Jun 3, 2007

104-year-old Retail Alliance welcomes first female bossBy Carolyn ShapiroHamptonRoads.com

Norfolk – Susan Milhoan estimates that she has visited about 200 retailers, from Williamsburg to the Eastern Shore, since mid-February.

Some have told her about parking problems near their stores. Others talk about the challenges of finding good employees. Most suffer from a lack of free time.

All of them have introduced her to the work that lies ahead.

This month, Milhoan takes over a 104-year-old organization that is entering a new era. Retail Alliance, the sole trade group devoted to Hampton Roads retailers, hired Milhoan as its sixth president and chief executive earlier this year.

“We’ve got to listen,” says Milhoan, 56, who came to the alliance from the helm of the Greater Jackson Chamber of Commerce in Michigan. “If I listen to the retailers, they will tell me what they need.”

For the first time in its history, Retail Alliance has made members a priority. It has a redirected mission to grow its ranks and become an essential flag for local retailers to wave.

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