Fairfield County Business Journal 030716

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FAIRFIELD COUNTY

BUSINESS JOURNAL March 7, 2016 | VOL. 52, No. 10

4 | TESLA MEETS RESISTANCE

15 | FAMILY-OWNED BUSINESS AWARDS

YOUR ONLY SOURCE FOR REGIONAL BUSINESS NEWS

westfaironline.com

First Walmart Supercenter in county draws praise, critics BY REECE ALVAREZ ralvarez@westfairinc.com

T BUILDING ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIES ▶

SEE PAGE 3

Women’s Business Development Council President and CEO Fran Pastore with students from Addis Ababa University, each with a three-tier desktop bank donated by WBDC client, e-retailer Sugar Lulu.

ACA compliance has companies scrambling SURVEY SEES POTENTIAL FOR MORE HIGH-DEDUCTIBLE PLANS

BY BILL FALLON bfallon@westfairinc.com WELLS FARGO INSURANCE CONDUCTED ITS second “Employee Benefits Trend Study” and found a majority expressing trepidation about the health care landscape ahead. The regional picture, owing to the built-in expenses associated with Westchester and Fairfield counties, offers

an additional red flag for the 2020 socalled “Cadillac Tax,” which does not make allowances for regional variables. The company’s national practice leader for its employee benefits resource group, Mike Mascolo, said from his New Jersey office the data are part of a trend to lower employer costs and to shift health care responsibility to the employee.

“There are strong indicators that employers are struggling with the cost of benefits and are trying to shift those costs,” Mascolo said. The study examined how middlemarket companies and large corporations are responding to health care reform requirements, while at the same time they » ACA, page 6

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he developer of the first Walmart Supercenter in Fairfield County is nearly ready to begin construction in Monroe, bringing with it the promise of jobs and tax revenue, as well as the same criticism that has shadowed the retailer as it built stores nationwide. “Anytime with any big box stores unfortunately, it will knock out the smaller businesses that have built a town like Monroe,” First Selectman Stephen J. Vavrek said. “I’m not going to say if it is good or bad, it is just a sign of growth in a small town.” Vavrek acknowledged that while Monroe businesses have been hurt by national and regional chains that have opened in nearby Trumbull, Monroe’s tight-knit group of small-to medium-size businesses have maintained their presence with a loyal customer base. “While it may hurt initially, people who don’t want to shop at big box stores don’t have to,” he said. “I look at the positive, what it can bring.” According to Vavrek, the Kimball Group, the Monroe developer building the 150,000-squarefoot supercenter, has indicated that there is significant interest by other retailers to join Walmart on Victoria Road at Kimball’s ongoing development; the Shops at Victoria Place — but only after Walmart has been established as an anchor store. Phillip Keene, Walmart’s Northeast director of communications, expects the store to hire about 300 employees and to open by the middle of 2017. Vavrek estimate the new store will generate jobs and more opportunity for the community in addition to $600,000 in tax revenue for the town. But not all Monroe residents are eager to see the type of growth Walmart and Vavrek are anticipating. An online petition and Facebook group “Keep Walmart out of Monroe” has been challenging the supercenter, claiming the big box » WALMART, page 6


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