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Committee will be eratine budget. All 1994 budget presented bli¢ hearings (see below to attend any or all of and 7:00 p.m vices, 570â€"0300, ; before each mecting. ie Board. Speakers art Please call 570â€"0300, not able to attend a ions" and addressed 85 hedule * 886â€"2810 ver & Gift Shop » $249 «. $998 hearings (see below Elain V. F. Chairperson of the .LI I may just start snipping coupons. New consumer products are on their way to the market. A revâ€" olutionary new clothes dryer is expected to be commercially availâ€" able in 1996. ; It‘s a microwave. According to Electric Power Research Institute in California, the dryer is faster and more efficient than the standard dryers. It‘s about 25 per cent more efficient than the dryer in your launâ€" dry room. It dries at a lower temperature and that means shrinkâ€" age and fabric wear will be reduced. Because the microwave dryer targets the water rather than the clothes, there‘s less wear and tear on the fabric. This also means that some fabrics which now require dry cleaning will be able to withstand dryers. j Over $1 million has been spent on this project. Testing will begin in June and the Institute is looking for a manufacturer. ‘The estimated retail price is expected to be less than $1,000. *# # If you use your VCR to tape programs and then zap through the commercials, there‘s a new product coming out for you. It‘s called Commercial Free. Using a special videocassette the system automatically eliminates commercials from your tape. Developed by Invention Management Associates of California, the product is expected to be incorporated in VCRs by 1996. The cost will be less than $100. That‘s not much to get rid of commerâ€" cials. If you can‘t wait until 1996, the device will be manufactured this May as an add on to your VCR. The manufacturer is Arista Technologies and the product will be called "Commercial Break". Gambling is now considered as "entertainment" and viewed as year than attended major league baseball games. With the growing interest in gambling here in Ontario, we can expect that this new pastime will also be a Canadian one: T was grocery shopping in Buffalo last week. In the cereal aisle, You know the machines â€" light flashes to get your attention and then ‘a coupon appears and offers you 50 cents off a package of Samtur is. Susan is "the coupon queen". She has written several books, including "Cashing in at the Checkout" and "The Super Coupon Shopping System‘" that tell you how to save money using coupons. Samtur and her husband publish "Refundle Bundle", an American newsletter about coupon savings. Samtur has been using coupons for 20 years and usually cuts her grocery bill in half. She originally began just to make ends meet but over the years she has set up a system of couponâ€"ollectâ€" ing that we should all copy. Manufacturers publish coupons to encourage consumers to try new products and to remain loyal to established products. Over the years the average coupon value has increased. From 15 cents in the 1970s the average value is now about 60 cents. Butiit‘s not just the coupons you use at the checkout counter that save.you money. The ones you mail in for a rebate cheque are even more valuable. Mrs. Samtur averages $80 in rebate cheques a month, Over the last 20 years she has saved $35,000 this way. The money is being used for her son‘s college education. Coupon clipping means big savings I am not a coupon shopper. I‘m not that organized. But Susan # # # Last week‘s Federal Budget seemed to draw criticism from both _ levels remain at 53.2% for interest income, 35% for dividends A weekly series from Brian Vickers, Midland Walwyn. Retailer of the Year "To maintain the market share I felt that we had to expand. At first we never saw a need to open in a mall, but you have to go where the customers are. And if you look at my location (across from the food court) you‘ll see I‘m in a high traffic area." Although there are more than 100 Sam The Record Man stores in Canada, the most famous is the original started in the 1950s on College Street in Toronto. The Church of the ‘70s, Zurbrigg considers himself lucky to be in a business that he just naturally loves. "I feel very fortunate to take a love (music) and put it into a business. As for winning the award, it says a lot for my staff. This is such a young