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MEGA Group USA Concludes Fall Show By Launching Member Exclusives

Furniture World News Desk on 8/26/2016




Above: MEGA member panel


MEGA Group USA, a leading buying group in the furniture, mattress, appliance, electronics, home décor and outdoor furnishings space recently wrapped up its fall national convention in Nashville, Tenn.  Many of the nation’s top manufacturers and independent retailers met together over the course of three and a half days to connect, learn and thrive.

“We believe that digital marketing, done right, levels the competitive playing field between independent retailers and big box stores” stated Rick Bellows, MEGA Group’s president. “These are exciting times for our members. They can once-and-for-all take the nationals and power regionals head-on and win!”

The week kicked off with a day of training opportunities for MEGA members, and some of the highlights included:

Mattress University, bedding focused sessions were a MEGA member favorite and each were filled to capacity. Industry leaders Mark Kinsley from Leggett & Platt, Bob Muenkel from Serta Simmons Bedding, and Dave Perry from Furniture Today offered retailers insights into strengthening their sales approach, the importance of educating customers in each interaction on the value of a good night’s sleep, and a deeper look at industry trends.

MEGA members also embraced the variety of appliance training available. Consisting of nearly 14 hours, manufacturers providing a wealth of product features and benefits training, as well as draw, step, sell merchandising strategies that hit home with retailers.

Business leadership workshops were also a big hit at this year’s convention. Courses on customer service, leadership skills, marketing and selling strategies were met with great enthusiasm by MEGA members. The MEGA MBA program saw its second round of leaders complete the course, and interest continues to grow for this leadership initiative.

Day one ended with a MEGA member favorite, MEGA Madness. This year’s event was the largest to- date with more vendor participation and more units written than ever before. MEGA members took advantage of the superb deals provided during this 90-minute ordering frenzy.

“MEGA Madness is always a fun event, and this year we saw record-breaking order levels attained by most participating vendors,” said Missy Hodges, MEGA Group’s vice president of appliances.

Tuesday kicked off with a keynote from digital thought leader Erik Qualman. His high-energy presentation style, mixed with how he easily distills complex thoughts into actionable plans for his audiences won over the MEGA crowd and vendors. Qualman, whose books include Socialnomics and What Happens in Vegas Stays on YouTube, focused his speech on a retailer’s digital reputation, paving the way for one of MEGA’s big reveals - the launch of WebFronts Review.

MEGA members now have access to an exclusive product, WebFronts Review, which aggregates their customer reviews from a variety of online platforms including Google, Yelp and Facebook, and helps them respond to each. Retailers can now more quickly respond to reviews posted about their stores, and even solicit reviews from customers after each sale. As part of the WebFronts Review release, MEGA announced it will cover the cost for the first location of WebFronts Review for its member retailers who add the new software package to their Level 4 WebFront through the end of 2017.

Other exciting releases launched during the MEGA Group Show in Nashville included two new MEGA- exclusive bedding programs from Serta and Tempur + Sealy.

Serta introduced MEGA retailers to the DreamHaven Mattress Gallery. This 14 bed lineup allows retailers who may not have typically entered the mattress space to offer the collection to their customers. Taking up just 600 sq. ft., this beautifully-designed, interactive display increases the Serta footprint in the independent marketplace.

Tempur + Sealy brought back one of its legacy brands, Crown Jewel, exclusively for MEGA members. This new interpretation of a well-loved brand got rave reviews at the Show, with dealers saying “Sealy has hit a home-run with this new lineup.” MEGA retailers will be able to start selling this in-store in mid- to late-October, and predictions are favorable for how this will sell during the Black Friday promotional period.

The main convention day ended with the giveaway of a brand new Jeep Rubicon from Whirlpool. Ten semi-finalists were selected and one lucky MEGA Whirlpool dealer held the key that unlocked the door. Dak Sorenson from Sorenson’s Appliance & TV in Geneva, MN and his family were surprised by their luck and thrilled to walk away winners of the Whirlpool Jeep giveaway.

“Nashville show attendance by members is always strong, and this year was no different,” said MEGA Group’s president, Rick Bellows. Several new vendors participated including A&B Home, American Heartland, Art Lifestyles, Cariloah, Capitol Marketing, Capitol Sales, CoreCentric Solutions, Flitz, Fred’s Appliance Academy, Innovex, JRR Advertising, Novo – Serta Comfort Lift, Paragon, Ragalta, SES Imagotag, and ShopKeep.

MEGA Group USA’s spring show takes place in New Orleans on March 27-30, 2017. Learn more at www.megagroupusa.com.


ABOUT MEGA GROUP USA: MEGA Group USA is the fastest growing national home furnishings buying organization in the country with retail members in the furniture, electronic, appliance and mattress industries. MEGA Group USA is dedicated to the online success of every member and is committed to providing cutting-edge, effective and practical resources as technology continues to evolve and be the driving resource to reaching consumers. MEGA also provides their members excellent products and services including insurance, group vendor programs, custom advertising and marketing services, consulting, store merchandising, and information technology support aimed at driving floor traffic, improving sales and profits, and enhancing operating efficiencies. MEGA Group USA has 1,750 retail members in 3,200 store fronts throughout the United States. For more information on MEGA Group USA, visit www.megagroupusa.com.