Former MARTA executive director Warren Mann is forming a new buying group serving independent white- and brown-goods dealers.
The new organization, World Merchants Buying Group, based here, is set to formally launch on Feb. 1 with an initial membership of approximately 10 dealers. That number is expected to reach 50 dealers by year’s end, Mann said.
World Merchants is designed to serve established independents that wish to benefit from the negotiating power of a buying group, but don’t require the advertising, health insurance and training programs offered by current buying organizations that add to membership costs.
Members will handle their own inventory and pay their own bills to reduce group overhead, while World Merchants will provide central buying and will represent dealers through direct contact with vendors.
“We’re taking the best of NATM and MARTA,” said Mann, citing those groups’ low-cost, not-for-profit models. For more information, contact Mann at (201) 612-1541, or [email protected].
