CONTENTS / WELCOME Working together: Maximise sales


NBG IS ALL about building strong brands. Strong merchant brands and Strong supplier brands. They do this by making and maintaining solid, close working partnerships, both between Partners themselves and the Partners and Suppliers. As the industry changes at a rate not seen for many years, it’s increasingly important that independent merchants and suppliers


continue to work together on joint sales propositions, on supply deals and on building those all-important relationships. BMJ was deligted to be asked to work with NBG once again on this special supplement highlighting the developments that the organisation is making in order to further support its Partners and Suppliers. Communication is at the heart of everything that NBG does so we’ve been talking to Partners and Suppliers about the new ways they are working together to develop sales. Plus, of course, there is the old-fashioned, but no less effective, method of communicating by getting together with like-minded people for a chat, a drink and a good time. Fiona Russell Horne


Editor in Chief, Builders Merchants Journal


NBG IS A FAMILY of independent businesses all working together. We have a purpose and that purpose is to gather together, to do deals, to network to learn and to maximise sales. Earlier this year NBG rebranded with a clear focus on building strong brands. It reinforces our commitment to both our Partners and our Suppliers that NBG operates


with the aim of building relationships and strong brands at its very heart. Building strong brands means that once the deal is done, our aim is to maximise sales across both Partners and Suppliers which is why we stress the importance of account management and joint sales plans. Working together with our Suppliers is a key part of our NBG sales process. We


numbers speak for themselves. Independents are performing better than nationals in good times, in lean times and even in recession. When we form partnerships we really maximise sales. Nick Oates,


NBG Managing Director


Published by BUILDERS MERCHANTS JOURNAL, on behalf of NBG, the National Buying Group.


Datateam Business Media, London Road, Maidstone, Kent, ME16 8LY Tel: 01622 687031


www.buildersmerchantsjournal.net


EDITORIAL Editor-in-Chief:


Fiona Russell-Horne 01622 699101 frussell-horne@datateam.co.uk Assistant Editor:


Catrin Jones 01622 699186 cjones@datateam.co.uk


Art Editor: Richard Seymour Production Controller: Kirsty Hood


khood@datateam.co.uk ADVERTISING


Advertisment Manager: Dawn Tucker 01622 699148 dtucker@datateam.co.uk North & Midlands Sales: David Harman 01772 462596 david.harman@talktalk.net Southern account manager: Burim Osmani 01622 699174 bosmani@datateam.co.uk Publisher: Paul Ryder,


5 View from the T NBG Managing Director Nick Oates looks at where NBG is and where it is going.


Top


7 Supplier Summit Marketing and the future of retail were among the topics discussed at the Supplier Summit at the NBG Conference 2019


9 Sales Barometer NBG Managing Director Nick Oates shares some insights from the organisation’ s second Barometer at the Supplier Summit.


10 Data Development NBG is developing a Product Information Management


model. Board member Rex Nye explains what it is and why it is important for NBG’s continued development and future growth.


CONTENTS


12 Maximise Sales 60 Seconds with: Jonathan Eyre, Business Development Director Polypipe and Natasha Rose, of NBG’s General Build Category Management Team


16 Partnerships in Action


Partnerships


Looking at what Suppliers Quinn Building Products and The Walsall Wheelbarrow Company are doing to work with Partners and maximise sales across the deals.


20 New Product Showcase


The One-Minute-Pitch:


Suppliers’ newest products as demonstrated in quick-fire video presentations at the 2019 Conference.


26 Partner Focus When NBG Partner WHABS and its bathroom arm Ware Bathroom Centre suffered a devastating fire, Managing Director Mick Nicholls didn’t let it beat him. The company cleaned up and rebuilt, using the help and support of NBG, Partners and Suppliers.


28 Supplier of he Y


the Y Year A Awards


NBG’s Partners voted for the top companies in each of the commodity areas as well as for the overall Brand of the Year.


30 Networking in action


One of the biggest benefits to NBG is the networking and relationship building opportunities.


© Datateam Business Media Ltd 2020. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any fo


© Datateam Business Media Ltd 2020. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical including photo-copying, recording or any information storage or retrieval system without the express


January 2020


electronic or mechanical including photo-copying, recording or any information storage or retrieval system without the express prior written consent of the publisher . The title Builders Merchants Journal is registered at Stationers’ Hall.r.


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