British Home Enhancement Trade Association and British Jewellery, Giftware & Finishing Federation join forces to create one powerful ‘super federation’
In a unique, forward thinking and commercially intuitive step, the British Home Enhancement Trade Association (BHETA) and the British Jewellery, Giftware & Finishing Federation (BJGF Federation) have announced their intention to create one powerful ‘super federation’.
This followed a resoundingly positive 95% vote in favour of the collaboration from BHETA members, which closed yesterday at a special briefing meeting hosted by the two organisations at BHETA’s current headquarters in Northampton.
The new super federation will bring together two of the most powerful trade associations in the United Kingdom and will provide the jewellery, gift, home enhancement and finishing industries with a united and substantial lobbying voice, stronger representation at the highest levels of government, and an upgraded membership offer.
The new entity will see the executive team at BHETA’s Northampton offices relocate to the BJGF Federation’s headquarters at Federation House in Birmingham. This merging of facilities will significantly control administrative costs and leave greater resources to invest in widening and deepening the membership services.
As David French, chief executive officer at BHETA, said, “With 2008 proving to be one of the most testing economic environments in the 50 years since our Association was formed, this initiative will create a strong and resilient super federation that will represent all our industries powerfully and decisively into the next decade and beyond. Whilst many other companies and organisations are facing down-sizing or even closure, we are making this move from a position of strength and we’ll continue to operate with a well funded financial base. This new super federation will allow each sector association within it to retain its own voice and control its own destiny, but allow us, as a group, to fund a more comprehensive range of benefits and services to all our members.”
David Metcalfe, vice president of the BJGF Federation, said, “This forward thinking initiative will bring critical mass to two trade associations that already have a formidable track record at effectively representing their members. This is a genuine and unique collaboration that will bring about greater control of costs and additional funds to invest in the super federation – ensuring that we provide a premium membership services and powerful representation at local, national and European government levels.”
The new super federation will be renamed in order to clarify its role as an umbrella trade organisation, and details of its future branding and strategy will be announced shortly.
Both associations have committed to ‘openness and transparency’ and in a thoroughly modern agreement will sign a commercial ‘pre-nup‘ which ring fences and protects the assets and interests of both associations for the first two years of the new union.
by Vanessa Fortnam, The Press Office Ltd
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