice said.

Arkansas voters view the private option insurance plan more favorably than unfavorably, according to a new survey from Talk Business and Hendrix College.

Last year, a bipartisan group of state lawmakers, led by Republicans, and Gov. Mike Beebe (D) passed the innovative plan that allowed Arkansas health officials to steer Medicaid expansion funds from the Affordable Care Act into private health insurance plans. The funding for the private option narrowly passed both chambers of the Arkansas General Assembly in 2013 and is expected to come up for renewal funding in February 2014.

In a statewide poll of 520 likely Arkansas voters conducted Jan. 19, 2014, 47.5% said the private option should continue. Roughly 32.5% say the program should end and 20% are undecided.

Q: Last year, the legislature passed a law allowing Arkansas to spend federal Medicaid dollars to provide private insurance to low-income Arkansans through health care exchanges. In the upcoming meeting of the legislature, lawmakers will be asked to continue that program or not. Should the legislature vote to continue this “private option” after this current year?
47.5% Private Option Should Continue
32.5% Private Option Should End
20% Don’t Know

“The spread between those who think the private option should continue versus those who think it should end is considerable,” said Talk Business executive editor Roby Brock. “With votes wavering or apparently peeling off of support in the legislature, these numbers present a different viewpoint from the public’s perception.”

Like at the state capitol, Democrats are fairly unified in their support of the private option, while Republicans have a disjointed view.

Two other questions asked in the poll highlight the conservative bent of Arkansas voters on abortion laws and same-sex marriage.

Q: Do you favor laws that would make it more difficult to get an abortion, favor laws that would make it easier to get an abortion or should no change be made to existing abortion laws?
55% Make It More Difficult
23% Make It Easier
20% No Change
2% Don’t Know

Q: Which of the following policy positions most closely resembles your own view regarding relationships between two people of the same sex?
21.5% Gay couples should be allowed to legally marry
24% Gay couples should be allowed to form civil unions or domestic partnerships, but not legally marry
50% There should be no legal recognition of a gay couple’s relationship
4.5% Don’t know

ANALYSIS
Dr. Jay Barth, professor of political science at Hendrix College, helped construct and analyze the poll. He offered the following observations:
• For this snapshot of the Arkansas political landscape going into what will unquestionably be a consequential political year in the state, we mixed some questions consistently tracked by the University of Arkansas’s Arkansas Poll with those regarding issues that are particularly timely.

• Perhaps the most timely of topics is Arkansans’ views on the “private option,” the distinctive Arkansas program for expanding Medicaid by funding participation of newly Medicaid eligible Arkansans in the health care exchange. That program was appropriated during the 2013 regular session of the General Assembly but will need to be reauthorized in the upcoming fiscal session. A healthy plurality (47.5%) of those surveyed do support extension of the program through reauthorization while just under a third oppose the program’s continuation. Just at one-fifth of respondents responded that they had no opinion or were unclear on their views.

• Looking inside these topline numbers, the most interesting trends were across partisan lines. Democrats and Republicans diverged on the issue—two-thirds of Democrats support the program while a plurality (45%) of Republicans oppose it. Perhaps not surprisingly, considering the division within the GOP leadership on the issues, Republicans were the group most likely to say that they “don’t know” their position. A plurality of independents (44%) support the “private option,” reflecting one of the few times in recent Arkansas public opinion polling where that group looks more like Democrats than Republicans in their attitudes.

• On the issues of abortion and same-sex partnership recognition, Arkansans show their traditional conservatism. These questions, replicating questions from the Arkansas Poll, are unsurprisingly very much in synch with the results of that annual survey. Just over half of those sampled (55%) voice support for measures that would make it more difficult for women in Arkansas to obtain an abortion. Again, partisan differences do show themselves with just over 80% of Republicans voicing support for making obtaining an abortion more difficult while just under 30% of Democrats share that view. Just over 60% of self-identified Independents favor additional restrictions.

• On the issue of same-sex partnership recognition, just at half of respondents oppose any legal recognition of gay couples’ relationships. Just under half do see a place for legal recognition either as civil unions/domestic partnerships (24%) or civil marriages (21.5%). Survey data across time has show that, while Americans as a whole are shifting views on marriage equality consistently and fairly swiftly, Arkansas is one of a handful of states where attitudes are changing decidedly more slowly.

POLL METHODOLOGY
This survey was conducted by Talk Business Research and Hendrix College on Sunday, Jan. 19, 2014. The poll, which has a margin of error of +/-4.3%, was completed using IVR survey technology among 520 Arkansas likely voters statewide.

Tuesday (Jan. 21) saw the Sebastian County Quorum Court move closer to issuing meeting packets in digital form. The night also included questions of County Judge David Hudson about revelations that a consultant brought into speak to the Quorum Court and Board about amenities at Ben Geren Aquatics Center actually raised concerns about the projects budget, but was told to keep his opinions on the budget quiet.

At a separate meeting of the Fort Smith Board of Directors, the Board approved issuance of about $35 million in bonds before moving to set an early date for City Administrator Ray Gosack's next performance review.

The Quorum Court took up the issue of moving to digital meeting packets during discussion of an appropriation ordinance to come before the Court for a vote in February.

During the discussion of the move to digital, County Infrastructure Administrator Kevin Smith highlighted how the county could expend about $10,000 on equipment, including iPads for Court members to receive the digital meeting materials and an updated wireless network so they could access online material from the Quorum Courtroom on the second floor of the court house.

Justice of the Peace Danny Aldridge said the move, which saw all members of the Court voting to move forward with the proposal with the exception of Justice of the Peace John Spradlin, would save the county at least $15,000 a year in printed material costs, though he said the number would probably be significantly higher.

"At this point in time, the Quorum Court is getting a printed copy of the agenda and all of these backup documents for it," he said. "During the budget cycle, we're talking several reams of paper in one packet."

During the research on moving from paper to digital, County Director of Technology Services Leslie Harris said she had been in close contact with Fort Smith officials about the city's transition to all-digital meeting packets, which was estimated to have saved the city about $13,000 each year.

She said aside from intensive training of technology-challenged Quorum Court members, there would likely not be much in the way of costs or any other downsides to making the move.

"The biggest hurdle will be training," she said. "You have to come up with a good training plan to get these guys comfortable. One-on-one (training) will probably be most effective."

Once an appropriation ordinance is approved next month, Harris said equipment could be ordered, installed and training could begin on county-issued iPads or other tablet devises as soon as May.

"We just didn't expect it to happen this fast," she said.

‘BLINDSIDED’
Before the meeting was adjourned, Justice of the Peace Shawn Looper called attention to an article published earlier Tuesday by The City Wire that highlighted the city's attempts to keep water park consultant Kent Lemasters concerns about possibly-inflated numbers tied to the Ben Geren Aquatics Center budget quiet. Looper said not being provided the information made it tough for him to effectively do his job as a justice of the peace.

"Had I known he wrote that in an e-mail, I would have asked him how he plans on saving $3 or $4 million. But we didn't have that information at that joint meeting."

Looper added, "It's a little unsettling to vote on a project and then to be blindsided with this."

"I didn't blindside anybody with anything, Shawn,” Hudson responded. “The numbers on this, I'm not even sure what the background on…my involvement was to meet with this gentleman after the joint meeting. He did make some comments relative to cost. The main focus of that meeting was features."

Hudson, who was copied on an e-mail from Fort Smith City Administrator Ray Gosack that instructed city staff to keep Lemasters from discussing his concerns regarding the budget before the Quorum Court and the Board of Directors, said he was unaware of any e-mails regarding cost concerns.

"Yeah, I don't know about any e-mail. There may have been some discussion about what the focus of the meeting was because this project has gone for a whole year. We wanted to focus on making a decision (on amenities and design), which is what happened."

CITY BONDS
At Tuesday's meeting of the Fort Smith Board of Directors, Directors approved the issuance of bonds tied to a March 2012 sales tax measure.

The debt, which was sold on the bond market Tuesday, averaged an interest rate of 2.96%, according to Deputy City Administrator Jeff Dingman, who added that demand for the more than $34 million in bonds was so strong that nearly $81 million in orders came in — ensuring all of the city's bonds sold with no problem.

Dingman said the reason for the city's delay in issuing the bonds approved in 2012 was due to certain regulations placed on the city by the Internal Revenue Service.

"When you issue a bond, you only have so much time to (use) the money until the IRS starts giving you trouble about interest and all sorts of stuff," he said. "I think we had authorization for $155 million or whatever the number was and we issued the bulk of them just after that election. But we knew we wouldn't be able to spend them all fast enough in order to satisfy their regulations, so we deferred the second phase of it until we were ready for the money."

The bonds issued Tuesday will fund the city's continuing efforts at wet weather drainage improvements, as well as other sanitation improvements.

