Nationwide Marketing Group, the buying group for independent CE, appliance, furniture and bedding dealers, capped off its biannual spring regional meeting in Winston-Salem, N.C., this week.
The event, which gathers the group’s entire North American leadership team, focused on Nationwide’s strategy to equip its 3,500-plus member companies with programs and services to aid them for the balance of the year.
The group continues to build on its two-year Prepare for Share program, which was created to capture the growing consumer base left by the liquidation of hhgregg and decline of Sears. Nationwide chairman Dave Bilas noted, “Current changes in the market are perfectly timed to allow our Members to transition from our preparation phase to our implementation phase. The program’s results to date give us great confidence in our members’ ability to capture those available consumers, while growing their profitability. We’ve seen members who participate in the Prepare for Share program improve gross margin percentage up to 170 basis points, year over year.”
The meeting wrapped up with an in-depth planning session for Nationwide’s PrimeTime show. Noted Bilas: “PrimeTime is always evolving and this year is no exception. We’ve evaluated feedback from our successful March show along with post-show surveys. We look forward to continuing to host the most valuable show experience in the business. This summer we return to the Las Vegas and expect this to be our best PrimeTime yet!”
Nationwide’s PrimeTime returns to the Venetian and Palazzo in Las Vegas from Aug. 20-23. Member registration opens in June.
