Nationwide Marketing Group, the country’s largest appliance, electronics, and furniture buying and marketing organization for independent dealers, has broken out its Nation’s Brand Direct (NBD) Southwest chapter as a freestanding division called Nationwide Southwest.
The new division, headed by CEO Dennis Willich, has over 500 member dealers and combined sales of $1.3 billion. For the past four years the chapter was affiliated with Nationwide’s NBD division, during which time it doubled its membership and tripled overall dealer sales.
Nationwide said the change was prompted by the chapter’s continued growth and by the realignment of CE and majap vendors’ territories. By way of example, the group pointed to the recent merger of Whirlpool and Maytag, which placed NBD Southwest members — who are located west of the Mississippi — outside the scope of NBD’s Eastern corporate office.
As a separate division, Nationwide Southwest will have greater creative control, enhanced opportunities for growth, and will be better-positioned to support members, Nationwide said. “This decision places Dennis Willich in a better position to be an effective advocate for his members,” explained Murray Provine, executive director of NBD.
Nationwide Southwest will formally debut next month at the group’s biannual PrimeTime! meeting and convention at the Venetian Resort Hotel Casino in Las Vegas.