PERFORMANCE REVIEW
Tuesday's meeting also saw City Director Pam Weber bring forward a motion to conduct an early performance review of City Administrator Ray Gosack, whose last performance review was in July 2013, a review that resulted in Gosack receiving a 2.5% pay bump to an annual salary of $153,237.50, plus a car allowance of $5,400. Gosack was not scheduled to have another performance review until June.

As for details about what will be discussed during Gosack's performance review, no one will know unless Board members decide to dish on details of the meeting after the fact due to personnel matters being discussed behind closed doors in executive session.

Asked why she called for a review, which will take place during the Board's regularly scheduled Feb. 4 meeting, Weber did not provide details.

"No comment on personnel," she said. "There's some things that I wanted to discuss with the administrator. That's all I'm going to say."

Weber went on to say, "A performance review is not something you take lightly."

City Director Keith Lau, who seconded the motion to place Gosack's performance review on the Feb. 4 agenda, would not provide specifics as for why he seconded Weber's motion, though he said he had been mulling the issue for some time.

"I can't say because it's a personnel issue," he said. "For me, it was a previously discussed issue."

Lau said his desire to put Gosack through his sixth performance review since 2011 was about philosophy, though stopping short of explaining what exactly that meant.

"Mine is a philosophical…what I'm wanting to do is a philosophical issue. It's about…Of course, that's probably all I need to say. I better not say."

More Arkansans feel the state is heading in the right direction than the wrong direction and a majority identify the economy and jobs as their top issue of concern.

In a new survey conducted on Jan. 19, 2014 by Talk Business and Hendrix College, 520 likely Arkansas voters weighed in on the economy.

About 55% said the economy and jobs were the most important issue facing Arkansas with health care (16%) and education (14%) being distant alternative choices. Also 48% said the state was heading in the right direction versus 36% who said the state was moving in the wrong direction.

Q: What is the most important issue facing people in Arkansas today?
14%  Education
55%  Economy and Jobs
9%   Crime
16%  Healthcare
6%   Some Other Issue

Q: Overall, do you feel that Arkansas is generally headed in the right direction or the wrong direction?
48%   Right Direction
36%   Wrong Direction
16%   Don’t Know

Dr. Jay Barth, professor of political science at Hendrix College, helped construct and analyze the poll. He offered the following observations.
• The issue that is of most concern to Arkansas voters is quite clear. A healthy majority of voters (55%) say that the economy and jobs is the preeminent political issue on their minds over five years after the start of the Great Recession.

• Other issues that sometimes get a good deal of air time, such as health care, lag dramatically behind economics. The centrality of the economy and jobs as the key issue crosses all demographic and political subsets of Arkansans. The key test for candidates in this political environment is offering a vision of an economic future for the state that resonates with voters.

• Just under half — (48%) of the respondents on our survey examining the attitudes of Arkansans at the start of an election year — say that Arkansas is on the right track while just over one-third (36%) say that Arkansas is now headed in the wrong direction.

• Because of the importance of the economy and jobs it appears that Arkansas’s relatively stable performance during the economic downturn is central to this positive evaluation. These numbers are quite consistent across key demographic and political groups.

• This general optimism about the state of Arkansas means that candidates for office that offer a vision of dramatic shifts in state government may have some obstacles to overcome.

POLL METHODOLOGY

This survey was conducted by Talk Business Research and Hendrix College on Sunday, Jan. 19, 2014. The poll, which has a margin of error of +/-4.3%, was completed using IVR survey technology among 520 Arkansas likely voters statewide.

The loss in Arkansas of more than $52 million in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) funding on Nov. 1, 2013, was expected to reduce benefits to recipients of the government aid by about $10 per month per beneficiary. But how the cut would translate to impacts on food pantries and other social welfare non-profits was an unknown — until now.

Figures provided by the River Valley Regional Food Bank in Fort Smith show an increase in the number of individuals who have received assistance from the food bank and its partner agencies across the region, which could be tied to the SNAP cut.

According to Ken Kupchick, director of marketing and development at the River Valley Regional Food Bank, the number of families served from November to December increased by 6.54% last year, from 14,922 served in November to 15,899 served in December.

"In 2012, the increase from those months into December was only 1.6%," he said.

Kupchick said the increase in number of families served between November and December occurred in spite of several pantries being closed for three days (in addition to holidays) due to an ice storm.

Kupchick also reported that the amount of food distributed by the regional food bank was its highest ever in 2013, with 7.51 million pounds of food distributed in 2013, a 15.62% increase from 2012, when 6.496 million pounds of food was distributed by the regional food bank.

"The food bank has grown double in size since the start of the 2008 (Great Recession)," he said. "Performance this year represents the third consecutive year of double digit growth at the food bank."

In 2012, the agency reported an increase of 17.89% while in 2011, the food bank distributed 5.10 million pounds of food, 32.63% more than it distributed in 2010.

Julie Tann, food coordinator and assistant director of The Hope Center in Van Buren, said the cut in SNAP benefits — a result of an expiring of funding originally part of the 2009 federal stimulus package — has put a strain on her facility.

"I'd say we're spending close to $200 to $300 each week (on food)," she said. "You can buy by the pound. But even with the discount, it gets (expensive)."

In October, before the cuts went into affect, Tann said her organization served about 180 to 200 people. That number now hovers around 250, many of them elderly individuals who she said only get $21 per month in SNAP assistance and cannot make ends meet. For the families that come to The Hope Center, Tann said they may get more than $100 for a family, but that is still a low amount in order to feed a family.

"A lot of your single parents, male or female, if they have two or three children, their benefits have been going down $10, $20 or $30, depending on their benefits."

As a result, already cash-strapped food pantries are seeing a large number of repeat clients versus new clients, and they are doing their best to keep the doors open without turning anyone away.

"I want (people) to see the need because this is what I see every other Saturday morning (when we distribute food)," Tann said. "The need is there. You can't look at a baby and say, 'Sorry. I can't give you any groceries.'"

Likewise, she said the hunger crisis among the elderly has reached an alarming level at her pantry, with some elderly turning to certain animal foods that may be cheaper than foods made for human consumption. The problem is especially apparent among the members of the working poor who receive fewer benefits should their monthly salary increase.

"The need is out there and it's really sad that they have to attempt to survive on $20 or $30 a month (in SNAP benefits)," she said. "And it's unfair that they can be deducted $8 because they got a $2 raise. To us, that's a loaf of bread and a gallon of milk. It's terrible that they are eating cat food and dog food for protein."

And while the numbers, at least on the surface, appear to point to an increased burden on food pantries due to the cuts to SNAP, Kupchick did urge caution.

"I am not comfortable in saying to what extent the 6.5% increase in families seeking help is attributable to the SNAP cutback, except to say we are hearing from all over the Feeding America network that the impact is there."

Real estate is the only career Nicky Dou of Bentonville has ever wanted to pursue. Her growing success year after year seems a validation of the focused desire. In 2013, Nicky Dou doubled her sales, closing $18.5 million in total sales.

“It was a record for me, sales rose from $10 million a year ago. Together my husband Jerry and I posted just under $28 million,” she said. “It just keeps getting better.”

Dou said she loves her career and the opportunities she has to use creative marketing for the properties she lists. When asked what so different about 2013, Dou said the couple hired a licensed assistant, Jerilyn Poe, in July. Then the three of them joined Keller Williams in August, jumping ship from Coldwell Banker. The Dous and Poe are part of Keller Williams’ 103 agents in Northwest Arkansas.

Paul Bynum of MountData.com reports the median sales volume per agent was $1.135 million last year, up from $1.016 million in 2012. Nicky’s sales were well ahead of the median.

BACKGROUND
Nicky has been an agent/broker in Northwest Arkansas since she graduated from the University of Arkansas in 2001 with a bachelor’s degree in communication. She grew up in the region and graduated from Springdale High School.

“It was a great time to come into the market,” she said. “I joined Harris McHaney and have never looked back.”

Husband Jerry graduated in 2001 with an engineering degree and worked in that field until the couple opened in 2005 their own real estate boutique firm Element Realty.

“We have rode the market up and down and back up again,” Jerry Dou said.

Their firm Element was acquired by Coldwell Banker in 2007. The couple joined Century 21 Exclamation Realty in 2008, which was subsequently acquired by Coldwell Banker Harris McHaney Faucette in February 2013.

“Coldwell Banker is a great firm, but for us the best financial and professional decision was to join Keller Williams’ in their new Bentonville location,” she said. “We like the ability to sell our own brand and use creative marketing in the process.”

SELF-BRANDING
Dou said she has worked really hard over the years pushing Internet marketing and using social media to broaden her own brand.

