High Gear February 15, 2017

Posted by Rosalie McCloud on Feb 18, 2017
 

Welcome to High Gear

Golfers everywhere, double the number of vehicles.  All good – still plenty of parking!  Skies a little cloudy, but our room as bright and shiny as the Rotarians who attended.  
 
Uh oh, where is President Stan?  Unknown, MIA.  Past President Barry Parker was singing about Beauty and the Beast into the mic when we arrived, and was a worthy substitute for our missing Stan.
 

Pledge and Invocation

Barry called the meeting to order at 12:15 and Marianne Kristofferson lead the pledge. John Delaney delivered a Pledge for Common Ground:
Today, may I be open to others’ ideas and beliefs, respectful of our differences, not threatened by them.
May I grow in understanding of my own motives, knowing that people often act out of their own fears.
May I be a force for replacing fear and insight helping us all to be patient and kind as we talk.
Strength, real strength, can always find compromise.  Working together, may we find a common ground which will enable us to move forward with a shared purpose.
May we see what is truly important and unites us, focusing on that to banish road blocks of ego and fear.
Today may I be open to others’ ideas and beliefs.
 
Thank you, John.  We’ll think about it.
 
GUESTS AND VISITING ROTARIANS - None observed.

Annoucements

Happy 35th Rotary Anniversary to Pierre Bouquet.  President pro tem Barry Parker invited Pierre to share some of his Rotary history.  Turns out Pierre had a life in the corporate world before his printing business.  An associate invited him to consider joining a new Rotary Club being formed.  Pierre attempted to decline as he could not afford the time at mid-day.  Fortunately, the club met in the evening for dinner, so Pierre became a Rotarian. In those days, his club met in the basement cafeteria of Mills Hospital  (hospital food for Rotary? Nyet!),  They started with nine members, grew to 19, then lost all but a handful.  There was a vote to either make Pierre president of the club or disband the club.  The club was disbanded.
Coleman Coneely was a friend and suggested Pierre join the Burlingame Rotary Club.  Turns out Burlingame Rotary is the SPCA of Rotary clubs– we take wandering Rotarians in.  Got some good ones, too!
For 25 years in our club, Pierre has enjoyed meeting new people and making good friends.  Our thanks to Coleman and lucky for us!  Congratulations, Pierre.  Good wishes to Joyce.

Newscast/Fun Master

Funmaster Fritz introduced a new game:  Two Truths and a Lie.  Jennifer Pence agreed to play.  Basically, the player states two truths and a lie.  The audience tries to figure out which of the three is a lie.  We were wrong.
  1. After high school, Jennifer worked at Baskin Robbins.
  2. Jennifer had a psych class where she only attended once.
  3. After Harvard, Jennifer worked in Risk Management (Harvard?)
We learned that Jennifer worked in Manhattan – 55th and Fifth Avenue, no less.  Yet, She looks like she could easily be seen working at Baskin Robbins today.  She followed a beau to San Francisco and worked on her New York job from home here in God’s Country. She immediately broke up with the guy, lost her commuter job, but met Adam, the love of her life.
The Rotarians guessed incorrectly.  The first item is untrue. This game has possibilities. Barry suggested Fritz sit down and have a cookie.

Program

Our program today was delivered by our own Marc Friedman.  Another accomplished Burlingame Rotarian updating us on retail marketing.
Marc is currently a senior consultant with McMillan Doolittle LLP, specializing in due diligence studies of potential retail acquisitions and strategy consulting for retailers.  Further, he is a visiting professor at Keller Graduate School of Management, teaching graduate-level courses in marketing, economics, finance, and general business management. 
Marc is a member of the San Mateo Union High School Board of Trustees, having served as its president in 2015.  Marc also serves as Vice President of the San Mateo County School Boards Association.
Marc earned an MBA in finance at University of Chicago, an MA in Applied Economics, Catholic University of Louvain, Belgium, and a BA in sociology, also at University of Chicago.
Marc’s wife, Madalyn, is head of marketing for the American Licorice Company.  Daughter Rebecca works in San Francisco and daughter Cara is in college in Los Angeles.
Marc discussed Economic Factors that affect the retail sector. Confidence in the United States is stable (as regards retail anyway); unemployment has declined steadily since 2007 at 10%, now 4.8%  There has not been an economic recession in eight years.Retail sales (including online sales) were four trillion in 2012, 4.4 trillion in 2016.  Auto sales not included; in a class of their own.
Retail sales growth has slowed since 2,000. National GDP growth modest, California compared to U.S.  In 2016, U.S. growth was 1.6% versus 3.3 for California.  In 2015, U.S. GDP was 2.6 versus California at 4.1%.  If we considered the Bay Area alone, the GDP would probably be six or seven percent.
Growth is slower in the East, where thy have tried to diversify.  Closed retail in the West is turned into business and housing; in the east, failed stores are simply shuttered.
Big Box stores such as office supply warehouses, Best Buy, and Bed, Bath, and Beyond have suffered from strong movement to online sales.  Online sales are growing at the rate of 15% to 17% per year.
Amazon wants to own your household.  Their sales volume has increased 1,095%.  They offer Prime which pays your annual shipping for a membership fee of $100/year.  This is extremely popular and enables straight-across price comparison for the shopper.  Analyses have determined that there can be no profitability for Amazon offering free shipping, but they are succeeding in spite of the analysts!  Membership fees add up.  Costco derives their entire profit from membership fees.
Online sales volume has Amazon at #1, WalMart at #2, Target at #3.  WalMart is operating heavily in Europe, which accounts for a good portion of their volume. Factoid:  Tesla is an online retailer.  No, Amazon does not stock or ship Teslas – yet!
Thanks, Marc!   When you find the next Amazon, let us know.
 
 
 
      February 22 - City Manager Lisa Goldman an staff
March 1 - Offsite meeting at The Candy Store, 1021 Burlingame Avenue, across from the east side of the train station.  Lust after gorgeous vehicles and hear a presentation on collectibles by Timothy P. McCrane.  Boxed lunches from Copenhagen!
March 8 - Poplar Creek for presentation on Rotary International project in Puno, Peru, by Bob Roberts of Rotary Club of Mill Valley 
March 15 - Beware the Ides of March.
 
Happy Birthday February 22 to Dr. Paul Nieberding.      
 
Check our website at http://burlingamerotary.org/ to check who will be speaking at each meeting, and bring your friends.