Retail Entrepreneur And 36 Lyn Refuel Station Owner Lonnie McQuirter Selected As 2018 Board Chair

	2018 Board Chair Lonnie McQuirter (photo from Right Now Enterprises)

Lonnie McQuirter has been elected chair of the Minnesota Retailers Association (MnRA). In late January the Board of Directors gathered and selected McQuirter to lead the organization representing 1,200 retail stores.

The volunteer leadership role is for one year and encompasses leading a group of 28 Board members from across the state and a staff focused on growing Minnesota's retail economy and jobs.

McQuirter operates 36 Lyn Refuel Station, a convenience store based in south Minneapolis.

36 Lyn is focused on providing customers with local and better-for-you-items delivered in a convenience setting. Last year 36 Lyn was honored with Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal's Fast50 award as and Inc. magazine's Inc. 5000 as a top Minnesota company.

McQuirter is optimistic about the overall retail environment, saying " Broadly speaking, as retailers we know what headwinds we're facing, and we are adapting to the shifts taking place in the economy. 2018 is more about reminding people of the importance of our growing industry and all the opportunities involved."

McQuirter succeeds Grand Jeté small business owner Ruthena Fink. " We are excited to have Lonnie and his love of community help guide the Association in a time when retailers are revitalizing their in-store and online experiences," said MnRA staff president Bruce Nustad. " And we thank Ruthena for her inspired leadership throughout 2017."

Minnesota Income Tax And The Super Bowl
"Winning the Super Bowl confers glory, prize money - and, this year, a hefty tax bill from the state of Minnesota.

The prize money NFL players earn for playing in Super Bowl LII is relatively modest, at least by the standards of professional sports salaries. Each player on the winning team - that is, the Eagles - takes home an extra $112,000 bonus, and everyone on the defeated Patriots gets an extra $56,000. This prize money is the same for everyone, from the star quarterbacks to the place kickers.

And when it comes to federal taxes, the Super Bowl winners are likely to get a break this year. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act lowered the top marginal tax rate to 37% from 39.6%, and raised the threshold at which it kicks in to $500,000 from $426,700. The average NFL player makes about $1.9 million a year, so let's assume that most football pros are in the top tax bracket. For the Super Bowl winners, that's a tax bill of more than $41,000 on the prize money, down from what would have been about $44,000 under the old tax rules.

The Super Bowl winners will also owe state taxes, however. And that's where things get tricky.

This year's Super Bowl was played in Minnesota, which taxes wages at 9.85% - among the highest state income tax rates in the U.S.

And Minnesota taxes more than just the Super Bowl prize money. To figure how much they owe to Minnesota, the players on both teams will have to record the total number of days they work in 2018, as well as the fraction of those days that they spent working in Minnesota."

Study: Americans Favor YouTube, Facebook For Watching Video
"Marketers simply cannot afford to ignore video advertising. eMarketer predicts that video ad spending in the US alone will reach $15.42 billion this year, and will grow to $22.18 billion by 2021.

New research from artificial intelligence-powered video creation service Wibbitz provides some insight into which social media platforms video advertisers should be paying attention to-and it's pretty much what you would expect.

The firm's December survey of US internet users found that nearly three-quarters (73.9%) used Google's video juggernaut YouTube-or Vimeo-to watch video content. It's probably safe to assume that Vimeo accounted for a small portion of viewers, given that the platform caters almost exclusively to professional content creators (or those aspiring to become professionals) with videos boasting high-end production values.

Facebook was close behind, used by about six in 10 respondents, while roughly one-quarter tuned in to video on Instagram."

Less Selection Will Define Retail In 2018
"Less selection and higher quality are emerging as differentiators for smaller brands entering a crowded retail market that has many consumers seeking a curated product offering that cuts through the "paradox of choice," according to research from Canadian retail tech firm Hubba, which connects retailers with brands. Hubba's findings are based on interviews with 595 U.S. small businesses.

Hubba's researchers, in their report, "The Curated Future: Why less selection, not more, will be the defining retail trend in 2018," split consumers into "savers" (those who seek out the lowest prices on commodity products) and "selectionists" (those who seek "unique and higher quality products"), and conclude that this year will be a period of smaller brands working to appeal to the choosier shoppers.

From 2011-2015, smaller brands already shifted some $18 billion from their larger, more established competitors. For example, small brands account for almost 50% of all retail grocery dollars spent in food and beverage alone today, according to the report. It's not just grocery. Small brands with annual sales of less than $1 billion are outperforming their competition in 18 of the top 25 categories, Hubba said."

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