“I don’t use the traditional marketing approaches taught by the large companies. I like to do my own thing using technology, staging, professional grade photos and video marketing for the listings I get,” Nicky Dou said. “My clients usually call me. They find me from all over the country after they have been window-shopping online for some time.”

Jerry Dou said the couple has learned volumes in recent years about what it takes to keep today’s savvy customer happy.

“We try to ensure our clients are getting the best investment deal they can make in every transaction. It’s no fun being upside down on a home. We try and make sure our clients buy with resale in mind, even if they think it’s going to be their forever home,” he said.

Nicky, a self-proclaimed Pollyanna, said even through an incredibly slow market she continued to grow her sales each year and part of the reason is because of her silver-lining outlook. She said there’s plenty of variables an agent can’t control – interest rates, foreclosure sales, or declining prices. But instead of focusing on those, she has always found it more productive to do what she can to make sure her clients’ expectations are exceeded.

“I believe in being honest with clients and if they listen to my recommendations we can usually close a sale they are happy with,” Nicky said.

She said late last year she closed a home sale for a new listing she got in just two weeks. The home had been listed with another firm for several months with no offers.

“I want to make sure every listing I have comes up in the top five buyer searches online,” she added. “That exposure will help sell a home and I won’t list it until it is ready to sell.”

NEW HOME AGENT
The couple does a fair amount of relocation business in the Wal-Mart supplier community and says it’s steady year round. But more recently they have negotiated deals with homebuilders to be the selling agent in Hyde Park, a new subdivision between Cave Springs and southwest Bentonville.

Hyde Park offers craftsman style homes with priced between $250,000 and $300,000. The homes are about 2,700 square feet with a community pool, playground and trails throughout the neighborhood. Dou said she has already closed seven new homes in Hyde Park and there are 10 more presolds under construction.

The couple is also promoting Kerelaw Castle, a new geothermal subdivision in west Bentonville. It’s the first of its kind in Northwest Arkansas with all the homes featuring energy efficient geothermal heating systems. Nicky Dou said there are 10 homes under construction, five of which are close to completion.

“The buyers will qualify for $7,000 in tax credits relating to the geothermal system. The homes are listed between $240,000 and $270,000,” she said.

MARKET OUTLOOK
The couple said they expect the momentum they have seen since 2012 to continue in Benton County. They have already closed $5.5 million in sales since Jan. 1. 

“The supplier community is hiring and we are really busy with folks who want to move up now that their property values have rebounded. We think property values could move up a little more this year, but that depends on sustained demand from the buyer pool,” Jerry said.

Neither Dou is too concerned by the active building they see in Benton County. They note that supplies are still low given that lenders are proceeding cautiously.

The number one criteria the couple said they get from most homebuyers moving to the area are the schools.

“Most buyers want to look at the entire area first, but after seeing the individual towns, schools and factoring in commute time, if they work in Benton County they usually want to live here. They often want to be near the Pinnacle shopping area and they like Bentonville schools,” Jerry said.

They expect to see the growth in Benton County continue, with more retail and entertainment venues on tap to open this year. 

Benton County was the top Arkansas county for home sales during the year, according to The City Wire’s Arkansas Home Sales Report. The county, with a population of around 230,000, had 4,571 home sales in 2013. Pulaski County, the state’s largest with a population of around 390,000, posted 4,499 home sales during the year.

During 2013, the number of homes sold in central Arkansas are up 10.44%, up 12.89% in the Jonesboro area, up 17.98% in Northwest Arkansas, and up 7.36% in the Fort Smith area.

It was 11 months ago that Crawford County Sheriff Ron Brown made the pitch for an expanded county jail at its current Main Street location in Van Buren, an expansion that had a price tag of $24 million.

As time has passed from his initial meeting with the Quorum Court, Brown's idea has morphed into a new jail facility to be built away from the heart of town and at a cost of $20 million. The only catch? Brown and County Judge John Hall will have to sell county residents on a half-cent sales tax likely to be voted on May 20 — a quarter-cent to build the new facility and a quarter-cent for operations and public safety. The construction portion would sunset after 20 years, while the operations would be a permanent sales tax, Hall said.

If passed, the half-cent bump in the sales tax would make the county's two largest cities, Alma and Van Buren, some of the most heavily taxed communities (in terms of sales tax) in the nation, with a sales tax rate of 10% each.

With residents already facing high sales taxes to pay for projects either underway or planned for the future, Hall knows pitching an additional half-cent for the jail is going to be a tough sell, especially in a county that has rejected similar proposals to fund jail expansions three times before.

"Of course, I always have concerns that they will reject it," he said. "It's been rejected three times. You have to be aware that this is not a popular item. No one likes taxes. But it's up to us to inform the public about why we need this and how badly we need this so they will understand the need."

Hall, who has spent the better part of the last year discussing the jail with the Quorum Court and Brown, said the county was at a point where they either spend money on housing inmates in the county or spend about $200,000 each year transporting inmates to and from Crawford County for court hearings from facilities in other counties across Arkansas.

"We have to change something to overcome this overcrowding and the problem with our existing jail," he said.

The new jail will have capacity for hundreds of inmates and could easily be expanded due to the facility being built with modular jail cells, which allow for easy construction and installation and minimal staffing once operational due to a design that places guards in position to observe more inmates from a perch overlooking the jail's interior.

"We call it a wheel system," Hall said, “But it's a modular thing. It's the latest design in supervision. In the new jails, you can supervise them (the inmates) with a lot less people. They're in the sight of someone all the time. Technology is making it easier and easier to supervise and operate these things. It's still costly, still expensive. But in old times, it would take twice as many people (to supervise)."

As for whether the county's electorate will embrace spending $20 million for the new jail, Van Buren Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Jackie Krutsch said it all depends on how compelling the county can make its pitch to voters.

"I think that will depend on how well the county tells their story of the need for a new jail," she said. "I was not here in Van Buren when the other sales tax elections failed, so I don't have that history. ... It's going to be a wait and see situation."

Hall agreed with Krutsch's take, adding, "No one likes taxes, but it's up to us to inform the public about why we need this and how badly we need this so they will understand the need."

Looking at what long term impacts a possible 10% sales tax could have on the county, Krutsch said it would be hard to predict impacts. But she said for anyone concerned that a high sales tax rate could stifle growth, its a largely unfounded idea.

"I think in terms of recruiting industry, they're looking more at corporate income tax and incentives that the state provides," she said.

Krutsch also said Crawford County still has among the lowest property tax rates in the nation, a big draw for industry and residents alike. But she said whether residents liked it or not, essential government functions will always be funded through taxes.

"Public services have to have to be paid for, but what type of tax pays for the service? Roads, jail, fire and police projection all have to be paid for one way or another."

While Hall has real concerns about the chances of getting the tax passed, he said this time feels different and he prays he's right.

"Like I said, it failed three times. We hope the fourth time's a charm. We'll do our best to educate and give people what they need. When you go into the voting places, we would appreciate you going in and considering the facts we present."

The plan could be formally approved to place both quarter-cent sales tax proposals on the May 20 ballot following the next meeting of the Quorum Court's Jail Committee, a meeting Hall said he hoped would take place in the next week.

U.S. Rep. Tom Cotton, R-Dardanelle, reported strong fourth quarter fundraising numbers in his bid for the U.S. Senate on Thursday, the second quarter in a row he has outraised incumbent U.S. Sen. Mark Pryor, D-Ark.

Cotton reported raising $1.24 million during the fourth quarter of 2013, outpacing Pryor's $1.1 million raised during the same period last year.

Cotton's fundraising advantage did widen over Pryor, a vulnerable Democrat seeking a third term in the Senate. During the third quarter, Cotton — a Tea Party favorite who has sometimes voted opposite the other Republican members of the Congressional delegation — outraised Pryor by only about $5,000. The number in the fourth quarter has ballooned to about a $150,000 fundraising advantage.

Justin Brasell, Cotton's campaign manager, said the growing momentum in Cotton's fundraising is evidence that Cotton is connecting with voters on a very personal level.

"Arkansans are supporting Tom Cotton because he shares their values," he said. "Washington has clearly changed Senator Mark Pryor, causing him to vote 95% of the time with President Obama and his agenda that is hurting small businesses and driving up the cost of healthcare for working families. Arkansas doesn't need a Senator who will hand his voting card to Harry Reid whenever he asks for it."

While Cotton grew his fundraising advantage during the fourth quarter, he still stands at a significant disadvantage when it comes to cash on hand. The Cotton campaign has $2.2 million cash on hand, while Pryor is sitting on a war chest of $4.2 million.

When Pryor released his fourth quarter numbers on Jan. 13, his campaign manager made a point of highlighting Pryor's cash-on-hand advantage after 2013 that saw Pryor raise a staggering $5.3 million in order to keep his Senate seat, a sign that the 2014 Arkansas Senate race will be among the most expensive in the nation as Democrats fight to keep control of the Senate.

