Inside East Valley Business

Nearly 60 percent of Americans reported having less money this year to spend on summer vacations, according to a new survey.

Zogby International, a New York-based opinion pollster, and America On Line Travel, an online provider of discounted airfare, released survey results showing 57 percent of Americans say they have less money to take a trip this year compared to 2007.

“Due to the challenging economic outlook, rising fuel prices and the declining U.S. dollar abroad, money is tight for some and our survey shows that one-third of Americans are in fact changing how they travel just to save on costs,” said Jim Kovarik, AOL Travel’s general manager. “Despite this, Americans won’t forgo their summer vacations.”

Apparently, some consumers just couldn’t wait to spend their tax rebate checks from the federal government – even before they received them, a retail industry report said.

Sales increased last week .9 percent – a week before tax payers began receiving checks aimed at jump-starting the ailing economy, said a report from the Washington D.C.-based International Council of Shopping Centers. The group said sales jumped 1.9 percent over the same period last year.

The group blames unseasonably cold weather in parts of the nation and spiking gas prices for a slump in retail sales recently.

“Consumers continue to face very difficult economic conditions with record high gasoline prices curbing discretionary spending,” said ICSC chief economist and director of research, Michael P. Niemira, in a press release. “But the one bright spot is the federal tax rebates—which are just now beginning to flow to consumers—should help to stem some of the weakness seen earlier this year.

Krispy Kreme Doughnuts officials are offering a lifetime supply of free glazed doughnuts to anyone who can prove they are the chain’s top fan.

The stunt is aimed to market the company’s second foray into the Valley after its abrupt departure from the state nearly two years ago. The company closed its eight Arizona locations — three of which were in the East Valley — in late 2006 after the franchise owner filed for bankruptcy protection and left as many 320 workers jobless.

The first grand re-opening is set for May 13 at a previously shuttered Krispy Kreme store near Superstition Springs Center at Power Road and U.S. 60. Franchise owner Dan Brinton said he’s planning to open five more doughnut shops in Tempe, Scottsdale, Chandler and Surprise over the next two years.

“The ‘Arizona’s No. 1 Krispy Kreme Fan’ contest is a fun way to include the community and re-create brand awareness,” Brinton said in a press release.
Doughnut lovers can enter the contest, which lasts until May 7, by posting a video of themselves on the Web site YouTube.com explaining why they are the brand’s biggest fan. Officials said they will announce the winner May 9.

For more information, call (480) 325-6789.

AAA Arizona has some suggestions for drivers facing the shattering fuel prices  at the pump.

“There are several ways motorists can curb their fuel consumption and maximize their fuel efficiency to lessen the pinch of current pump prices,” said Linda Gorman, public affairs manager for AAA Arizona. Print these out and put them on your sun visor:

* Carpool, telecommute, ride share or use public transportation when possible. Alternative modes of transportation just one day a week can curb fuel consumption by as much as 20 percent.

* Keep your eyes open for low fuel prices, but don’t waste gas driving to a distant station to save a few cents. For the cheapest gas in your neighborhood, log on to www.aaaaz.com/news and click on “Fuel Price Finder.”

* When planning a vacation, budget your fuel costs in advance by visiting AAA’s Fuel Cost Calculator at www.fuelcostcalculator.com.

* If you are going somewhere new, get directions first from an online source such as AAA TripTik. Getting lost wastes gas.

* Keep up your vehicle maintenance. A simple measure such as keeping tires properly inflated can increase gas mileage by as much as two percent.

* Follow the speed limit. Driving 75 mph instead of 65 mph will lower your fuel economy by 10 percent. Driving 70 mph instead of 55 mph will lower it by 17 percent.

* Travel light. Less weight means better mileage and heavier vehicles uses more gasoline.

* Buy at the right time of day. Gas is sold by volume, which expands and contracts given the ambient temperature. By filling your tank during the cooler parts of the day (early morning or late evening) you will be getting more volume per gallon.

Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market, a chain of small grocery stores that recently opened in the Valley, is exceeding sales expectations set by its parent company – United Kingdom’s Tesco grocery store chain.
However, company officials said Fresh & Easy, which so far only operates stores in Arizona, California and Nevada, is operating at a loss due to start up costs like real estate acquisition, construction and staff recruitment. However, a company spokesman, said officials expect those losses to dissipate as the chain reaches build-out and customers become more familiar with the Fresh & Easy brand.
A company press release, chock full of British verbiage and expressions, says customer response to the new stores has surprised them.
“Whilst it is still early days, the response of customers to our offer has surpassed our expectations – with our research regularly confirming that they like the quality and freshness of our ranges, as well as the prices and the convenient locations of the stores.”
Officials said sales per square foot are higher than the supermarket industry average in the United States, “with our best stores exceeding $20 per square foot per week.”

