Retail Observer

RETAILOBSERVER.COM JANUARY 2019 48 FEI GROUP CELEBRATES 20 YEARS AT NATIONAL CONFERENCE F E I G R O U P, P A R E N T C O M P A N Y O F K B X A N D K & B A L L I A N C E , R E C E N T LY H O S T E D I T S 2 0 T H A N N U A L C O N F E R E N C E AT T H E M A N C H E S T E R G R A N D H YAT T I N D O W N T O W N S A N D I E G O . S upply partners such as MasterBrand, Richelieu, Whirlpool, Amerock, and The Stock Market attended the three-day event where attendance records were broken once again. Industry speakers Robb Best, senior advisor of Cognitive Strategy for Elkay; John Morgan, Morgan Pinnacle; Jane Meagher, Success Strategies; Hank Darlington, Darlington Consulting; Claudia Gerster, Creative License International; and Jeff Lukes, Director of Sales, Fabuwood, covered topics that ranged from space planning and color trends to compelling compensation programs and successful resolution strategies for problem jobs. Brian Penabad, vice president of Kitchen and Bath for FEI Group, says, "Nearly 100 percent of the membership attended this year's event. We were thrilled with the turnout but also with the participation on behalf of our members. They are committed to this group and to their businesses; that's what makes this thing go." Chuck Bailey, owner of The Cabinetry and Tile Studio in Cleburne, TX, attended the event as a member candidate and said, "As a small business, we are always concerned with costs, and I was initially afraid we would not get a return on our investment by becoming a member. To my surprise, we will save more than the annual membership costs with one new vendor from the group." Bailey and his wife and business partner, Becky Montgomery, joined K&B Alliance as a result of having attended the event and left the conference with a new excitement about their company and the possibilities that lie ahead. The unmistakable familiarity that the members had with one another was palpable. Among FEI Group's many accomplishments, perhaps the greatest is having successfully built a family of like- minded entrepreneurs who support each other in business but are also genuinely invested in their fellow members' personal development. But it wasn't all work. The group hosted an epic party for over 500 people on the historic U.S.S. Midway, the legendary aircraft carrier now moored in the San Diego Bay. The high-energy dance band Haute Chile took center stage on the flight deck and the night ended with a spectacular fireworks show. "As a new FEI supply partner, this was our very first conference, and we were impressed," admitted Joel Cochran, director of sales for Soci. "We've attended a lot of conferences, but the supplier inclusion and overall organization of FEI's event was far and away the best we've experienced!" The 2019 FEI Group National Conference will be held October 16-18, 2019, at Sawgrass Marriott Golf Resort & Spa in Ponte Vedra Beach, FL. FEI Group—parent company of Home Solutions by FloorExpo, MultiFamily Solutions by FloorExpo, KBx, and K&B Alliance—supports cabinet, countertop, DPH and flooring business owners by offering supplier buying programs and rebates, brand marketing, best practices, business insurance, national business programs and benchmarking. FEI Group is a division of CCA Global Partners, one of the nation's largest cooperative management companies with more than 3,500 showrooms nationwide. Visit www.feigroup.net to learn more. B U Y I N G G R O U P N E W S RO Photos, clockwise from top left: U.S.S. Midway dinner party; KBx members Bob Wilkes, Drew Tavss, and Jim Rowland at SupplyConnect; Best golf foursome ever; Moe Lastfogel (The Retail Observer) attends his first FEI Group National Conference; More than 500 participants attending the event; Eddie and Trina Schukar (K&B Alliance) with Adrian Nelson and Jim Webb (Whirlpool Corporation).

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