Retail Observer

RETAILOBSERVER.COM JUNE 2021 58 L ast year's BrandSource Convention was the first major industry event to move online, and now this summer's 2021 edition will be the first to return on-site. The 2021 Convention, slated for Aug. 21-24 at the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center in Nashville, marks the buying co-op's first in-person show since March of last year. The August confab will also represent BrandSource's third visit to the Nashville venue following successive 2018 and 2019 Summit shows. Despite mounting successful virtual events this past March and August, BrandSource's members, vendors and staff are more than ready to reunite on site. "To say we are thrilled to have an in-person show would be the understatement of the year," said Customer Experience GM Jennifer Baldwin, who heads the AVB Events team that produces BrandSource's meetings and buy fairs. "We can't wait to see everyone back in Nashville," Baldwin said, "and to give our members the chance to attend more training and education sessions, check out more key insights from our industry experts, and have more time on the Expo floor than ever before." Indeed, BrandSource's 2021 Convention promises to return with a bang, bringing more Expo hours, more specialized education and more time allotted to the co-op's specialty groups than any past shows. The latter include separate Town Halls for self-servicing members and furniture dealers, while additional hours will be set aside on Day 1 of the Convention for members to meet with their account representatives from AVB Marketing, BrandSource's e-commerce and digital marketing arm. The show's Expo buying fair follows on Monday, Aug. 23, for two days of hands-on product demos with the appliance, furniture and tech industry's latest introductions. In addition, AVB's new "Book with Confidence" policy will allow attendees to cancel their registration up to 30 days before the show and still have their deposits fully refunded. Registration for this summer's event is available at : www.AVBevents.com. Stay tuned for more details on BrandSource's Convention 2021. In the meantime, please mark your calendars for four full days of learning, buying and reacquainting on Aug. 21-24. In other BrandSource news, the buying co-op held its first Service Town Hall Meeting last month, drawing well over 100 participants. Following its well-received Service Day virtual event in November, BrandSource VP Jarred Roy and appliance director Paul Roth joined Member Relations manager Mike Porter and industry expert and BrandSource consultant Paul MacDonald for a nuts-and-bolts look at the servicing business. The goal: To guide all BrandSource servicing members to profitability within three years. Indeed, if your service department is not making you a profit, the BrandSource National Service Committee, hosts of the Town Hall event, wants to help. The good news is that over 80 percent of BrandSource appliance dealers offer in-home service, which is a key competitive advantage in our ever-changing economic environment. Unfortunately, many of those same dealers believe that a service department is only there to support sales. But BrandSource's National Service Committee believes that simply viewing service as a cost of doing business is selling your operation short; service should be a profit center just like every other part of your business, it argues. For that very reason, BrandSource formed the ten-member Service Committee two years ago, which has been working tirelessly behind the scenes ever since to create a roadmap for future success. By increasing awareness, offering new educational opportunities, and developing creative strategic partnerships, the Committee is working toward the goal of improving the state of the service industry for every single BrandSource member. Alan Wolf is Senior Communications Specialist for AVB/BrandSource, the nation's leading merchandising and marketing co-op for independent appliance, home furnishings and consumer tech dealers. B U Y I N G G R O U P N E W S BRANDSOURCE RETURNS TO ON-SITE SHOWS BrandSource will return to Nashville's Gaylord Opryland in August for its first on-site show in over a year.

• Cover