Over the last eight months, BHETA has welcomed 24 new members to its ranks, all supplying a wide range of products within DIY, housewares, garden, small domestic electricals and gift.While the BHETA team has been actively recruiting, it attributes the high level of interest in membership to a combination of factors and marketing manager Steve Richardson explained. “We have seen a significant growth in engagement from members and non-members during all three lockdowns as evidenced by attendance at BHETA’s online events, levels of response to email campaigns, social media views and time spent on the BHETA website.“Another reason is the huge volume of webinars BHETA has run, which have really addressed the needs and opportunities of supplier companies in these extraordinary times. Subjects have ranged from retailer networking with leading players such as Homebase, eBay, Mano Mano, Ocado, Blue Diamond, Lakeland and John Lewis to advice from business service providers about everything from online marketing to HR to freight costs to sustainability and packaging legislation. Plus the successful transition of the popular Meet the Buyer series to a digital format, with events held with Homebase and Ocado and more planned for the Autumn.“We now have a really useful library of retailer presentations which outline their business and what they want from suppliers, which new members can tap into.”“In addition, BHETA provides a hugely popular quarterly market update where we combine exclusive bespoke category level insight from Globaldata, with data from ONS, Google and retailers, to demonstrate to members what is happening in our sector. That research would cost an individual supplier at least £10,000 per year, so represents great value.”“Another factor is the noticeable rise in the numbers of companies moving in to the sectors which have seen considerable commercial upturn in recent months, such as DIY and garden. Previously trading in allied areas such as professional user, industrial or merchant, they see joining BHETA as a great way to establish themselves in retail and consumer.“Most recently, BHETA has also been marketing its premier housewares and gift show, Exclusively, to suppliers. Exclusively will be the first chance for those sectors to have face to face meetings between buyers and suppliers, and BHETA has benefitted from the surge of interest that that is creating.“Like many companies and organisations, BHETA was concerned as to whether the events of the last fifteen months would adversely affect membership numbers, but the opposite has been the case and levels of engagements are higher than they have ever been.”Richard Walker, BHETA member and Commercial director of Eddingtons said: “As a regular paid-up member of BHETA, I found that industry engagement has been phenomenal recently with Brexit seminars, training events, and insights from the BHETA established network of service providers. I have found the customer forums equally rewarding and in particular the opportunity to listen and gain insight into the business and strategy of influential retailers like Lakeland and John Lewis. These events are worth the Membership fee alone”.David Homes of the DRH Collection said, “BHETA provide a huge amount of information, both by way of reading material as well as some of the best webinars that I have seen, covering Covid, Brexit and general business. This has been supplemented by great Meet the Buyer online presentations”.For more details of BHETA contact Helen Farnell at the BHETA Member Services Team on 0121 237 1130 or alternatively, email on hf@bheta.co.uk.
