NINFRA, USA Baby form alliance
Jane Kitchen -- Kids Today, 1/6/2012 12:00:58 PM
Baton Rouge, La. -- The National Independent Nursery Furniture Retailers Assn. and USA Baby buying groups have formed an alliance to work together, sharing existing programs and creating new programs moving forward.
In a letter to its members, NINFRA executive director Rafael de Castro said that the alliance is a "major step towards the growth, profitability, support, and prestige of NINFRA in the juvenile industry."
"It's an alliance between two groups that are going to keep their separate identities," said de Castro. "...We found a lot of common threads and decided we'd be interested in pursuing this alliance...We're hoping with our combined volume, we can help our membership in developing programs."
With approximately 86 NINFRA member stores and more than 20 USA Baby member stores, the alliance puts the group at more than 100 stores nationwide.
De Castro also said in the membership letter that the alliance will enhance vendor discount programs and give members the ability to negotiate exclusives and private label programs with key vendors.
While USA Baby and NINFRA have some stores in competing markets, de Castro said the real competition is coming from big box retailers and the internet.
"The reality is there are a lot of big retailers who have gone out of business," said de Castro.
The deal is effective immediately, and USA Baby President Alan Levine, along with another representative from USA Baby, will attend NINFRA's Business Building Conference in Carlsbad, California in February.
"It's a day-by-day thing, and we hope it's going to be successful," said de Castro.
We would love your feedback!
-
NINFRA, USA Baby buying groups form alliance
Feb 6, 2012
Featured Company
-
FurnitureCore.com
FurnitureCore.com is a dynamic web application aimed at the furniture industry. Retailers and manufacturers alike will find our deep reserve of tools to be exactly what their furniture business needs.www.furniturecore.com... more
