History
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History
In 1903 the Retail Merchants Association of Norfolk, Virginia elected officers and started meeting in the Chamber of Commerce headquarters on Granby Street. In the early years, the officers and members considered programs such as: support of the Jamestown Exposition of 1907 with a model department store on the site; early closings on special holidays like Labor Day and Memorial Day; strategies to lobby the city council on the merchants license tax; and a resolution to prevent "barking," or soliciting of trade on the street. By 1986, the Association had merged with the Retail Merchants Association of Portsmouth, had acquired the Suffolk Credit Bureau, and moved its offices to Poplar Hall Drive in the burgeoning Military highway district of Norfolk. In 2005 a move returns the organization to its downtown Norfolk roots, after selling its building on Poplar Hall Drive and moving to Plume Street in downtown Norfolk, Virginia.
| 2001 |
Equifax approached Retail Alliance with an offer to buy the credit files. After due consideration our Board of Directors accepted that offer. We then accepted Equifax’s offer to become their sales agents in the Hampton Roads market. The sale facilitated further the refocusing of Retail Alliance on our association work. |
| 2004 |
Continuing our strategic plan to get back to our association roots Retail Alliance sold our mortgage reporting operation and Retail Alliance Recovery Services. |
| 2005 |
5755 Poplar Hall Drive was sold. After the sale of our business assets our building on Poplar Hall Drive was much larger than we needed to operate. We found leased space at 500 Plume Street East in downtown Norfolk. |
| 2006 |
Retail Alliance is growing! Since 2005, Retail Alliance has added a new Director of Marketing, Cassandra Hibbard, and three new salespeople, Pat Reese, Carlene Bowers and Jodi Weygand. This year, we welcomed our new President/CEO, Susan Milhoan. Visit our staff page for more information about Susan and the other new staff members and the exciting future they will help shape for the retail industry in Hampton Roads.
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Want to learn more? Visit our Press Room for more information about Retail Alliance in the news, new product and service offerings and legislative victories.
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