Hartford Business Journal

www.HartfordBusiness.com May 11, 2015 • Hartford Business Journal 15 BOSTON HARTFORD NEW HAVEN STAMFORD WOBURN MURTHA CUlliNA llP ATTORNEyS AT lAW MURTHAlAW.COM COMMERCiAl lENDiNG (Asset Based/Real Estate and SBA loans) lABOR AND EMPlOyMENT COUNSEl FOR COMMUNiTy BANKS lOAN WORK OUTS AND RESTRUCTURiNG liTiGATiON iNDUSTRy iNSiGHT THE COMMUNiTy BANKiNG GROUP CONTACTS: Scott M. Gerard sgerard@murthalaw.com 203.653.5439 Alena C. Gfeller agfeller@murthalaw.com 860.240.6145 349 Main Street - RT 190 - Somers CT | www.SonnysPlace.com Make your next company outing a full day of fun they'll talk about all year. Our Pavilion provides seating for 20 – 500+ with full catering services and bar. Our attractions like Go-Karts, Zipline, Mini-Golf, Batting Cages, Rock Wall and Arcade will keep everyone in your group entertained and engaged. Call today to book your outing: 860-763-5454 500 Smiles Per Hour Your people work well together – Sonny's lets them play together, too FREE gap. Last year, Connecticut imported nearly $8 billion more in goods and services than it exported, according to federal data. The biggest impact of the strong dol- lar for Connecticut companies large and small is from Europe, Gioia said, which along with Canada and Mexico is a top Connecticut trading partner. The Euro has fallen 9 percent against the dollar since the start of the year and more than 20 percent from a year ago. That means Connecticut exporters — many of which already have modest mar- gins — must contend with European com- petitors that can offer discounted prices without changing a thing. "It's rare that a [domestic] company can absorb a discount," Gioia said. "It's practi- cally unheard of." A CBIA survey set for release later this month could shed more light on area man- ufacturers' concerns, Gioia said. Specialization advantages Anne S. Evans, district director for the U.S. International Trade Administration's Connecticut office in Middletown, said that some companies here are shielded from currency impacts because they make specialized products that don't have direct rivals, or because they only accept dollars for their products. Evans said she recently canvassed a dozen or so private manufacturers — many of them in the aerospace sector — who reported to her that customers have been grumbling about prices but that there hadn't yet been any significant sales impact. But Rocco Piccirillo, vice president of operations at Hartford hair and skin prod- ucts distributor Beauty Enterprises Inc., blames the stronger dollar for a recent and rare decline in sales at his company. Approximately 30 percent of Beauty Enterprise's sales are exports, many of which go to Nigeria, Europe and Dubai. Exports have been a fast-growing seg- ment for the company, but the rise of the dollar has hurt in recent months. "This is the first quarter in 41 years I can remember being down, and it's pretty substantial," Piccirillo said. Overseas customers get used to paying a certain price, so some have been letting their inventories dwindle while the dollar remains high, he said. Piccirillo said low oil prices and Nige- ria's recent election — which ousted its first Democratic president since 1999 — have also hurt sales in that country. Beauty Enterprises has turned to the U.S. Export-Import Bank to provide credit to some customers so that they may contin- ue to buy. Piccirillo said he is also hopeful that things calm down in Nigeria and that customers will increase their purchasing. Though the stronger dollar is hurting sales and may lead to reduced spending, there could be a silver lining, said Mar- cum's Cole. "Some companies are focusing on the U.S. as a bigger and more important source of revenues and profit," said Cole, adding that one of his clients is looking for a U.S. acquisi- tion because its management is wary of being overly reliant on the weakening Euro. n

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