Retailing Briefs

Winston Salem, N.C. — Nationwide Marketing Group is providing attendees of its upcoming PrimeTime! convention, slated for March 2-5 in Dallas, with the option of using a new contact and lead retrieval program as a way to share contact information with vendors on the show floor. The system, Contact Plus, uses RFID chips on attendees and vendors. "Our members and vendors have requested a better process for sharing information, and we have responded with the newest, most convenient, and most accurate system available," said Robert Weisner, merchandising and member services executive VP for the $11 billion buying group. Use of the system is strictly voluntary, group president Ed Kelly stated.

Petaluma, Calif. — Home Entertainment Source (HES) has added Panamax/Furman Sound as a vendor partner to provide its members with power management solutions. HES said the partnership will allow the $1.4 billion buying group to offer its 500 members special programs and demo opportunities. "For HES members, this means greater accessibility to the technology that ensures an optimal A/V experience for the end user," said Dave Keller, sales and marketing senior VP of Panamax and Furman. "For us, the HES relationship helps us to reach new dealers, increase sales, and continue to brand Panamax/Furman Sound as [a] preeminent power management company."

Chicago — uBid.com, a business-to-consumer and business-to-business online auction company, has accepted its 3,500th partner into its uBid Certified Merchant (UCM) program. It announced its 2,500th member last April. The program gives qualified online merchants access to uBid.com's more than six million customers in an online auction format. The company said it rejects approximately 67 percent of all seller applicants who do not pass its 10-point vendor qualification process in an effort to protect buyers and sellers from fraud. "Our UCM solution, which is only one of our seven proprietary seller solutions, will continue to be a key growth driver for uBid.com in 2008 as we assess and fill new product categories and add to our already robust set of online seller tools," said Jeff Hoffman, uBid.com's CEO.