The British Home Enhancement Trade Association (BHETA) held a virtual ‘Meet The Buyer’ event with the Homebase DIY buying team on 28 January. The ‘Meet The Buyer’ format is a tried and tested BHETA retailer networking event, however, this was the first to be held entirely online. Both Homebase and the BHETA supplier members who attended hailed it a great success.
Buyers from all the following DIY categories were there to see suppliers pitch ideas and products:
- Plumbing, Electrical and Heating / Cooling
- Power tools and Hand tools
- Tiling & Flooring
- Hardware & Fixings
- Builders
32 suppliers were able to make the most of 43 one to one online appointments. Each meeting lasted twenty minutes using BHETA’s Zoom platform and both the Home base team and the supplier representatives confirmed that meetings had been productive in terms of sourcing new product and promotional ideas.
Tony Kersey, Buying Manager – Builders, Hardware & Fixings at Homebase said: “This is the first time I have worked with BHETA and co-managed a Meet The Buyer day with the team. The day was an absolute success, with five buyers located in separate Zoom meeting rooms, meeting with potential new suppliers. There were many new opportunities identified during the day and these are currently being explored based on adding new products over the coming months.
“We would like to thank the BHETA team for a fantastic day and will certainly be back for more in the future!”
Will Jones, BHETA’s Chief Operating Officer said: “BHETA Meet The Buyer events have always been hugely popular, but this was the first time we had organised one that was wholly online. I’m delighted to say it worked extremely well and it’s great that BHETA can continue to provide such proven sales opportunities with retailers as key to the market as Homebase.”
More details of BHETA’s events programme, which includes several other Meet The Buyer events and networking forums with leading retailers can also be found on the BHETA website www.bheta.co.uk. To register for any of BHETA’s current or future events, contact Nicola Adams at the BHETA Member Services Team on 07946 078566, or alternatively, email on na@bheta.co.uk
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