Nationwide Marketing Group (NMG), a buying group comprised of appliance, furniture and audio/video retailers announced that recent growth in membership has increased their total sales volume by over $200 million. NMGs list of new members includes former BrandSource dealers Friedmans Appliance Center of Long Beach, CA; Friedmans of Pleasant Hill, CA; Airport Home Appliance of Northern California and; former NATM dealer Queen City of Charlotte, NC.
I was a member of Nationwide during its earlier days and it is great to be back, said Roddey Player, CEO of Queen City of Charlotte, NC. I am blown away by how much they have developed their member services. Their marketing tools are second to none and their special interest free promotions and tabs are a wonderful addition. These will definitely help us compete tougher and take our company to the next level.
For decades, NMG has provided buying and marketing services to thousands of appliance, electronics and furniture independent dealers. Earlier this month, NMG welcomed dealers and vendor partners to their PrimeTime! buying show and conference held at the Gaylord National in Maryland.
We finally got what we hoped we would get from a buying group and took full advantage of the savings and programs available at PrimeTime!, said Sylvia Worner, CEO and Owner of Friedmans of Pleasant Hill, CA. I have to admit we never walked away from a show with that much money in our hands. Which was great, because we were able to invest those savings into other areas of our business.
PrimeTime! is known to provide independents with presentations on retail trends and business strategies from the industrys leading experts. However, its the networking opportunities and camaraderie among dealers from across the country that is the true testament to the strength of NMGs membership.
We have been in businesses for 35 years, so we have heard it all before. But at the show, we got a lot out of listening to other dealers talk about their experiences. You learn so much from the people who are in the trenches with you and finding out what they are doing to succeed, said Worner.
According to Robert Weisner, Executive Vice President of Nationwide Marketing Group, Nationwide is continuing to grow, 4 of the top 20 appliance dealers in the US are now members of Nationwide Marketing Group. With the current economy, its absolutely necessary for dealers to inject fresh, new ideas into their business in order to take it to the next level and thats exactly what dealers get at PrimeTime!
Worner walked away from PrimeTime! with a general feeling of optimism that she never experienced at other buying shows, All of the members I met were friendly and outgoing and willing to share. It was a real morale booster for us and we in turn brought that back with us and passed it on to our sales people. Everyone on our team has been happy with the decision to join Nationwide. And thats really important for todays independent dealers; we need that passion to successfully compete against the big box chains.
Yes it is difficult, yes it is challenging but there are still a lot of opportunities, especially with all of the new technologies and expansion of product lines. Independents can move much faster and keep up with these market changes better than big box stores can. Thats the exciting part of it and that independent spirit is what Nationwide Marketing Group was built on, said Weisner.
For more information about the many benefits of membership with Nationwide Marketing Group, including an invitation to the upcoming Primetime! buying show and conference in Las Vegas, visit www.nationwidemarketinggroup.org