"Heading into the election year, Mark (Pryor) will have every resource to remind voters about his record as a reliable and responsible voice for Arkansas families, while drawing clear contrasts with Congressman Cotton’s reckless agenda that puts his own interests ahead of Arkansans,” said Jeff Weaver, Pryor for Senate campaign manager.

But as then-U.S. Rep. John Boozman, R-Rogers, proved during his late entrance in the 2010 Republican primary that saw him sweep the field and eventually unseat U.S. Sen. Blanche Lincoln, D-Ark., low fundraising figures do not necessarily mean a candidate is weak.

When Boozman entered the race in January 2010, he transferred the $305,000 he had raised for his House re-election to his Senate race. Just days before his announcement, Lincoln announced raising $1.3 million during the fourth quarter of 2009, leaving her with a $5 million campaign account heading into the 2010 race.

Lincoln went on to lose to Boozman by more than 20 points  in the general election — 57.9% for Boozman versus 36.95% for Lincoln.

Even with being at a disadvantage in cash-on-hand, Cotton's campaign has moved forward in its efforts to unset Pryor recently opening a campaign headquarters in Little Rock to house the small campaign staff and a growing army of Cotton loyalists volunteering to get the word out about Cotton to a state that may not be familiar with the first term Congressman.

"Your campaign headquarters is where your volunteers come to help out and you can't win a large statewide race like this without a strong grassroots volunteer base of support and that's what Tom (Cotton) has and we're growing it every single day," Communications Director David Ray told The City Wire at Cotton's campaign headquarters grand opening on Jan. 11.

No candidates have announced primary challenges to Cotton or Pryor, making each their party's presumptive nominees.

J.B. Hunt Transport continues to set the bar high in the logistics sector despite caution from Wall Street about conflicting signs in the overall economy.

The Lowell-based logistics giant posted another record quarter to end 2013 reporting net earnings of $92 million, or 77 cents per share. Bottom line profits improved 9% from 70 cents a share pocketed a year ago, but the company narrowly missed Wall Street’s consensus estimate by two-cents per share.

Total operating revenue for the fourth quarter was $1.47 billion, up 9.7% from the year-ago period and inline with analysts expectations.

Shares of J.B. Hunt tumbled lower on Thursday (Jan. 23), trading down about 1.5% at $78.13 in the morning session as it followed the bearish coat tails of the broader market descent.

Operating income for the quarter increased to $153.5 million versus $143.3 million for the fourth quarter 2012. The increase primarily reflects higher revenue on greater load volumes and improved network balance in firm’s intermodal unit. These improvements were partially offset by increased costs paid to hire and retain drivers; higher workers’ compensation and accident costs; increased costs to third party carriers, fewer gains on equipment sales and lower truck utilization.

For the full year,  J.B. Hunt posted total revenue of $5.584 billion, rising 10.4% from a year ago. Net earnings of $2.87 cents per share, or $342.3 million, increased 10.8% and 10.3% respectively from the prior fiscal year.

Wall Street is split on its sentiment for J.B. Hunt in 2014. Stephens Inc. ranks the logistics leader as “overweight” or favorable to buy, given a target price of $87 per share in the next 12 months. That said, Stephens recently trimmed its 2014 fiscal guidance for J.B. Hunt from $3.55 per share to $3.25. Wall Street consensus is $3.39 per share.

J.B. Hunt’s estimate for fiscal 2014 includes revenue growth of 11%, as the firm expects operating income to rise between some 13% to 15%, which analysts believe is a little aggressive.

“We think J. B. Hunt still has significant leverage to the cycle and has one of the most defensible and diversified business models in the transportation space. We remain comfortable recommending shares for long-term investors given the opportunity for an improved intermodal pricing environment and firm’s leverage to improving supply-demand dynamics,” Stephens analyst Brad Delco noted on Jan. 8.

John Larkin, an analyst with Stifel, ranks J.B. Hunt shares as neutral, a hold position based on softening rates and the additional interest expense J.B. Hunt will see as it finances $700 million in capital expenditures for fleet replacement and growth strategies in place.

“We continue to believe that shares of J.B. Hunt are slightly over-valued ... we think the Street estimate will come down and our 12-month fair value estimate of $66 implies over 10% downside risk over the coming year,” Larkin noted in November.

4Q SEGMENT HIGHLIGHTS
Intermodal transport continues to be the bread and butter for J.B. Hunt comprising two-thirds of the companies total revenue and 79% of the firm’s operating income. J.B. Hunt posted a 13% increase in its intermodal loads during quarter ending Dec. 31, which helped to drive an 11% rise in segment revenue to $915 million. This unit posted operating income of $121.5 million in the quarter, rising 17% from a year ago.

The company said its Eastern network loads increased 17% and transcontinental loads increased 11% compared to the same quarter in 2012. Despite the increased number of loads the revenue per load slid 1.3% from a year ago, most of which was linked to customer rate increases and volatile fuel prices. J.B. Hunt had ended the year with approximately 66,000 units of trailing capacity and approximately 4,100 power units in the dray fleet.

Dedicated Contract Services (DCS) segment revenue increased by 17% to $330 million in the fourth quarter. The increase in revenue resulted from 1,154 net additional revenue producing trucks, mostly due to converting customers’ private fleets, the company said. Productivity (revenue per truck per week) was virtually flat compared with the fourth quarter 2012 due to the higher percentage of customer provided equipment and customer paid fuel in this segment’ book of business. DCS operating income totaled $29.5 million, up 0.5% compared to the same quarter 2012.

J.B. Hunt’s Integrated Capacity Solutions (ICS) segment revenue increased by 13% to $145 million in quarter. This move up is linked to a higher load count and an increase in revenue per load. Revenue grew faster than volume primarily due to a change in freight mix driven by customer demand. That said the segment posted a 24% decline in its operating income for the quarter pocketing $3.5 million. Gross profit margin decreased to 12% in the current period from 14.1% last year. This is partially linked to higher third party carrier rates seen during the quarter. 
Meanwhile the firm said it continues to expand this brokerage division, adding nine more branches and 11% more employees in the past year.


J.B Hunt’s laggard Truck (JBT) segment posted a 19% decline in revenue in the quarter primarily from an 11% reduction in fleet size compared to a year ago. The unit posted $91 million in total revenue in the quarter. The segment reported a 2.7% decreased in rates and 4.6% shorter average length of haul, when compared to a year ago. It’s important to note that the 2012 rates were favorably impacted because of added demand created from Hurricane Sandy relief efforts. At the end of the period, the trucking segment tractor count was 1,857 compared to 2,093 in the fourth quarter 2012, primarily from a reduction in independent contractor capacity. 
The trucking unit incurred an operating loss of $1 million in the quarter compared to operating income of $5.2 million in the same quarter of 2012. 


The previously announced personnel and leadership changes are expected to address and improve tractor utilization, maintenance and customer service issues that have impacted the profitability of JBT.

“We expect to demonstrate operational improvements throughout 2014, but significant financial improvements will become more apparent in 2015,” the firm noted in the release.

BY THE NUMBERS (Year-over-Year)
Gross Revenue
2013: $5.584 billion
2012: $5.054 billion

Net Income
2013: $343.382 million
2012: $310.354 million

Earnings-per-share
2013: $2.87
2012: $2.59

Total Assets
2013: $2.819 billion
2012: $2.464 billion

Net Capital Expenditures
2013: $442.5 million
2012: $369.6 million

Current Liabilities
2013: $712 million
2012: $502 million

Long Term Debt
2013: $458.4 million
2012: $585.3 million

Bentonville-based Collective Bias continues its rapid growth trajectory which again has garnered it national recognition. The local social shopper media firm ranked No. 18 on Forbes' latest list of "America's Most Promising Companies." The 2014 class of 100 privately held, high-growth companies features organizations across a wide number of industries.

In addition to being named to the top 25, Collective Bias co-founder Amy Callahan was recognized as one of 13 female entrepreneurs who helped build companies on this year's list.

The Forbes ranking comes on the heels of a banner growth year for Collective Bias in 2013. The company doubled sales year-over-year and signed major global brands to its roster, including: Nestle, Kraft Foods and T-Mobile. This marks the third consecutive year of at least 100 percent revenue growth for the company.

The firm also expanded Into Europe in 2013, as demand for global social shopper marketing campaigns led Collective Bias to open its first office abroad. Located in London, the new space is the headquarters for European operations, while supporting future expansion in the region.

"When we started Collective Bias (2009) we knew we had a unique vision for how social would transform brand marketing. Yet, I never imagined we'd achieve such success on a global scale," said Amy Callahan, chief operating officer. "Being recognized by Forbes for these breakthroughs is a testament to the creativity and hard work that our people do every day." 

