Daily News
From Home Furnishing Business
MEGA Group USA Conference Sets Summer Record
August 26,
2013 by in Industry, Special Events 
In addition to record member attendance, MEGA had the largest vendor representation ever with 20 new first time vendors. All categories (furniture, mattress, appliances, CE, seasonal and outdoor casual) had record sales for the two-day buying show.
MEGA Group USA, with the support of Samsung Appliances, provided a free Samsung Galaxy tablet to every member in attendance.
“Along with the tablet giveaway, we hosted sessions and workshops that taught members how to use their new tablet to address show-rooming and empower their salespeople with product data, pricing, and rebates right on their sales floor," said Scott McFarland , information technology director for MEGA. "We’re helping our dealers embrace technology in their stores and ultimately meet their customers’ expectations of retail for the future.”
“We anticipate a stronger selling season in the fall," said Jerry Honea , executive vice president of home furnishings. "The MEGA Private Reserve Upholstery Collection of 16 motion and stationary groups experienced strong support, doubling the orders from the Spring Show in Dallas. The collection added four new groups in Nashville with all groups hitting the $599-$999 sofa price points.”
The MEGA Madness pre-show evening event kicked off the buying convention with special buys from more than 40 suppliers. A well-received vendor panel discussion in a TV talk show format hosted by MEGA Group President Rick Bellows set the stage for MEGA Madness. The panel of speakers included Tom Arent, general manager of retail sales for Whirlpool; Serta Chief Sales Officer Bill West; and James Shoemaker, CEO and president of Shoemaker Financial.
MEGA Group also hosted educational workshops along with vendor training sessions. Dealers were able to participate in open forum sessions covering product protection, advertising, selling, operational ideas and how to competitively merchandise against big box stores. From a technology standpoint MEGA also addressed social media, how to use tech to close more sales, how to get the most out of your website and numerous other web technologies.