The annual AVB Summit brings members, affiliates and exhibitors together each spring.
NEAG member extolls the benefits of BrandSource national events
By Janet Weyandt, YSN
When Matt Botler stepped into the BrandSource Convention in Dallas last August, he was amazed. A new member of the New England Appliance Group (NEAG), he didn’t know much about BrandSource.
“I went to the show and I just was so impressed with everything — what you guys offer and the training,” said Botler, of Cocoplum Appliances in Vermont. “As New England buying group members, we don’t even know about all the stuff we can do [with BrandSource]. You guys are like a whole other world over there. It was like someone brought me to the promised land.”
Now with Summit 2025 on the horizon, Botler is urging his fellow affiliate members in NEAG and Intercounty Appliance Corp. (IAC) to register and see for themselves. To encourage their participation, both groups are subsidizing members’ registration costs for Summit, which will be held March 23-26 in Nashville.
“No one from our company had even been to a show,” Botler said. “I wanted to ask so many questions.”
A Gangbuster Cluster
Aside from the General Session, which is where BrandSource leaders share insights and highlights from the mainstage, Botler mentioned the breakout educational sessions and all there is to see and learn at the product EXPO. Even the show-special Stampede was eye-opening for him, though affiliate group members do their buying through their home groups.
Other than that, virtually all the programs, platforms and show events are open to them, said Danielle Diaz, GM of communications and group relations.
Botler said aside from vendor booths on the EXPO floor, the show is where he got one-on-one interaction with AVB units such as ServiceSource, HRSource, BrandSource Financial and AVB Marketing.
Sharing the Wealth
He was so impressed with what he learned about HUB, for example, he arranged for Kate Morris, AVB Marketing’s GM of product, to give a presentation to his colleagues during the NECO (Northeast Company) show in September. NECO is an umbrella cooperative made up of IAC, NEAG and two other independent dealer groups.
“I wanted them to understand what parts I thought were valuable,” Botler said. “HUB is something that can change people’s business.”
See: Meekings Highlights HUB’s Superpowers
The other thing Botler couldn’t get enough of was networking with other independent retailers and the experts in attendance at the show.
“I thought the opportunity to network with other owners from across the country, and the opportunity to get to know and network and learn from the BrandSource and AVB Marketing team members, was amazing,” he said.
Better Together
Diaz said there will be sessions at Summit designed specifically for affiliate group members, and their participation makes the whole organization stronger.
“It’s another great example of independents banding together, linking arms and acting as a group,” she said. “There’s a lot of opportunity to learn from one another because business is difficult. It’s just a great way for us to act bigger together so we can keep independents alive.”
Botler, who is new to the appliance industry, said he is committed to adding to his knowledge and getting more involved in the benefits BrandSource has to offer.
“I think this show is cutting-edge,” he said. “The vendors, resources, training, data — besides all that, it’s also reinvigorating, energizing. You’ll fall in love with appliances all over again. And you get an edge because not everyone is going. You’re meeting people from different parts of the country who do things differently. You can learn things differently.”
For more information on Summit 2025, visit AVBevents.com.
YSN publisher AVB BrandSource is the nation’s largest merchandising and marketing co-op for independent appliance, mattress, furniture and CE dealers.