Collective Bias specializes in helping brands create authentic stories that resonate with consumers and motivate them to share their own experiences and make purchases. The firm uses paid bloggers who connect with brands and report their stories via social media sites.

"It is a great honor to be recognized by a respected institution like Forbes," said Bill Sussman, CEO of Collective Bias. "It helps us maintain our focus on delivering top-notch content for our clients while re-writing the book of the modern media company."

Last week Collective Bias announced four new hires to its growing executive management team.

• Charles Shapiro, joined Collective Bias as SVP of sales, from a similar position at Workplace Media. He will lead sales initiatives with marketing agencies.

• Aileen Burke is the firm’s new VP of business development. She was formerly with Valassis and will head up all business development for the Northeast region including many health and beauty and consumer packaged goods firms.

• Dana Verdeja is the director of business development and based in Minneapolis / St. Paul. Verdeja will work with clients and team with partners to proactively create new business opportunities.

• Tom Balla is the director of business development based in Bentonville. He will be focused on entertainment categories.

Walmart U.S. CEO Bill Simon announced Thursday (Jan. 23) a $10 million innovation fund from the retailer and its foundation to spur new U.S. manufacturing commitments that lead to job creation.

Simon joined 280 of the nation’s mayors in Washington, D.C., at the U.S. Conference of Mayors meeting to announce the five-year program and the most recent addition of its suppliers that will provide onshore jobs, Kent Bicycles.

He said Walmart and the Walmart Foundation will fund the $10 million, five-year program and work in collaboration with the U.S. Conference of Mayors for a launch in March. The fund will provide grants to innovators in the manufacturing sector and seeks to create new processes, ideas, and jobs that support America’s growing manufacturing footprint.

“If we want to grow manufacturing and help rebuild America’s middle class, we need the brightest minds in our universities, in our think tanks, and in our towns to tackle obstacles to U.S. manufacturing,” said Simon. “The $10 million fund will identify and award leaders in manufacturing innovation and help us all work together to create opportunity."

In 2013, Wal-Mart announced that it will buy an additional $50 billion in American products over the next decade. Wal-Mart estimates cumulatively over the next decade the investment will total $250 billion. The Boston Consulting Group predicts that this $250 billion investment will create one million jobs, including the jobs in manufacturing and related services.

The initiative has already proven beneficial to Wal-Mart’s home region. Redman & Associates in October announced a $6.5 million investment to relocate its ride-on toy manufacturing business from Shanghai to Northwest Arkansas over the next three years. Redman  operates a sales office in Bentonville that employs 16 people. Moving the manufacturing to Northwest Arkansas was estimated to create 17 jobs the first year, and ramping up to 74 by the time the entire operation comes online in Rogers.

KENT BICYCLES
Kent Bicycles is the latest supplier to move its production back onshore. The Parsippany, N.J.-based firm is relocating some production to Clarendon, S.C., which is expected to be at full capacity by 2016. The South Carolina plant will employ 175 workers, assembling 500,000 bikes annually. Onshore production is expected to begin this fall.

“We look forward to bringing production to South Carolina,” said Arnold Kamler, owner of Kent Bicycles. “Our company moved all manufacturing overseas in 1990 because it was so much more cost effective. When Walmart made its commitment to U.S. manufacturing last year, it opened our eyes to restarting some manufacturing here. We attended Walmart’s August manufacturing summit and were able to focus our efforts quickly and make things happen with South Carolina.”

Simon said those that have already taken the risk to move or expand manufacturing in the U.S. tell him they are experiencing a first-mover advantage of a significant leg-up in terms of market-share and momentum.

Wal-Mart also announced it will host its second U.S. manufacturing summit in Denver, Colo., in August 2014. One focus of the summit will be to connect manufacturers in need of component parts to factories with excess capacity.


“Many factories aren’t operating at full capacity. By working together, we have an opportunity to repurpose or help add production to some of these communities,” said Simon. “This will help rebuild the American supply chain to support U.S. manufacturing and create more jobs.”

2014 SUMMIT
Wal-Mart’s first summit in August 2013 brought together more than 1,500 attendees, including 500 suppliers, 34 states and government officials to discuss opportunities to create jobs, restore communities and drive economic growth.

Wal-Mart has been applauded by state officials for taking the lead in its efforts to rebuild the U.S. manufacturing sector, that has been in steady decline for the past decade. Arkansas officials see the Natural State benefiting from Wal-Mart’s manufacturing agenda.

Among the retailer’s vast supplier network it found that 72% of suppliers believe manufacturing in the U.S. will be result in better cost savings within four years or less.

Simon said 40 different departments at Walmart U.S. are in active discussions with suppliers to move manufacturing back American soil.

The weight of materials shipped by truck grew an estimated 6.2% in 2013, but overall U.S. freight shipments were “mediocre” in 2013 and reflective of “another bumpy year in the recovery.”

The American Trucking Associations’ Truck Tonnage Index was up 0.6% in December after a 4.7% bump in November. For the year, the index is up 6.2% compared to 2012, making it the best year for the index since 1998. Tonnage, as measured by the ATA, increased 2.3% in 2012.

The not-seasonally adjusted index, which represents the real change in tonnage hauled by the fleets, equaled 123 in December, which was 1.4% below the previous month.

“Tonnage ended 2013 on a high note, which fits with many economic indicators as trucking is an excellent reflection of the tangible goods economy,” ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello said in his report. “The final quarter was the strongest we’ve seen in a couple of years, rising 2.2% from the third quarter and 9.1% from a year earlier.” 

Trucking serves as a barometer of the U.S. economy, representing 68.5% of tonnage carried by all modes of domestic freight transportation, including manufactured and retail goods, according to the ATA. Trucks hauled 9.4 billion tons of freight in 2012. Motor carriers collected $642.1 billion, or 80.7% of total revenue earned by all transport modes.
 
Costello, as he has in past reports, said the index gains suggest an economy that is better than some may think.
 
“I’m seeing more broad-based gains now. The improvement is not limited to the tank truck and flatbed sectors like earlier in the year. With manufacturing and consumer spending picking up, coupled with solid volumes from hydraulic fracturing, I look for tonnage to be good in 2014 as well,” Costello said.

Rosalyn Wilson, a supply chain expert and senior business analyst with Vienna, Va.-based Delcan Corp., said freight activity was relatively unremarkable in 2013.

“North American freight activity followed virtually the same path in 2013 as it did in the previous two years, concluding with the typical December falloff,” Wilson wrote in the report prepared for the December Cass Freight Index. “The climate for freight was mediocre throughout 2013, with the average number of monthly freight shipments 0.7 lower than in 2012. Inventories remained high, manufacturing stalled mid‐year, and exports and imports were relatively flat for most of the year. All of this contributed to another bumpy year in the recovery that hasn’t quite gotten there.”

North American shipments in December measured by the Cass Freight Index were down 6.2% compared to November, and were 3.2% below December 2012. December marked the largest monthly decline in 2013 and the third consecutive decline for the Cass index.

Cass uses data from $22 billion in annual freight transactions processed by its information processing division to create the Index. The data comes from a Cass client base of 350 large shippers.

Wilson provided the following observations about 2013 and thoughts on 2014.
• Freight shipment volumes experienced five three‐year lows during 2013, while freight expenditures hit eight three‐year highs.

• Unemployment fell, yet the number of new jobs created averaged below 2012. The number of workers leaving the labor pool has reached near‐historic highs.

• Increased inventory investment, a deceleration in imports, and strengthened state and local government spending were the strongest upward drivers of third quarter GDP. The first two do not drive shipping activity.

• Exports fell in the third quarter and the housing market, which was stronger in 2013, slowed in the fourth quarter. New starts lagged well behind permits issued, and new construction is what will lead to increased freight.

• Manufacturing gained strength for most of the year but at a very modest rate. Although better than 2012, which included several months of contraction, 2013 was still well below pre‐recession production levels.

• Looking forward to 2014 there are some hurdles, but the freight picture should strengthen as the year progresses. Congress is ahead of the budget issue – which had been kicked down the road in November – so another shutdown is unlikely.

• Transportation employment, especially in trucking, has been rising in recent months. Globally, new orders are up, but more for exports to developing countries than to the U.S. or Europe. The market for U.S. goods should strengthen by the second half.

• The high inventory levels are going to be drawn down in 2014, if for no other reason the fact that higher interest rates are going to make them more costly to carry. Consumers still hold the key to completing the recovery, and there are few signs that they feel confident to resume old spending habits.

• The lower labor participation rate plays a big role in the amount of disposable income available for anything but necessities. Many are finding that as their unemployment benefits end they still have few job prospects, so they are joining the ranks of those who are not actively in the labor market.

