Bermuda retailers are waiting with bated breath to see what measures will be included in today's Throne Speech to help them survive the impending economic downturn.

And they are banding together in an effort to survive as a group by being proactive and thinking of initiatives that may prevent the retail infrastructure from collapsing.

Co-chairman of the retailers division of the Hamilton Chamber of Commerce and Triminghams president Lawrence Trimingham said yesterday that the retail division of the Hamilton Chamber of Commerce met on Tuesday to see how members were faring in the current economic downturn.

He said that at the meeting, retailers decided to ''take the proactive approach to minimise store closures and staff layoffs".

He said they had also decided to accomplish this by working together with their partners in industry, such as appealing to landlords to agree to a possible percentage reduction in rents, as well as appealing to the Corporation of Hamilton to reduce the amount of city tax, or a suspension or reduction in wharfage fees.

He also said they could appeal to energy providers Belco, to see what the company could do share the load as well as telecommunications provider Telco.

Mr. Trimingham added: "We are eagerly waiting to see what Government will propose in the Throne Speech," adding that Government had already announced publicly that it intended to do something to help retailers.

Mr. Trimingham said that at their meeting on Tuesday, the theme was that if all retailers share the impact, than it will be spread around and impact less on individuals.

"Instead of one guy pulling the rope and having a heart attack, we will work as business partners to spread the impact," he said.

Mr. Trimingham added that retailers catering to visitors were currently suffering the most.

The Chamber has not received any details from Government about what retailers can expect in the way of help but Mr. Trimingham warned: "Things have to happen very soon to have a tangible effect."

But he also said that it was not just up to Government to solve the problem, but that businesses must look inside themselves and their partners to come up with common solutions that would benefit the country as a whole.

As far as the Buy Bermuda campaign, Mr. Trimingham said that some retailers were promoting their price advantages, and he said: "In our case, we have lots of merchandise that sells at US or below US prices."

He also said the campaign was good because it at least made people think about spending their money in Bermuda and question what it means to buy locally rather than away.

Mr. Trimingham said that most of every dollar spent in Bermuda stayed on the Island and that money spent in local stores would go towards payroll which is the biggest cost for retailers

"We are trying to be proactive. If we do nothing more, businesses will close and there will be more layoffs," he said.

Speaking as Triminghams president, Mr. Trimingham said that one thing the store promotes is competitive prices.

He said that even in the elevators there are advertisements that promote price competitiveness on name brand products, often costing the same or less than US prices.

He said that most of the store's clothing was less than US prices, as evidenced by the price tickets which show both local and US prices.

The china and crystal are also mostly less than in the US as well as cosmetics and perfume. He also said that jewellery in Bermuda is very competitive and often significantly less than US prices.

"And there is no sales tax," he said.

"The more we as a community are shopping here, the better for the community it will be. It makes sense," he said.

The Royal Gazette reported yesterday that three Hamilton retailers - the Scottish Wool Shop, Smugglers Reef and the Harbourmaster branch store - have closed their doors within the last two weeks due to economic woes.