Texas Retailers Association

What Texas Retailers Association does

Texas Retailers Association (TRA) is a private, nonprofit trade association founded in 1926 and headquartered at 1005 Congress Avenue, Suite 900, Austin, Texas. The organization represents global, national, state, and local retail businesses operating in Texas, claiming coverage of over 320,000 retail establishments and 3.5 million jobs statewide. TRA's mission centers on government advocacy, legislative monitoring, regulatory guidance, and member education aimed at keeping Texas a "retail-friendly" business environment. It operates the Texas Federation of Drug Stores (TFDS) as an affiliated pharmacy-focused sub-brand and runs annual convening events including Retail Lobby Day.

TRA's core service offerings are non-technological: legislative representation before the Texas Legislature and state agencies, committee hearing monitoring during sessions and interim periods, exclusive legislative and judicial updates, member conferences, and training programs focused on retail crime prevention and innovation. The association has no proprietary technology platform, software products, APIs, or AI/ML capabilities disclosed; its technology footprint is limited to a WordPress website, social media channels (Facebook, X), and email newsletters. Marketing and member engagement are conducted via the website, social channels, press releases, and in-person events.

The business model is membership dues-driven, with tiers ranging from affiliates to full partners; pricing is not publicly disclosed. Members include major national retail enterprises across grocery, pharmacy, general merchandise, fashion, convenience, beauty, home improvement, agriculture, automotive, electronics, and e-commerce verticals (e.g., Walmart, Kroger, H-E-B, Target, Home Depot, Amazon, eBay, Macy's, Best Buy, Dollar General, Albertsons, Walgreens, Gap, Mary Kay, Tractor Supply, AutoZone, Brookshire Brothers, United Supermarkets). Notable 2023 advocacy outcomes included passage of HB 1 and HB 1826, securing over $2.5 million in state funding to create an Organized Retail Theft Prevention Unit, and convening a 10-member Texas Organized Retail Theft Task Force with the Texas Comptroller.

Name

Texas Retailers Association

Legal name

Texas Retailers Association

Website

https://txretailers.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1926

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Texas Retailers Association, founded 1926, is a nonprofit trade association headquartered in Austin that advocates for over 320,000 retail businesses in Texas before the state legislature, providing legislative monitoring, regulatory guidance, and member programs through dues-funded membership.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Austin

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Dues: TRA operates as a trade association funded by membership dues from retail businesses of all sizes, from small businesses to national corporations. Membership offerings range from affiliates to full partners.

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Texas Retailers Association is a statewide nonprofit trade association that represents the retail industry in Texas. It provides legislative and regulatory advocacy before the Texas Legislature, state agencies, and Congress; member training and certification programs (such as the Texas Certified Responsible Retailer course); industry communications and legislative alerts; and member events including the Annual Convention and Trade Show. Membership is open to retailers and allied industry partners doing business in Texas.

Product overview

Texas Retailers Association is a trade association providing advocacy, legislative services, and membership benefits to retail businesses in Texas. Services include government advocacy, committee hearing monitoring, legislative and judicial updates, member conferences (including Retail Lobby Day), and training programs focused on retail crime prevention and innovation. The association also includes TFDS (Texas Federation of Drug Stores) as an affiliated pharmacy division. No discrete technology products or software offerings are present.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• TFDS: Texas Federation of Drug Stores, an affiliate of the Texas Retailers Association focused on pharmacy and drug store retail issues.

Products and services

• Trade Association Membership Annual membership open to Texas retailers and allied industry partners, conferring advocacy representation before the Texas Legislature, state agencies, and Congress, plus access to training, alerts, and networking events.
• Legislative and Regulatory Advocacy

Quantifiable outcome

• Organized retail crime increased 26.5% year-to-year nationwide in 2023
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers18 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• AmazoncoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 September 2023Amazon participates as a member of the Texas Organized Retail Theft Task Force organized by the Texas Comptroller. The task force meets quarterly to make legislative suggestions to prevent organized retail theft, manage the crime's long-term economic impact, and improve consumer protections.
• eBaycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 September 2023eBay participates as a member of the Texas Organized Retail Theft Task Force organized by the Texas Comptroller. The task force studies organized retail theft prevention and analyzes its impact on state sales tax collection.
• H-E-BcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 September 2023H-E-B participates as a member of the Texas Organized Retail Theft Task Force. H-E-B representatives also serve on the TRA Board of Directors and TFDS leadership (Vice President).
• Texas Department of Public SafetycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 September 2023The Department of Public Safety's Criminal Investigations Division houses the new Organized Retail Theft Prevention Unit, created with $2.5 million in state funding and seven full-time employees to combat organized retail crime.
• Texas Comptroller Glenn HegarcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Comptroller Hegar chairs the Organized Retail Crime Task Force created by HB 1826. He leads the effort to analyze organized retail theft's impact on state sales tax collection and provide guidance to lawmakers.
• Texas Legislature and Governor AbbottcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023The Texas Legislature passed HB 1 and HB 1826 during the 2023 legislative session, making the most significant financial investment to combat organized retail crime in state history with over $2.5 million and creating a task force.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Regional players

• National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB): A national small-business advocacy organization with state-level chapters, including a Texas presence where TRA's Executive Director previously worked. While broader than retail-only, NFIB competes for the same small-retailer advocacy dollars and legislative access in Texas.
• Texas Association of Business: A Texas-based business advocacy organization representing a broader cross-industry membership in Austin. Overlaps with TRA on general business and tax policy advocacy for Texas employers, including retail members.

Emerging players

• National Grocers Association: A national trade association focused specifically on the grocery retail industry. Overlaps with TRA's grocery-focused members (H-E-B, Kroger, Brookshire Brothers, Albertsons) and its TFDS affiliate, representing partial competition for sector-specific advocacy work.

Broad incumbents

• National Retail Federation: The largest U.S. retail industry trade association, headquartered in Washington DC. NRF is the national counterpart to TRA, advocating for retailers across all 50 states with a much larger staff and budget, and frequently partners with state-level associations like TRA on policy issues such as organized retail crime.

Direct peers

• California Retailers Association: A state-level trade association representing retail businesses in California. Like TRA, it advocates before the state legislature and regulators on issues affecting retail, providing a directly comparable model of a large-state retail advocacy body.
• Ohio Council of Retail Merchants: A state retail trade association in Ohio advocating for retail businesses at the state level. Operates with a similar advocacy-and-services model to TRA, focused on legislative representation and regulatory engagement for Ohio retailers.
• Retail Council of New York State: A New York state retail trade association providing advocacy and member services to retail businesses. Comparable to TRA in structure and scope at the state level, with a similarly diverse retail membership base.
• Florida Retail Federation: A state-level retail trade association representing retailers in Florida, similar in mission and structure to TRA. Florida is the third-most-populous U.S. state with a similarly large retail sector, making FRF one of the closest structural and operational peers to TRA.
• Illinois Retail Merchants Association: A statewide trade association representing retailers in Illinois. Comparable to TRA in its mission of state-level advocacy, legislative monitoring, and member services for a diverse retail membership.
• Retail Association of Maine: A smaller state-level retail trade association representing Maine retailers. Operates a similar advocacy model to TRA with legislative monitoring and member services, though at materially smaller scale than Texas.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/TexasRetailers
• Facebookfacebook.com/TexasRetailers
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/texas-retailers-association

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Texas Retailers Association