Simmons First National Corporation said it incurred $4 million associated from the acquisition of Metropolitan National Bank and the subsequent branch consolidations now underway.


The Pine Bluff-based holding company said its core earnings totaled $7.7 million, or 48 cents a share, in the fourth quarter, up 4.7% and 9.1% respectively from the year ago period. The financial institution narrowly missed Wall Street’s 49-cent per share consensus. But, when factoring in the merger costs profits came to $3.8 million, or 23 cents a share.

With the merger costs considered the firm posted net earnings in 2013 of $23.2 million or $1.42 per share.


CEO George Makris Jr. said the bank is pleased the total results for the year and the recent quarter and while the acquisition and efficiency initiatives have and will weigh on profits in the short-term, he believes bank’s the long-term performance will benefit.

“Our focus continues to be improvement in core operating income," Makris said.

Makris said during Thursday’s earnings call the bank expects to take a $3.5 million hit to earnings in the first quarter of 2014 from the closing of 27 branches in combined Northwest Arkansas and Little Rock markets.

“We have identified 28 locations in Central Arkansas and 10 in Northwest Arkansas that will remain open and poised to growth services in those regions,” he said. “I will say the acquisition of Metropolitan went better and smoother than expected, we are set for a March 21 conversion of the branches and that will be the last piece of the merger.” Makris said during the call.

He hinted that the bank would be ready to tackle another deal after that.

SHARE, FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE
Simmons shares closed at $37.05 on Thursday, down 19 cents in light volume. For the past 52 weeks the share price has ranged from a high of $38.54 to a low of $23.16.


During 2013, the firm repurchased approximately 420,000 shares at an average price of $25.89. During the third quarter, the company suspended its stock repurchase program as it worked to absorb the $53.6 million paid (all cash) for Metropolitan National Bank in September.

Simmons reported net income growth of 29.5% in the quarter to $39.6 million. The $9 million year-over-year increase was linked to growth in the loans, earning assets acquired from Metropolitan and higher overall yield margins.


Non-interest expense for the fourth quarter of 2013 was $41.7 million, an increase of $9.5 million compared to the same period in 2012. 


"During the fourth quarter there were $3.7 million in incremental normal operating expenses attributable to our acquisition of Metropolitan National Bank. We also closed one underperforming branch (Bella Vista) during the quarter, incurring one-time costs of $108,000,” Makris said. 


Expense control remains a focus as Simmons continues to search for additional efficiency opportunities, Makris added.

LOAN AND DEPOSIT GROWTH

The pro forma bank reported $2.4 billion in loans on the books at the end of December. Total loans increased 25.1% from the same period in 2012.
 Acquired loans increased by $369 million, net of discounts, while legacy loans (all loans excluding acquired loans) grew $114 million, or 7.0%.

"We are encouraged by the continued growth in our legacy loan portfolio during the fourth quarter. We have had nice loan growth this year, particularly from the new lenders we have attracted in our targeted growth markets. Their production has exceeded our expectations through the end of the year," Makris noted in the release.

He added during the call that he was pleased with the caliber of lenders onboard since the Metropolitan deal saying they were eager and ready to grow production.

 Simmons reported total deposits of $3.7 billion at the end of December, growing $823 million or 28% from the year-ago period. This increase included $850 million acquired from the Metropolitan merger.

ASSET QUALITY

Simmons bank had $27.4 million in set aside for loan losses and loan credit mark of $101.4 million, for a total of $128.8 million in coverage.


Non-performing loans as a percent of total loans were 0.53% at year end. Non-performing assets increased $38.2 million from the previous quarter, to $74.1 million.


Included in the quarter was $42.1 million of acquired other real real estate owned (OREO) from the Metropolitan acquisition. 

For the full year of 2013, the annualized net charge-off ratio, excluding credit cards, was 0.15%, and the annualized credit card charge-off ratio was 1.33%.
 

The Fort Chaffee Redevelopment Authority meeting Thursday (Jan. 23) saw its board of directors approve an extension of Executive Director Ivy Owen's contract as well as approval of a budget that would pay Owen a higher annual salary, therefore eliminating annual performance bonuses that have brought attention to the FCRA.

Owen, whose contract will now run through Aug. 31, 2016, had previously been awarded a bonus of $25,000 in both December 2013 and December 2012. During the Dec. 18, 2013, meeting, which marked Owen's sixth year with the FCRA, he had requested not only the bonus but also a pay raise of 5%, which would have bumped his annual salary from $136,500 to $143,325. The item was tabled by the board until it had completed its annual budget, which passed unanimously Thursday.

Included in the budget was funding for Owen's salary of $161,000, which represents a 17.95% salary bump. But Owen said following the meeting that the increase in salary was not what it initially appeared to be.

"What they talked about doing was instead of giving me a bonus which raises so much public (interest)…it was really a part of my salary, I just deferred it until the end of the year. They put that in my salary now, so I won't get a bonus at the end of the year."

The amount his salary was bumped equals $24,500, an amount just shy of his bonuses for the previous two years.

While Owen did not receive the 5% raise he had requested, he said he is happy with his compensation package provided by FCRA.

"Yes, I'm very happy," he said. "I'll be happy to be here two more years."

Looking to the two year mark and beyond, Owen said there was still a lot of work to be done to fully re-purpose the land that was formerly a part of the U.S. Army's Fort Chaffee military installation for civilian use. And Owen said he wants to be able to see the development of what is now known as Chaffee Crossing through to completion, meaning he is likely to ask for more time at FCRA before hanging his hat.

"I'll probably ask for another two years," he said. "I think probably in four years I'll be ready (to retire). I think I will have an opportunity in four years to accomplish what I want to accomplishment and see what things come to fruition that I think should have come within that period of time. And in four years, I'll probably be ready to slow down a little bit."

One of the projects still on Owen's agenda is finalizing a lease from FCRA to a non-profit made up of members of the authority's Deer Trails Golf Course.

The facility has posted losses the last two years and is projected to lose $45,400 during the first quarter of this year, prior to the lease which should be signed and operational by April 1.

With a lease to the non-profit for $1 each year, Owen said the FCRA would reduce losses at the facility since it would no longer be responsible for property, equipment and building maintenance. The only cost, which is still an known, would be property insurance, Owen said.

FCRA Treasurer Kelly Clark said the five year lease would be a great move for FCRA and club members at Deer Trails.

"When we got it, we viewed it as something that enhanced the property. We sure didn't want it to go away, but in the same respect, we're not in the business to run golf courses, either. They have the expertise, they all got together and wanted to do it. We drafted a lease and they're going to starting running it April 1."

In other business, board members approved updates to the FCRA's master plan.

The desires of Benton County home buyers, Mike Huckabee’s thoughts about the female libido and the financial dance between Wal-Mart and its suppliers are part of the Northwest Arkansas Friday Wire for Jan. 24.

NOTES & ANALYSIS
• On the retail chargeback watch
While the Northwest Arkansas has greatly benefitted from the thousands of suppliers who do business with Bentonville-based Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the relationship between the retail giant and the many vendors is not always warm and friendly.

A small industry has cropped up in recent years to audit the financial give and take between the Wal-Mart number crunchers and vendors who sometimes find themselves on the short end of the crunched numbers. 

This dance will become more interesting as Wal-Mart moves to influence and respond to the global retail dynamic that often sees the narrowing of margins place pressures on relationships. It may not always be pretty, but it’s a dance we plan to watch and study.

• Recovery (finally) for Arkansas’ real estate market 
It’s been more than six years since the bubble burst on Arkansas’ real estate market, but figures from Arkansas’ four largest metro areas suggest the industry found its legs again in 2013.

The number of homes sold in Arkansas’ four largest metro areas totaled 20,644 during 2013, the first time since 2007 that the tally topped 20,000 and the value of the homes sold in the four markets topped $3 billion. The gains were healthy in all four markets, according to The City Wire’s Arkansas Home Sales Report. During 2013, the number of homes sold in central Arkansas are up 10.44%, up 12.89% in the Jonesboro area, up 17.98% in Northwest Arkansas, and up 7.36% in the Fort Smith area.

The healthy pace of sales may be tough to maintain in 2014 with interest rates expected to rise in 2014 and ongoing concerns about the stability of the U.S. economy. And even if the pace continues, home values may plateau, especially if interest rates rise throughout the year.

ICYMI
Following are a few stories posted this week on The City Wire that we hope you didn’t miss. But in case you missed it ...

• The construction report
Home builders and others employed in the local construction industry can easily sum up 2013 with just two words — steady work.

• The agri report
Agriculture is still king in Arkansas despite being the home of the world’s largest retailer, a robust trucking industry and a quickly evolving start-up sector.

