Retailers Ready For Spring, Hope Business Warms Up
It’s spring break for most area public schools, making this a popular vacation week.
It’s also a good time to check the economic pulse.
Local retailers hope to capitalize on pre-Easter sales as shoppers replace their winter wardrobe.
Hardware stores also should benefit from warmer weather as thousands of homeowners venture into their yards to till garden and flower beds and brighten up their landscape.
In addition, the nation’s largest retailers and Detroit automakers both will announce sales figures for March, providing another barometer of the economy.
In other events this week:
Today
Principal Financial Group’s Spokane Pension Center officially opens for business, inaugurating the company’s first pension office outside of its Iowa headquarters. Officials say the company initially will start with 15 employees who transferred from Iowa, but will add 10 local workers on April 17. The center, which is located on the third floor of the Rock Pointe Tower, should employ 50 people by year-end.
Miles Inc., 3525 N. Regal, holds an 11 a.m. ceremony to mark the changing of its name to Bayer Corp.
The Spokane Restaurant & Hospitality Association spring quarter evening classes in hotel and restaurant management begin this week. Call 533-7337 or 533-7346.
Tuesday
Gov. Phil Batt speaks at 7:30 a.m. to the Coeur d’Alene Area Chamber of Commerce at the Coeur d’Alene Resort. Tickets: $7.50. Call Stacy Becker, 208-664-3194.
The Spokane Home Builders Association holds a mini-trade show at 5-9 p.m. at the Red Lion Inn on Sullivan Road in the Valley.
ISO 9000 overview at the Applied Technology Center, 3939 N. Regal. The workshop runs from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Cost: $100. Call 533-4712 or 533-3448.
Commerce Department issues construction spending report for February.
Wednesday
Bill Marvin, the “restaurant doctor,” conducts a seminar on “What Every Service Pro Should Know About People” for the Spokane restaurant association at 9 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. at the Red Lion Motor Inn. Cost: $15 per person. Call 467-7744.
Thursday
Richard Conway Jr., a Seattle economist and member of the Governor’s Council of Economic Advisors, speaks about the future of manufacturing to the Spokane Rotary at noon at the WestCoast Ridpath Hotel. Call Dennis Fiess, 459-4108.
Friday
Dr. Alfie Alvarado Ramos, superintendent of the Soldiers Home and Colony in Yakima, speaks at 11:30 a.m. to the Hispanic Business/Professional Association in Spokane. The meeting will be held at Cavanaughs on Fourth Street. Call Michelle Maher at 891-0625.
Washington State Ratite Association annual meeting opens at the Four Seasons Inn in East Wenatchee, continuing through Saturday. Call 509-684-3124.
Labor Department issues unemployment report for March.
xxxx On the shelf Forbes, April 10: In an interview with Forbes, former Micron CEO Joe Parkinson says he no longer speaks to major shareholder J.R. Simplot, and is selling Micron stock short. Business Week, April 3: Analyzes Alex Trotman’s global strategy at Ford Motor Co. R&R hot spots Best vacation-home markets, as ranked by U.S. News & World Report: 1. McCall, Idaho 2. Dingman’s Ferry/Milford, Pa. 3. Ruidoso, N.M. 4. Kimberling City, Mo. 5. Lincoln City, Ore. 6. Brevard, N.C. 7. Eufaula, Ala.