Make a date with indie retailers

Since last week's column, I'm pleased to say the idea mooted forNascr's 1997 Retailer Conference has moved on at a great pace.

The date is confirmed as Sunday 16 March 1997 and I can announce that not only have we CRN as the official sponsor of the event but we also have the help of Blenheim Exhibitions. I am sure all the expertise and knowledge they have will ensure the event's success. I will try not to go on about this too much but will, of course, ensure that you are kept up to date as things progress and at this pace there will be quite a lot to tell you about.

Anyway, what else has been happening? Well the membership has now grown to top the 200 member mark, which brings added resources and, I believe, makes Nascr the largest specialist computer retail group in the UK. This creates many new opportunities and gaining credibility from the end-user is one of the things that has been in the forefront of Nascr's mind for many a year with the need for the association to gain accreditation from an end-user prospective.

Up until now, Nascr has used its limited resources on the everyday running of the association and issues facing the membership. This is not to say this will not continue, addressing industry issues will of course continue wherever possible and whenever they arise, as will the quest to secure fair trading practices and special arrangements for the members to be able to compete with the rest of the retail sector. You need only ask a member to see the many "deals" arranged for Nascr members giving them financial benefits over their independent counterparts, but in my mind it is time for Nascr to evolve into the responsible body it has striven for so long to be. Nascr is gaining recognition from the industry and it is now time to make the end-user aware of the benefits of shopping at a Nascr store. Up until now, this has taken the form of a certificate of membership, the Nascr logo window sticker and a code of ethics, all of which we strongly encourage our members to display instore.

As CRN has been good enough to offer its support it also unlocks other opportunities from within its parent company, VNU Business Publications, to work with Nascr on a series of editorials published in its range of end-user magazines within the group.

Nascr has, on occasion, been able to mediate between customer and retailer on issues that sometimes become cloudy from a legislative point of view.

Naturally our aim is for a customer to get to the stage of looking for the Nascr logo in the store window or by accessing the membership list on our web pages knowing the guaranteed level of expertise available and the peace of mind that the association offers, should he need to seek out help on a dispute between himself and a member.

Any retailer still striving to go it alone should take a look at the way the industry has been going, how other markets have moved away from independent domination and see the way to ensure their survival can only be achieved through belonging to a retail group. What Nascr offers its members is the opportunity to remain independent, not to be dictated to and continue to make their own decisions. Nascr is a non-profit making organisation with a committee of independent retailers keen to ensure each member is free from any form of pressure to conform beyond the expectancy of members to comply with fair trading practices and adhere to the Nascr code of ethics. In return it offers a host of special arrangements giving preferential terms on a range of facilities such as legal help, courier costs, shop insurance and consumer credit as well as many trade suppliers giving special prices. In passing, this may be an ideal opportunity to mention yet another arrangement now agreed between Nascr and Telstar Multimedia Distribution who has agreed to give an additional retrospective discount to all members as well as a similar amount to be paid into the association.

This super offer will come into force on 1 January 1997 and is in addition to the recent introductory u50 cashback offered by Telstar through the association's Indie magazine. Members wishing to know more about this superb offer from Telstar are welcome to call me.

Did that sound like a sales pitch for Nascr? Well sorry if it did, but I have been committed to the concept of the association from it's inception in the 80s and as time goes by and Nascr evolves I believe it will be so important to the survival of the independent retailer.

Clive Bishop, Nascr General Secretary.

This is the second of what I hope will be many articles for CRN from myself, Clive Bishop, at the Nascr office. I will try to make them interesting enough for you to want to look for the column in future issues.

This column aims to ensure that Nascr affairs and the Nascr view on general industry issues are related to the wider body of computer retailers, and to elicit feedback on those issues from retailers.

Feedback is very important. Nascr can only represent members' views if we know them. And I don't want to restrict this to just Nascr members.

We need feedback from the industry as a whole (and we are always ready to welcome new members).

Nascr can be contacted using the following - fax/phone 01604 761880, email [email protected] The snail-mail address is 3 London Road, Collingtree, Northampton NN4 0NN.