• The health and wellness report
Health and wellness is big business for Wal-Mart’s Stores Inc. garnering roughly $30 billion in sales, which was 11% of the retailer’s total U.S. sales in fiscal 2013. Sales grew 3.8% from the prior year but the retailer is barely scratching the surface of opportunities as there are major shifts underway in this segment.

NUMBERS ON THE WIRE
• 11%: Percentage of respondents in a Kantar Research study who said they had purchased grocery items online in the previous 90 days.

• 50%: Percentage of Arkansas respondents in a recent Talk Business-Hendrix College poll who say Arkansas should provide no legal recognition of a gay couple’s relationship. 24% said gay couples should be allowed to form a civil union, but not legally marry. 21.5% said gay couples should be allowed to legally marry in Arkansas.

• $500 million: Arkansas Farm Bureau estimate of cattle production in the state during 2013.

OUTSIDE THE WIRE
• Mike Huckabee and the female body
Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee on Thursday charged that Democrats are conflating women’s rights with access to birth control. Democrats, Huckabee said, believe women are “helpless” — that they “cannot control their libido or reproductive system without the help of the government.”

• Wal-Mart and the NLRB challenge
A challenge by the U.S. National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to Wal-Mart Stores Inc's treatment of striking workers is likely to become a critical symbol of labor unions' attempts to organize the many non-union workplaces in the United States in the face of stiff resistance from management.

• Thoughts from Arkansas CEOs
If Arkansas businesses were cars, most have been in the “shop” for months now. Well, it’s starting to look like many of them will be taking to the streets the first half of 2014.

WORD ON THE WIRE
“Most buyers want to look at the entire area first, but after seeing the individual towns, schools and factoring in commute time, if they work in Benton County they usually want to live here. They often want to be near the Pinnacle shopping area and they like Bentonville schools.”
– Jerry Dou, a Realtor with Keller Williams, about the real estate market in Northwest Arkansas

“It took the industry a decade to recover that export volume lost in December 2003. The sustained drought and record grain prices of the past couple years also weighed heavy on the beef industry, but barring some weather catastrophe or disease outbreak, 2014 should be better for many Arkansas farmers.”
– Travis Justice, senior economist with the Arkansas Farm Bureau, about the health of Arkansas’ beef industry in 2013

“Other issues that sometimes get a good deal of air time, such as health care, lag dramatically behind economics. The centrality of the economy and jobs as the key issue crosses all demographic and political subsets of Arkansans. The key test for candidates in this political environment is offering a vision of an economic future for the state that resonates with voters.”
–Dr. Jay Barth, professor of political science at Hendrix College, about a Talk Business-Hendrix College poll that suggested 55% of Arkansans believe economy/jobs is the number one issue during the 2014 election cycle

Water park surprises, $20 million in jail money, Mike Huckabee’s thoughts about the female libido, and the financial impact of a “Battle at the Fort” are part of the Jan. 24 Friday Wire for the Fort Smith region.

NOTES & ANALYSIS
• Jail money
Talk about your tough sell. Crawford County Judge John Hall and County Sheriff Ron Brown have the unenviable task of convincing county voters to approve a half-cent sales tax to build a new $20 million jail.

There is no doubt the county has a problem with the existing facility and some sort of fix is necessary. But, if passed, the half-cent bump in the sales tax would make the county's two largest cities, Alma and Van Buren, some of the most heavily taxed communities (in terms of sales tax) in the nation, with a sales tax rate of 10% each.

It will be the fourth time the county has sought a tax to fix the jail system. Judge Hall is hoping the fourth time is the charm. Hall and Brown may need less of a charm and more of a miracle.

• Recovery (finally) for Arkansas’ real estate market 
It’s been more than six years since the bubble burst on Arkansas’ real estate market, but figures from Arkansas’ four largest metro areas suggest the industry found its legs again in 2013.

The number of homes sold in Arkansas’ four largest metro areas totaled 20,644 during 2013, the first time since 2007 that the tally topped 20,000 and the value of the homes sold in the four markets topped $3 billion. The gains were healthy in all four markets, according to The City Wire’s Arkansas Home Sales Report. During 2013, the number of homes sold in central Arkansas are up 10.44%, up 12.89% in the Jonesboro area, up 17.98% in Northwest Arkansas, and up 7.36% in the Fort Smith area.

The healthy pace of sales may be tough to maintain in 2014 with interest rates expected to rise in 2014 and ongoing concerns about the stability of the U.S. economy. And even if the pace continues, home values may plateau, especially if interest rates rise throughout the year.

ICYMI
Following are a few stories posted this week on The City Wire that we hope you didn’t miss. But in case you missed it ...

• Consultant’s ‘extremely high’ water park cost concern withheld
E-mails tell the tale of an attempt to keep information about cost estimates for the Ben Geren Aquatics Center from city and county officials voting on budgets and amenities tied to the contentious aquatics facility being planned and jointly funded by the city of Fort Smith and Sebastian County.

• The agri report
Agriculture is still king in Arkansas despite being the home of the world’s largest retailer, a robust trucking industry and a quickly evolving start-up sector.

• Volleyball money
More events held in the Fort Smith area like the upcoming “Battle at the Fort” volleyball tournament may be needed to improve the area hospitality industry and boost Fort Smith and Van Buren hospitality tax collections.

NUMBERS ON THE WIRE
• $1.3 million: The amount in sales RSVP Event Rentals expects to do in sales during its first year in business. The company was formed by the owners for the now-shuttered Phoenix Expo Center following the transition of the site to an office for Health Management Associates (HMA).

• 50%: Percentage of Arkansas respondents in a recent Talk Business-Hendrix College poll who say Arkansas should provide no legal recognition of a gay couple’s relationship. 24% said gay couples should be allowed to form a civil union, but not legally marry. 21.5% said gay couples should be allowed to legally marry in Arkansas.

• $500 million: Arkansas Farm Bureau estimate of cattle production in the state during 2013.

OUTSIDE THE WIRE
• Mike Huckabee and the female body
Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee on Thursday charged that Democrats are conflating women’s rights with access to birth control. Democrats, Huckabee said, believe women are “helpless” — that they “cannot control their libido or reproductive system without the help of the government."

• Wal-Mart and the NLRB challenge
A challenge by the U.S. National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to Wal-Mart Stores Inc's treatment of striking workers is likely to become a critical symbol of labor unions' attempts to organize the many non-union workplaces in the United States in the face of stiff resistance from management.

• Thoughts from Arkansas CEOs
If Arkansas businesses were cars, most have been in the “shop” for months now. Well, it’s starting to look like many of them will be taking to the streets the first half of 2014.

WORD ON THE WIRE
"The need is out there and it's really sad that they have to attempt to survive on $20 or $30 a month (in SNAP benefits). And it's unfair that they can be deducted $8 because they got a $2 raise. To us, that's a loaf of bread and a gallon of milk. It's terrible that they are eating cat food and dog food for protein."
– Julie Tann, food coordinator and assistant director of The Hope Center in Van Buren, discussing the impacts that cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) have had on clients of her food pantry

"Had I known he wrote that in an e-mail, I would have asked him how he plans on saving $3 or $4 million. But we didn't have that information at that joint meeting."
– Justice of the Peace Shawn Looper during a Sebastian County Quorum Court meeting, the same day The City Wire reported that Fort Smith officials intentionally withheld cost estimates from a consultant, in which he claimed the Ben Geren Aquatics Center could be built for $6 million to $8 million instead of the current budget of $10.9 million

“Other issues that sometimes get a good deal of air time, such as health care, lag dramatically behind economics. The centrality of the economy and jobs as the key issue crosses all demographic and political subsets of Arkansans. The key test for candidates in this political environment is offering a vision of an economic future for the state that resonates with voters.”
–Dr. Jay Barth, professor of political science at Hendrix College, about a Talk Business-Hendrix College poll that suggested 55% of Arkansans believe economy/jobs is the number one issue during the 2014 election cycle

Sam's Club is laying off 2,300 workers as the warehouse club seeks to reduce the level of middle managers. The staff reduction is roughly 2% of Sam's workforce, and is the largest staff reduction by the retailer since 2010.


It is unclear if any of these layoffs will come from the corporate headquarters in Bentonville. The retailer has not returned multiple requests for additional information. 


Bill Durling, a Sam’s Club spokesman, reportedly said the layoffs would target a combination of salaried assistant managers and hourly employees. Certain positions, like telephone attendants, will be eliminated.

“We realized we had pretty much the same club structure whether a club had $50 million in revenue or $100 million in revenue,” Durling said of the distribution of assistant managers. “What we’re trying to do is balance our resources.”

