Retail Observer

OCTOBER 2021 RETAILOBSERVER.COM 13 Key America and 800 new dealers, which was branded Nations Brand Direct, while in 2002, Dennis Willich brought his over 200 Key Southwest members to the group and rebranded as Nationwide Southwest. Throughout the early 21st century, Nationwide's continued growth in new categories – furniture and bedding were added to the mix – and new services and training meant it was time for a new moniker. As the group arrived in Dallas in February 2003 with 2,000 attendees to celebrate PrimeTime, it also arrived with a new name – Nationwide Marketing Group. The new name highlighted the continued advancement of the organization in helping members solve problems beyond just getting appliances and televisions at favorable prices. That February 2003 PrimeTime would also be special for another unexpected reason. It would be the last PrimeTime led by Guttman. In July 2003, as the group prepared to head to Las Vegas for PrimeTime, original founder and 30-plus-year president Lee Guttman passed away. He was 65. "The moment Lee died, that's when things had to change," Kelly remembers. Kelly was promoted to president of Nationwide, with Weisner taking over as vice president and Les Kirk assuming the executive director role. The group continued to partner with solid companies, such as Serta and Sealy in the bedding industry and Samsung in both the consumer electronics and appliance industries. They helped with websites and online dealer locators, and even formed an early way to sell appliances online. And two new divisions, RentDirect and Specialty Electronics Nationwide (the precursor of HTSN, Home Theater Specialists Nationwide), were formed to focus specifically on rental dealers and custom sound system and home theater installers. NATIONWIDE'S FIFTH DECADE INCLUDES INTERNATIONAL GROWTH AND THE LARGEST PRIMETIME As the group moved into its fifth decade, it continued to see both growth and change. Long-time retailer Tom Jessup brought his BrandSource Florida group to Nationwide as Nationwide Florida in June 2011. Jessup said in a 2011 interview, "We have been watching the direction and focus of Nationwide over the past seven years and like what we have seen. We reevaluated what we have today and decided that we would get a much higher level of service as a division of Nationwide." In 2011, co-founder Ed Kelly announced his retirement. This resulted in Weisner moving into the lead role, which he eventually shared with longtime COO Les Kirk. (continued on page 32)

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