award with very little history, but my staff faced the mystery shopper and they must have done okay," said the 43â€"yearâ€"old Zurbrigg started with Sam‘s as a salesclerk when it first opened at 22 King St. S. in Waterloo in July 1970. Two years later the store moved to 98 King St., W. in Kitchener. In 1977 Zurbrigg bought the busiâ€" ness and in 1991 he moved it to 96 King St., W. The expansion to Conestoga Mall happened in May 1993, and, according to Zurbrigg, it was a wise business store moved to Toronto‘s Yonge Street and has Ask Gil Zurbrigg any quesâ€" tion about music, chances are he‘ll not.only know the song, but who sang it and what label it was recorded on. As owner of Sam The Record Man in Conestoga Mall andâ€"downtown Kitchâ€" ener, Zurbrigg admits that people don‘t like playing because he‘s rarely wrong. announced as the Retailer of the Year at the Kitchenerâ€" Waterloo Sales and Ad Club meeting last week, it was sweet music to his ears. Sam The Record Man of Conestoga Mall was selected from seven finalists, making it the second straight year that a Waterloo business received the Sales and Ad Club‘s top award. Last year‘s winner was Gibson TV and Stereo. Other finalists this year included Paul Puncher Men‘s Wear, Japan Camera (Market Square), Zehrs Marâ€" ket (Beechwood), Waterloo‘s Olde English Parlour, Wl(fych&smw., and M&M Meat Shop, Erb Street in Waterloo. ‘The award recognizes retailers for their outstanding customer service, merchandising, advertising and eommunity involvement. An extensive ‘secret shopper program‘ resulted in the selection of the seven finalâ€" Music is his life Qutstanding service, community involvement are hallmarks of Zurbrigg‘s Sam The Record Man stores When Zurbrigg‘s name was As a former rock musician with the band Stone N etPun wie ut S ) 42 8. w02 a2 ar t mete ts cpapac us w h 4 mt ce .h t s wn is . » generally reganded as good news for financial markets. Adding to that, an economic recovery that‘s well underway gives me great optimism for Canadian investments for this year and the year ahead. â€" Next Week â€" Early Retirement Tax Planning Do you have a question about investing your money wisely? Write to Brian Vickers clo Waterloo Chronicle, 75 King St. S., Box "1000, Waterloo, Ontario N2J 1P2 and 39.9% for capital gains. Finally, the government forecast for interest rates and inflation to remain low and stable is Gil Zurbrigg, owner of Sam The Record Man, was named the Retailer of the Year by the Kitchenerâ€"Waterino Sales and Ad Club last week. attracted shoppers for over four decades : for their outstanding "Each Sam‘s store has its individual character. This ing, advertising and store here is different from the one in downtown ensive ‘secret shopper Kitchener. Each has to build its own market. 1 find on of the seven finalâ€" that there are many older people shopping in this mall. My staff is very knowledgeable about the varâ€" with the band Stone _ Ous types of music. When they (older shoppers) come nsiders himself lucky into my store asking for a particular tape, they‘re not sturally Invek greeted with blank expressions or a lack of know]â€" undergo several changes. Today, Sam The Record Man has expanded to videos and sometime in the future, will move into the computer software business "I remember back in the ©70s, I kept waiting for something new to come along and replace vinyl. The day CDs came along, I was very excited." He knows that there are many changes on the horâ€" zon, such as miniâ€"disc, which someday will replace cassette tapes, but how many changes of entertainâ€" ment equipment will people put up with. Today‘s marâ€" ket is flooded with CD and tape players and he knows that although the mini disc may be far superior to that of the tapes, people will be reluctant to so much change in such little time. Zurbrigg has a staff of 10, including three fullâ€"time employees. Several of his employees are Wilfnd Lauâ€" rier University music students. He has also hired two retirees with expertise in jazz and classical. "These guys also make it easy for seniors to be more at ease because they‘re dealing with some one of their Over the years, Zurbrigg has seen the business _ > > â€" * BLUE CHIP THINKING is a trademark of Midiand Walwyn Capital inc £E, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 2, 1994 â€" PAGE 13 BLUE CHIP THiNkiwG* mnaommokgn" uiesns sn n + >