This review is part of our directory of buying groups/group purchasing organizations. Buying Group Name: Nationwide Marketing Group Industry/Specialty (if applicable): Appliances, furniture, electronics, custom installations Number of members: 3,500+ Website: http://www.nationwidegroup.org/ How does this group work? Surprisingly, there isn’t very much information on the group’s website about how it works. An interview with a…

Nationwide Marketing Group (not to be confused with the Nationwide insurance company) touts itself America’s largest buying and marketing organization. Its 3,500 members operate over 11,000 storefronts across the US and have $15 billion in combined annual sales. Nationwide is so large that it has seven regional divisions. Each of them is led by a retail industry veteran. Nationwide is based in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

This review is part of our directory of buying groups/group purchasing organizations. Buying Group Name: National Association of Retail Buyers & Sellers Industry/Specialty: Retail Number of members: Unknown Website: http://www.narbuyers.org/ How does this group work? NARB bills itself as a community of retail professionals who share insights and ideas. Once you join, you get access…

The National Association of Retail Buyers & Sellers (NARB) is a non-profit founded in 2009 by two retail industry veterans. Their goal was to create an organization that would help retail professionals share information and best practices with one another so that all members could succeed. One of the benefits of joining NARB is that you’ll get special offers (read: discounts) from vendor sponsors. However, increasing members’ buying power isn’t the sole purpose of this NJ-based organization. It also seeks to develop members’ careers and serve as a resource for many aspects of retail buying and selling, store planning, and product development. Unlike many buying groups or group purchasing organizations, NARB is only open to individuals, not to businesses.

This review is part of our directory of buying groups/group purchasing organizations. Buying Group Name: Royal Buying Group Industry/Specialty (if applicable): Independent Convenience Store Retailers Number of members: 6,000+ Website: http://www.royalbuying.com How does this group work? Like most group purchasing organizations, RBG negotiates rebates and discounts on behalf of its members. As a member, your…

Royal Buying Group (RBG) was founded in 1995. The group, based in Illinois, is designed to support independent convenience store retailers. RBG negotiates with national vendors to increase members’ buying power and reduce their operating expenses. In addition, this buying group offers such benefits for its members as educational programs and networking events.

This review is part of our directory of buying groups/group purchasing organizations. Buying Group Name: HTSA Industry/Specialty (if applicable): Consumer Electronics Number of members: 65 Website: http://www.htsa.com/ How does this group work? There isn’t any information on HTSA’s website about how members of the buying group make purchases (whether they buy directly from vendors or…

The Home Technology Specialists of America (HTSA) is a group purchasing organization for consumer electronics retailers. A group of consumer electronics retailers founded it in 1996, and, as of September 2016, is the only member-owned cooperative buying group in the consumer electronics space. The group’s purpose has always been to give independent retailers in this field a stronger voice, which it does by increasing their purchasing power, serving as a forum for best practices, and increasing members’ market share.