Retail groups break off merger talks

Two retail trade groups announced Wednesday that they have
ended merger discussions.

The National Retail Federation and the Retail Industry
Leaders Association had been discussing the possibility of merging since April.

{mosads}RILA represents large, big-box retailers. The NRF’s
membership is more diverse.

The statement announcing the decision did not explain why
the talks fell through: “Following a deliberative process, RILA and NRF
have ended discussions aimed at merging the two organizations. NRF and RILA
will devote all resources to continuing the work they are each doing to address
the serious issues that America’s consumers and retailers are facing in
today’s economic environment.”

The National Retail Federation spent $440,000 to lobby
Congress and the administration in the first quarter of this year. RILA spent
$430,000, which was a significant boost over the $290,000 it spent during the
first three months of 2008.