Housewares Business-to-business magazine for housewares retailers and their suppliers
BHETA has secured a unique opportunity for housewares and DIY suppliers to interact with key personnel from Homebase outside of the usual buying channels.
The opening event of the new initiative, which is called Drive for Growth, is a meet-the-buyers day on August 31, taking place next to the Homebase head office in Milton Keynes.
This first-of-its-kind event is exclusively open to BHETA members on application, and is dedicated to finding mutually beneficial trading opportunities.
Drive for Growth is the result of negotiations over the last 12 months between BHETA vice president John Grayson and David Robinson of Homebase, following the latter’s appearance as a keynote speaker at one of BHETA’s regular industry seminars.
Robinson undertook to explore ways of working more closely with the industry trade association, and the meet-the-buyers day is seen as the first in a series of steps to enhance and drive the retailer/supplier relationship.
Homebase is the UK’s second-largest home improvement retailer, with over 300 stores throughout the UK and Republic of Ireland and a 30,000-plus product range.
BHETA’s DIY sector director, Peter Stone, said that “for such a significant industry player to work like this with the industry trade association is both progressive and exciting.”
BHETA, which expects demand for Drive for Growth to be high, says members can apply for timed tickets on www.bheta.co.uk.
