RETAILOBSERVER.COM DECEMBER 2017
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ationwide Marketing Group and MEGA Group USA, two
of North America's largest appliance, electronics, furniture,
and bedding buying and marketing groups, announced a
merger that creates an organization serving more than 5,300
independent members, with some 14,000 storefronts that gener-
ate estimated revenue of $18.5 billion. Our members provide
greater local presence, broader selection, and unsurpassed
service to better compete against large national retailers including
Sears, Home Depot, Lowes, Amazon, Wayfair, Best Buy, Mattress
Firm and Rooms to Go.
The combined organization will operate as Nationwide
Marketing Group, led by Dave Bilas serving as chairman of the
combined company. The group's leadership team reports that
the organization will retain both Nationwide's office in Winston-
Salem, North Carolina, and the MEGA Group office in Memphis,
Tennessee, to further enhance serving the unique needs of large
regional retailers to single store specialists across the country.
"The culture of the groups has always been focused on the
independent retailer's growth and profitability," said Rick Bellows,
president of MEGA Group, who will be an integral member
of Nationwide Marketing Group's leadership team. "While
national retailers struggle to deliver a differentiated shopping
experience, our group's members have been outpacing the
industry and gaining share because they are uniquely aligned
to serve customer's needs. This merger will accelerate the
independent movement with enhanced member benefits from
the combination of the two leadership teams, purchasing scale,
more consistent execution, and strategically-focused technology
investment to drive greater awareness, traffic, and volume
through our member's storefronts and online."
"Another big advantage for members will be category
diversification," Bilas added. "With Nationwide's unmatched
appliance volume and strength in consumer electronics,
combined with MEGA Group's furniture and bedding advan-
tages, members will have access to greater merchandising mix
to increase market awareness, traffic, and profitable sales
growth. Our February PrimeTime event promises to become the
largest buying show, member conference, educational event,
networking opportunity, and product exhibition in the history of
independent appliance, electronics, furniture, and bedding
retailing."
"The merger also offers benefits to vendors and service
providers," Bilas continued. "This consolidation will result in
efficiencies for our vendor and service providers that will lead to
improved product and service offerings, greater speed to
market with new innovations, and improved focus of their
investments to serve the important independent channel with
its average selling prices that dwarf the national chains."
B U Y I N G G R O U P N E W S
RO
NATIONWIDE MARKETING GROUP
AND MEGA GROUP USA MERGER
Strengthens the independent channel's most influential voice