The Builders Merchants Federation (BMF) has agreed its first group membership scheme with a specialist plumbing and heating buying group.
PHG, formed in January 2013, represents 21 merchants with 215 trade counters and 92 bathroom showrooms throughout the UK.
The group membership agreement, which starts on 1January 2014, will see 14 new members join the BMF, with the other seven PHG merchants already in membership. Any new merchants joining PHG during the period of the agreement will be auto-enrolled into the BMF membership.
BMF managing director, John Newcomb, said: “This is the BMF’s third buying group agreement and I am especially pleased to welcome PHG members to the BMF. There has been a misperception that the BMF doesn’t represent plumbing and heating interests, but if there was any justification for this view in the past, it is definitely not the case today. We are listening to what’s important to every sector of the merchanting industry and will proactively represent all members’ best interests.”
With a growing number of plumbing, heating and bathroom specialists coming into membership, the BMF is creating a separate identity for the sector and setting up a new group and specific meetings for the specialist merchants and suppliers.
Mr Newcomb explained: “While many BMF services and initiatives are relevant across the full spectrum of our members, we recognise that certain issues are only relevant to the plumbing and heating sector, and we have a responsibility to facilitate that debate and, where appropriate, to promote their views to a wider audience.”
PHG chairman, David Pochin, added: “PHG recognises the need to continually raise standards across the plumbers’ merchant marketplace and to ensure that it can make a positive contribution to relevant industry thinking. Accordingly, we have decided to work with the BMF to create a sector specific forum focused on education, training and lobbying.
“We hope that other plumbers’ merchants and our suppliers will follow the PHG lead and join us in the BMF where we can work together to advance the interests of our industry.”
