Sunday, November 16, 2008

Positioning wholesalers and manufacturers to gain market share in the year ahead is the central goal for this week?s Executive Planning Conference at the JW Marriott Starr Pass Resort in Tucson, Arizona.

Thirty-two distributors representing the Charlotte-based Distribution America and Denver-based PRO Group, Inc. are conducting 3,443 one-on-one meetings with 145 manufacturing companies at the November 16-19 event.

The distribution groups conduct the conference jointly to reduce costs and increase value for attending manufacturers.

Bruce Fischer of the Werner Company said the conference is especially valuable given the current economic environment. ?These are our distributor partners. There is nothing more important that we can do right now than to be discussing plans, ideas and a strategy of how to best position going into what appears to be a tough year ahead.?

Steve Synnott, CEO of PRO Group, Inc., said, ?PRO Group positions the annual Executive Planning Conference as a venue to conduct strategic meetings between top-level manufacturer and distributor executives. The turbulent economy combined with an anemic financial forecast for 2009 have amplified the importance of the event?s objective. Everyone seems to be focused on cutting waste while improving service levels, inventory turns and lead times. The conference facilitates the strategic and tactical discussions necessary to realize stronger channel efficiency.?

According to Dave Christmas, CEO of Distribution America, DA Member meetings with key vendors during the conference will provide a sturdy foundation for future success. Member owners have continued to succeed, despite the economic downturn. ?The DA group had a significant increase in sales during the third quarter and a year-to-date increase of 2.4 percent,? Christmas said. ?While difficult times are likely to continue for a while, independently owned business are positioned to break the bonds of their big box competition and prosper, doing what they do best, serve their local communities with products right for their markets with exceptional, personal service.?

Marty Owens of Gerber Legendary Blades said he looks forward to building a long-term strategy with decision makers at the distributor level. ?For 2009, it is only through clearly understanding customers? needs that we can provide them with what they are looking for to take advantage of opportunities this economy will provide. When opportunities come up my hope is that they will look to us first.?

Sherman Weiss of Great American Marketing said his company considers Distribution America and PRO Group as valuable channels for getting the company?s products to market. ?These functions bring us closer together each year,? said Weiss, who is promoting new paint brushes and roller covers. ?Results include not only expanding our product listings with all of the member/distributors, but also working closely with their marketing, merchandising and sales teams to ensure sell-through to retail and beyond.?

Representatives from the North American Retail Hardware Association and the National Hardware Show are presenting at the conference as well. The event also includes a golf tournament and the Wallace Hardware Company Prayer Breakfast.

In meetings with its distributor members, PRO Group is rolling out its new online brokerage commission reconciliation project and covering the Distribution Center Workshop, Hardware Show Members Meeting and Group Merchandising Conference, as well as discussing vendor updates.

Distribution America member meetings include discussions on expanding categories for retailers, including outdoor living, to accommodate the needs of ?staycationers,? and farm and ranch. DA is also previewing the new DA Connections virtual merchandise mart.

Both Distribution groups use the conference format to reward and recognize distributors and manufacturers.

The Charlotte, N.C.-based Distribution America http://www.daonline.com) is a multi billion dollar buying and marketing organization, covering all 50 states with over 20,000 retail customers.

PRO Group, Inc. http://www.pro-group.com) is a multi-divisional, international merchandising and marketing organization with corporate headquarters in Denver, Colorado. Its operating units include PRO Hardware, GardenMaster, FARM MART and GOLDEN-LINK. The Company?s purchasing power exceeds $3 billion through its Member Distributors.

For More Information Contact:

Jody Maude, Distribution America

704) 940-4806 jody.maude@daonline.com

Shari Kalbach, PRO Group, Inc.

303) 792-3000 shari.kalbach@pro-group.com

Additional media contacts:

Ruth Furman or Kimberly Wojnar, ImageWords (702) 255-8288

Note to media: Digital photographs of the conference available upon request from Elissa Motley of PRO Group, Inc. elissa.motley@pro-group.com