Sam’s Club, operating as division of Wal-Mart Stores Inc. has about 116,000 employees, Durling said, and the job cuts will affect about four employees a store. 
Employees will have 60 paid days to find another job at the company. If they are not successful, they will be eligible for severance.


Sam’s Club will open at least 15 new stores over the course of the next fiscal year, which begins in February.


Last year Wal-Mart Stores recorded sales of $466 billion, and $56.423 billion of that came from Sam’s Club. While Sam’s Club generates 12% of the sales revenue for the corporation, it only represents 7% of the retailer’s bottom line.

Under the direction of CEO Rosalind Brewer, Sam’s Club raised its annual membership fee last year to $45. The rate increase was softened with a coupon book offering $3,500 in savings. The rate increase had the potential to raise revenue by $82 million this year. 

Nearly half of $56 billion in revenue came from membership fees, according to Michael Dastugue, chief financial officer for Sam’s Club. He said in June there had been very little push back from the fee increase.

Analysts said this streamlining effort by Sam's Club is another tale-tell sign of troubles brewing in the retail sector. This announcement is third of its kind since the new year began.

Earlier this week Target announced said it would cut approximately 475 jobs from its corporate headquarters as part of a cost-cutting effort. Target also reduced its earnings guidance for the recent holiday period and through the first half of 2014 as it continues to deal with fallout from the massive security breach that impacted 110 million Target customers.

Last week, J.C. Penney announced 2,000 job cuts and the closure of 33 underperforming stores. This was widely seen as a symptom of that company’s continued struggles after several tumultuous years of flux in its management and its strategy.

Macy’s, often seen as a shining star in the retail sector, also announced it would lay off about 2,500 workers in the coming weeks, despite decent holiday sales results.

Analyst said retailers on the whole saw lackluster holiday sales and continue to battle declining store traffic as they lose share to Amazon and other online retailers.

Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club will report their holiday sales Feb. 20, but the retailer already gave lower guidance at the end of third quarter, before ramping up inventory and advertising for the holiday season. Sam’s Club and Walmart U.S. each suffered from underwhelming same-stores in the past two quarters, and gave guidance from 0% to 2% growth for the balance of the year.

Sam's largest competitor – Costco – continues to set the bar high for the industry in terms of same-store sales growth and customer loyalty. For December Costco reported same-store sales growth of 3%, nearly twice the 1.8% expected by analysts.

Sebastian County Assessor Becky Yandell and Rep. Charlene Fite, R-Van Buren, are the most recent to announce their re-election bid in the 2014 election cycle.

Other area officials to announce a re-election bid include Sebastian County Circuit Clerk Denora Coomer, Sebastian County Sheriff Bill Hollenbeck, and Sebastian County Judge David Hudson.

Also, Rep. Terry Rice, R-Waldron, will challenge Sen. Bruce Holland, R-Greenwood, in the GOP primary for the District 9 Senate seat.

In announcing her re-election bid, Yandell, a Republican who is in her fifth, two-year term, said she and her staff had accomplished much since first entering the assessor's office nearly 10 years ago.

"We put public records online, added online assessing, made interactive GIS maps online, we created a business personal department with field staff to help business owners with their assessments and developed a way to simplify business assessments," she said in a press release. "We reinstated the churches and church properties used for church purposes back to exempt status, prohibited homestead and tax freezes to be removed from homes sold until January of the following year, launched several campaigns to let the public know they are entitled to homestead exemptions and disabled and over 65 tax freezes."

Yandell also highlighted her office's action in reducing the assessed values of properties that sit above the plume of trichloroethylene (TCE) in south Fort Smith. Whirlpool Corporation has admitted to spilling TCE, which the company had used until the 1980s as a degreasing agent. The company is now under a mandatory, supervised cleanup plan as required by the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality.

A member of the Assessors Association Board for the past two years, Yandell serves on the Public Relations Best Practices Committee of the State Assessment Coordination Department, the Executive Board of the Area Agency on Aging and has been awarded the Outstanding Member Award by the International Association of Assessing Officers.

"It has been a great honor and privilege to be able to work for the taxpayers, school systems, cities, and other entities in the county," Yandell said. "It has been an honor to listen to what the taxpayers concerns are. I ask that you will support me once again and vote for me for assessor to continue my work."

A member of Christ the King Catholic Church, Yandell is married and has three daughters and nine grandchildren.

FITE ANNOUNCEMENT
Fite has announced she will run for a second term in the Arkansas House of Representatives.

Fite, a retired educator with the Fort Smith School District, was first elected in 2012 and serves on the House Technology Committee and the Children's Committee for Aging, Children, Youth and Military Affairs, where she serves as vice chairperson.

In announcing her run for re-election, the 63-year-old touted 11 bills for which she was a sponsor — bills that passed both the House and Senate. A press release provided by her campaign detailed her sponsored bills.

"Bills sponsored by Fite include one establishing civil penalties for the crime of stalking; an act providing for licensed qualified interpreters for individuals who are deaf; an act strengthening sentence enhancement for domestic battering; an act concerning the required child maltreatment central registry checks for adoption; an act to provide for extended post-conviction no contact orders for certain criminal offenses; and an act to amend the child maltreatment act."

Fite, whose district includes a large section of western Crawford and Washington Counties, said he was looking forward to continuing her service in the House should she win re-election.

"It has been an honor and privilege to serve the people of District 80 in the Arkansas House of Representatives," she said. "I look forward to working with area and state legislators to make District 80 an excellent place to live and work."

A missionary to Taiwan for eight years, Fite holds a masters degree in education from the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville and has done post-graduate study at Northeastern State University in Tahlequah, Okla., the University of Arkansas and the University of Central Arkansas in Conway.

Results were mixed in 2013 for Arkansas’ regional airports. Enplanements at the Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport (XNA) were up for the second consecutive year, while Fort Smith Regional Airport enplanements were down, ending three consecutive years of gains.

Full year enplanement numbers for the Bill & Hillary Clinton Airport (Little Rock National Airport) were not available as of Jan. 27.

The Fort Smith Regional Airport, which is served by flights from Atlanta and Dallas-Fort Worth, posted December enplanements of 6,766, up 3.3% compared to December 2012.

However, for all of 2013, enplanements at the airport total 84,520, down 2.46% compared to the same period in 2012. And while the decline is an improvement compared to the 7.4% year-over-year decline at the end of the first quarter, it ends three consecutive years of enplanement gains at the airport.

Enplanements at the Fort Smith Regional Airport totaled 86,653 during 2012, just ahead of the 86,234 in 2011, and marked three consecutive years of enplanement gains.

American Airlines continues to be the largest carrier at Fort Smith with 58% of all enplanements during 2013. Enplanements for American totaled 49,041, down 2.99% compared to 2012. Delta enplanements totaled 35,479, down 1.72% compared to 2012.

XNA ACTIVITY
Travelers flying out of XNA during December totaled 44,521, up 5.9% compared to the 42,034 during December 2012. The airport has more than 10 service connections with five carriers. The December traffic increases at XNA and Fort Smith came against thousands of U.S. flight cancellations in early December because of major winter storms.

For all of 2013, XNA enplanements totaled 579,679, up 2.58% compared to the same period in 2012. The enplanement growth has remained stable through the year, with enplanements up 2.42% at the end of the first quarter of 2013.

Enplanements at XNA totaled 565,045 during 2012, up just 0.4% compared to 2011. Although slight, the gain prevented XNA from posting two-consecutive years of enplanement declines.

American Airlines remains the dominant carrier at XNA with around 43% of all enplanements during 2013. Delta is second with around 27% of enplanements followed by United Airline at around 15%.

XNA’s first full year of traffic was 1999, and the airport posted eight consecutive years of enplanement gains before seeing a decline in 2008. It reached a peak of 598,886 in 2007.

LITTLE ROCK, U.S. NUMBERS
Enplanements at the Bill & Hillary Clinton Airport (Little Rock National Airport) were 84,442 in November, down 10.46% compared to November 2012.

Enplanements for the first 11 months of 2013 were 1.002 million, down 5.43% compared to the same period of 2012.

Enplanements in 2012 totaled 1.147 million, up 4.07% compared to 2011. The 2012 numbers ended five consecutive years of enplanement declines at Arkansas’ largest commercial field.

Enplanements in the U.S. for the first 10 months of 2013 – the most recent figures from the federal Bureau of Transportation Statistics – totaled 62.007 million, up 1.76% compared to the same period in 2012.

American Airlines reported systemwide December enplanements of 9.151 million, up 2.2% compared to December 2012. For the year, the airline reported 108.735 million enplanements, up 0.7% compared to 2012.

Delta Air Lines reported system enplanements during December of 13.36 million, up 7.1% compared to December 2012. For the year, enplanements totaled 164.656 million systemwide, just slightly ahead of the 164.591 million during 2012.