Speakers feel state's economy will remain strong

Local business leaders attending a recent economic forecast luncheon expressed confidence in the state's economy and the private sector's ability to handle such economic by-products as labor shortages and interest rate hikes.

The Greater Norwalk Chamber of Commerce hosted the event which was

"Now that the celebrated Y2K bug has been squashed its time for us to concentrate on keeping abreast of change," said John Klein, chairman and chief executive officer of People's Bank.

He assumed his position at the head of Bridgeport-based People's late last year after leading the bank's consumer credit card division.

Overall, Klein predicted another strong year in 2000, but said "the economy i's growing well above the Fed's speed limit" and expects the government to tighten interest rates sometime in February.

Jeffrey Kotkin, director of investor relations for Northeast Utilities, and Mitch Truwit, senior vice president at Priceline. com, joined Klein in presenting their views on the economy.

Kotkin said tile end result of electric deregulation for consumers is a 10 percent reduction in electric costs which will result in statewide savings of $3 billion a year.

He said that money could go back into the economy of a state that already has the highest per-capita income in the nation.

By mid-year all Connecticut consumers, will be able to choose an electric generation company, but Kotkin advised customers to learn how to shop because the market players are quickly changing.

Power companies from the South and Midwest arc buying generation facilities and others are taking over established utilities in the region.

Headquartered in Berlin, Northeast Utilities is being acquired by the Consolidated Edison Company of New York Inc.

Priceline's strategy

Priceline.com is built around the idea of "demand collection system" where customers can "name their price" for a myriad of goods and services.

The I Internet company has just moved its more than 300 employees to Norwalk and claims to be the second most recognizable brand on the World Wide Web.

Truwit discussed the growth of Priceline.com and its plans to head into businessto-business electronic commerce, financial services and international markets.

"Our keys are execution of our business plan, recruiting great people and getting into these businesses quickly to establish some repetition," he explained.

A graduate of the Harvard School of Business, Truwit had been the director of business development for Oxford Health Plans before joining Priceline.com.

He answered questions related to the company's timetable for profitability, saying Priceline.com will turn a profit sometime in 2001.

"When we look at some of the dot-coms, to be successful they have to be able to continually deliver on the promises overtime," said Klein, who noted that the holidays showed some shakeout for Internet retailers who could not handle the volume of orders.

John P. Reilly, executive editor of The Hour, pointed out that online sales during the holidays were up from last year but still only accounted for 6 percent of total sales.

"There will be some shakeout and then there will be a migration to companies with a sustainable business model," Truwit explained.

William J. Rowe, publisher and CEO of The Advocate and The Greenwich Time, asked the panelists what they are doing to attract employees in a time when Connecticut's unemployment rate is at the lowest point in 29 years.

Kotkin said labor shortages could be one of the few impediments to growth in the state and advised employers be more flexible in the workplace.

Truwit suggested that employers provide a wide range of personal services and be more mindful of their lives outside of the office.

"When you're trying to change the world it doesn't happen between nine to five," he said.

Klein mentioned the advantages of using technology for training and talked about "proactive destruction" - the idea that businesses will need to tear down old methods in order to move forward in the new Internet economy.