Nationwide Marketing Group’s furniture and bedding division has been tracking significant growth over the past 12 months in terms of both membership and vendor participation. But at the group’s recent PrimeTime event in Dallas, that growth was on full display from the packed expo floor to the overflowing meeting and education rooms and everywhere in between.

“We’ve added more than $1 billion in retail business to the organization over the past year,” says Jeff Rose, vice president of furniture and bedding for Nationwide. “That means we saw a large number of first-time PrimeTime attendees in Dallas, alongside some new faces from the vendor community. The result was one of the most successful PrimeTime shows for our furniture and bedding community.”

For new members, the PrimeTime experience is like the physical embodiment of all the reasons they decided to join Nationwide. It’s there that they can take advantage of amazing financing offers, get access to exclusive products and programs, participate in world-class training and education through the Nationwide Learning Academy, engage with their peers in formal and informal settings to share best practices and more.

Those benefits, of course, extend throughout the rest of the calendar in the form of on-demand training and education, human resource guidance and support, live and in-person consultations with their dedicated Nationwide support team, access to group-exclusive data and analytics, myriad opportunities to engage and network with their fellow retailers and much more.

“When you join Nationwide, as these retailers are finding out, it’s like equipping your business with a toolbelt that has everything you could possibly need to thrive as an independent business owner,” says Rose. “Not only do you get access to some world-class programs and pricing, you’re also aligning with a team of professionals who are there to support you and your business along every step of your journey.”

Retailers around the industry are realizing the value of aligning with Nationwide and its expanding furniture and bedding network.

“When we’re evaluating a vendor or a partner of any kind, we look to make sure our core values align, that we have the same passion in helping the guest or customer,” says Ryan Spradling, president of Mattress Land, which joined Nationwide this past January. “We want to be sure they support our long-term vision of success — not just now but five, 10, 15 years down the road. Because I think that you have to evolve as a company, as a group, and we really look for these key things to make sure they align. We’re happy to be part of the group.”

For Nelson Bercier, president of Sit ‘n Sleep, joining a group wasn’t even on his radar until they began to peel back the layers of what Nationwide had to offer.

“From the twice-a-year PrimeTime events and the buyback opportunities to the impressive marketing tools, joining Nationwide was a no brainer,” says Bercier, who joined Nationwide in October of last year. “We also can’t wait to network with our peers, and I’m certain that we’ll continue to find more benefits over time.”

Nationwide’s furniture and bedding division will look to carry their momentum into the upcoming High Point Market show, April 22-26. The team will be on hand, meeting with key vendor partners and exploring new product launches. Retailers looking to connect with Nationwide in High Point or to learn more about the group can contact Jeff Rose at jeff.rose@nationwidegroup.org.