Family-run merchant Paton of Walton has changed buying groups to join National Buying Group (NBG).
The Surrey-based heating and plumbing specialist was established in 1975 and has two branches, serving much of the London area.
Changing buying groups was not a decision taken lightly, but having known several NBG Partners for many years, and seeing the influx of merchants NBG has been attracting from other groups, the leadership team at Paton of Walton decided that it was time to make the switch.
Steve Bennett, General Sales Manager at Paton of Walton explained: “We saw merchants leaving our old group for NBG and decided to look into whether or not we could benefit from doing the same.
“We already had good relationships with a number of NBG merchants, new and more longstanding, and they all confirmed that joining NBG was a good business decision for them and likely would be for us too.”
Since becoming an NBG Partner, Paton of Walton has already experienced the improvements to its bottom line, with some supplier deals already reported to be costing the business around 15% less than they were previously.
Bennett added: “We very quickly saw improvements to our profit margins, which is exactly why we made the change to NBG. Already, they’ve delivered on their promise.”
Paton of Walton is NBG’s eighth new Partner this year and the sixth new Partner specialising in plumbing and heating.
Phil Bonar, NBG’s Head of New Partner Development and Recruitment, said: “We’re very pleased that Paton of Walton is reaping the benefits of their partnership with us. Our Category Management Teams are industry experts and are proud to secure some of the very best deals available.
“Thanks to NBG’s combined buying power of £1 billion, independents like Paton of Walton can get better prices on a whole array of product lines. We’re thrilled for them and looking forward to seeing them grow as Partners over the coming years.”
