FTS’s permanent showroom at the World Market Center in Las Vegas underscores BrandSource’s commitment to the home furnishings sector.
Tom Bennett, Chad Fischer talk services with Bedding News Now
YSN Staff
Some retailers believe buying groups are all about discounts, rebates and special deals.
And while BrandSource certainly provides all that, it’s really only scratching the surface when it comes to supporting the independent dealer.
That was the word from BrandSource President Tom Bennett and AVB’s recently appointed bedding director Chad Fischer in a recent wide-ranging report on buying groups by Bedding News Now, an industry publication.
Maximum Return
“The two things members need are time and money,” Bennet told Alex Milstein, chief editor of the mattress business news site. “If we can save them time with services that we offer, then we can help these hard-working people maximize their return on profits.”
See: FTS Goes Direct with Ashley, Coaster
One of the most important services BrandSource offers independents is its state-of-the-art e-commerce platform, because their websites serve as the main store for most of the group’s members. Indeed, the publication cited a recent study by Google which showed that roughly 83% of shoppers research a retailer online before visiting their physical showroom.
“If the website is not the retailer’s No. 1 store, they need to look at it and treat it like it is,” Bennett said. “The customer is very educated by the time they get to your store. You need to have a good website.”
Digital Landscape
Fischer noted that many prospective BrandSource members still didn’t consider websites important, and instead regard them as another cost they don’t want to pay.
“But [online shopping] accelerated during COVID, and the good retailers asked for help in how to navigate this,” he said. “The buying group channel was able to provide insight, assets and resources to help retailers. COVID made retailers realize the importance of digital marketing [and] websites.”
Bennett explained that buying groups can fill as few or as many needs as a retailer wants, as each business has different strengths.
“Some people might have a young person in their business who’s excellent at some of those things, and others don’t know what SEO is,” he said. “Retailers can hand [those functions] over to us and we can take the reins. We invest in things that we can’t monetize because our members need it and that’s what makes it more like a community.”
YSN publisher AVB BrandSource is the nation’s largest merchandising and marketing co-op for independent appliance, mattress, furniture and CE dealers.
