Housewares Business-to-business magazine for housewares retailers and their suppliers
Yorkshire retailer Morrisons took part in its first ever Meet The Buyer day organised by BHETA (British Home Enhancement Trade Association) earlier this month.
A total of 91 supplier appointments took place at the event, which was held on October 6 near Morrisons’ head office in Bradford.
Participating suppliers were allocated a 20-minute appointment. A template for their presentations had been agreed to ensure the limited time was put to maximum use.
There were nine Morrisons buyers present, covering table top; cookshop – small domestic appliances; cookshop – storage/prep/gadgets; home maintenance; gardening and DIY; bed/bath/home décor; and leisure/outdoor living.
Morrisons bills itself as the UK’s fourth largest supermarket chain, with more than 500 stores and an online home delivery service. According to its head of home Chris Stott, the day “ticked every box, just as I hoped it would. It was great to give so many suppliers the opportunity to get a meeting with the Morrisons’ buying team.”
Morrisons is in the process of reviewing its overall home offer and was looking to engage with new or existing suppliers able to: propose new and innovative core range listing opportunities, offer ‘branded’ and exclusive quality products and ranges with a point of difference, or offer immediate promotional opportunities that can provide the Morrisons customer with outstanding value.
The brief was aimed at all sizes of supplier, from large players to smaller companies including ‘one-man bands with limited resources but a great idea or product’.
Chris Stott continued: “It was good to spend the day being a buyer and seeing a good selection of new opportunities. It’s now down to the suppliers and us to work together to realise the opportunities presented. There was no shortage of innovation and products that fit within our strategic direction. There was some really good stuff – especially in Cookshop.
“The suppliers that stood out were the ones that were very focused on their product offering and how to demonstrate it in terms of how it would help Morrisons.”
BHETA director Will Jones said: “This was an excellent day that highlighted a number of genuine trading opportunities for BHETA members. It was very rewarding to see suppliers interacting so positively with buyers from a major grocery retailer and equally rewarding to see buyers responding so enthusiastically to product demonstrations.”
For information about future events, contact Nicola Adams-Brown on 0121 2371130 or email nab@bheta.co.uk or visit the BHETA website www.bheta.co.uk .
