10-11-02
RTO Online LANSING — Retail furniture advertising guidelines issued by
the Michigan attorney general's office are badly flawed and should be thrown
out, the Michigan Retailers Association said today.
"The more our members become familiar with these vague and overreaching
guidelines, the more problems they discover," said Larry Meyer, chairman and CEO
of the 5,800-member retail association.
"That's not surprising, because the guidelines are the result of a flawed
process that circumvented procedures which would have ensured widespread
participation from the retail industry and consumers. We need to throw out these
flawed guidelines and start again, this time providing ample opportunity for
everyone to participate in the process."
The guidelines were issued by Attorney General Jennifer Granholm in August.
Their flaws include:
- Although the guidelines were developed in cooperation with the Better
Business Bureau and the Michigan Chapter of the National Home Furnishings
Industry, Meyer branded it "false advertising to claim these guidelines were
developed with the support of the retail industry. The process used by the
attorney general's office cut out most of the retail industry—including MRA,
the nation's largest state retail association."
- Under the state Administrative Procedures Act, the substantive changes
should have been adopted as administrative rules, not merely guidelines. The
difference, Meyer pointed out, is that rulemaking carries the force of law and
requires more widespread participation in the process. Agencies are not to
adopt guidelines in lieu of rules.
- The guidelines unfairly single out the furniture sector of the retail
industry and undermine the reputation of fair and honest merchants.
- The guidelines don't include a definition of furniture retailer, making
them both vague and overreaching.
- The guidelines apply to price marking in the store as well as advertising,
causing fair and honest merchants to bear the expense of remarking thousands
of items in their showrooms.
- The guidelines can actually prevent retailers from advertising special
savings from manufacturers on new lines of merchandise, depriving consumers of
important information when making purchasing decisions.
"The attorney general has authority under the Consumer Protection Act to take
action against any retailer who practices deceptive advertising," said Meyer.
"These guidelines and the way they were adopted are the wrong way to address
problems. MRA is considering legal action to enjoin enforcement of the
guidelines and send them back to the drawing board."
The Michigan Retailers Association is the unified voice of retailing in
Michigan and the nation's largest state trade association of general merchandise
retailers. MRA's more than 5,800 retail business members operate more than
13,000 stores across the state.
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