Housewares Business-to-business magazine for housewares retailers and their suppliers
British Home Enhancement Trade Association’s (BHETA) recent ‘Meet the Buyer’ event with Homebase has been declared ‘invaluable’ by members of the home improvement chain’s buying team.
Caroline Bacon, buying manager at Homebase, said: “BHETA has enabled us to find suppliers we were looking for that we could potentially not have found in any other way. The Meet The Buyer concept is really good and [the event] has been very successful in terms of opportunities to find new products.”
The event, which took place on November 26 at the Holiday Inn in Milton Keynes, focused on housewares categories including cookshop, home accessories, SDAs, climate control, utility, laundry, cleaning and home furnishings.
Some 45 suppliers attended, taking part in 66 appointments with seven members of the Homebase buying team. Each appointment comprised a product demonstration and 20 minute interview. The emphasis was on innovation, with a number of suppliers earmarked for follow up with a view to listing.
Will Jones at BHETA commented: “Many BHETA members have secured business through the Meet The Buyer format. With buyers and sellers under immense time pressure, it’s a win- win for all parties. We are delighted by these results which yet again prove that these events are a genuine opportunity for both BHETA members and the retailers who take part.”