Shoppers arrive at a recently constructed Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market at the northwest corner of Alma School Road and University Drive in Mesa.

The Kmart corporation is marketing what its officials call the first-ever Hispanic apparel brand.
Limon y Sal is a clothing line “designed by Latinos for Latinos,” according to a company press release.
Officials said the clothing “blends the bold vivid styles and provocative flavors of Hispanic culture.”
The clothing includes “witty one-liner” t-shirts, sweatshirts and shorts among other apparel.

The huge $500 million windfall from Super Bowl XLII may help the Arizona Super Bowl Host Committee sell Valley backers on financing the next one, said Mike Kennedy, committee chairman.
The bid for the 2012 game is in. The group gets to pitch it in person to the NFL next week in New York. We’ll know in late May if they sold it well.
But if the Valley gets the nod, persuading local businesses and municipalities it’s worth the investment — $17 million for Super Bowl XLII, something more than that for a future event — is next on the committee’s agenda.
The big boost for local businesses — 25 percent more than anticipated — should help loosen pursestrings.
“Going forward this is something we’ll want to tout,” Kennedy said. “It was the highest ever (Super Bowl economic impact). A half-billion dollars — that kind of payday is not easy to come by.”
Besides money, the committee needs hotel rooms.
Valley hoteliers will have to agree to save 19,000 of them for four days to house Super Bowl teams, sponsors, organizers and fans.
A week ago, Valley Hotel and Resort Association CEO Debbie Johnson said 15,000 have been committed and getting the remainder shouldn’t be a problem.
The Valley currently has more than 53,000 hotel rooms and another 4,000 to 5,000 are under construction or planned to be before 2012.
Some hoteliers thought they should get higher prices for rooms during the last Super Bowl, but were restricted by the NFL’s contract limiting them to typical high season rates.
Johnson said that issue will be addressed if the Valley lands a future game.

A Phoenix-based software company is offering a feature with its Web conferencing software that calculates the carbon dioxide savings of each Web conference.

The so-called “Green Meter” by iLinc uses a mathematical algorithm to detect the locations of people who are participating in a Web conference and measures the distance between the participants and the meeting leader – calculating the amount of travel eliminated and measuring the amount of CO2 saved. The program recognizes what means of travel would commonly be used for the distance (car, small aircraft, large aircraft, etc.) and figures the CO2 savings and associated environmental and financial savings.

iLinc President James M. Powers Jr. claimed he got the idea for the Green Meter during a lunch meeting with Al Gore.

“I had what you might call an ‘aha’ moment,” Powers said, adding that “we know there is a direct connection between Web conferencing software and environmental sustainability.”

According to the company, the state of Arizona saved about 300,000 pounds of carbon emissions in the first quarter of 2008 alone by Web conferencing, as calculated by the Green Meter.

The meter does not factor in any increased consumption of electricity related to the Web conference, but a company spokeswoman said the software is used primarily by organizations that would likely have their computers operating anyway. 

It’s good to see that military life isn’t all stress, combat and hard work.

ProLink Solutions, a Chandler-based producer of golf course GPS systems, said Tuesday that it has received a $3.7 million contract from the U.S. Air Force to install its technology at seven Air Force base golf courses in the Pacific region.

The bases are Andersen AFB Guam, Elmendorf AFB Alaska, Hickam AFB Hawaii, Kadena AB Japan, Misawa AB Japan, Osan AB Korea and Yokota AB Japan.

.The GPS systems, which include a display screen attached to the golfer’s cart, show distances to holes and graphics of fairways and hazards. The company said they aid club selection and increase speed of play.

The Navy’s Morale, Welfare and Recreation Department operates about 200 courses for the Department of Defense in every state and at more than 40 courses in foreign countries. The department said golf courses are among the top 10 quality-of-life perks for military members.

According to ProLink, Alaska boasts four military courses that are open virtually around the clock in the summer and are known for their mid-winter tournaments during which player use orange balls and scan the horizon for moose.

The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers said Monday they have reached a tentative agreement with US Airways covering 40 maintenance training specialists.

The training specialists are the third IAM- represented group to reach contract terms with the Tempe-based carrier. The airline’s 7,100 baggage handlers are currently voting on a tentative agreement while 3,300 mechanics have ratified their agreement, the union said.

The latest agreement would bring US Airways and former America West maintenance training instructors under the same contract and wage scale for the first times since the merger of the two carriers in September 2005, the union said.

A voting schedule for the instructors is being prepared.