Better buying and accelerated education the reasons VIP Merchant has joined the buying group.
Manchester and London-based independent merchant Valves Instruments Plus has joined National Buying Group.
Having supplied valves, instruments and plumbing and heating components to the industry since 1985, the directors at VIP made the decision to join a buying group to benefit from increased purchasing power and business support.
Having not been part of a buying group before, joining NBG was a brand new venture for VIP.
Managing Director, Steve Wood initially spoke to Chris Ramster, Southern Director at VIP who had previously worked with NBG and, after hearing his colleague’s praise for the group, decided to look into it.
“We wanted to speed up our education on new products as we expand our offering and felt a buying group would be a great source of knowledge and expertise to provide the assistance we need,” said Wood.
“NBG is the perfect fit for us; the product support combined with the strong buying power is ideal and we’re really glad to be able to learn from the other Partners as well as sharing our own expertise.”
NBG has seen a significant influx in new merchant Partners in the past 12 months – most recently with Tunbridge Wells and Aylesford based Plumb 4 Less in late-2023. More are expected to join soon as Partnership negotiations are progressing with merchants covering a range of specialisms.
Phil Bonar, New Partner Development and Recruitment Manager at NBG, said: “VIP is a fantastic addition to our buying group. Its insights into the industry will be invaluable to us and we look forward to benefitting from its contribution as much as it benefit from our support."
