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Independent Thinking Podcast

28: SUNHEAT International Dishes On their 13th Annual Golf Charity Event

28: SUNHEAT International Dishes On their 13th Annual Golf Charity Event

Josh Rookstool, director of sales for SUNHEAT International, talks about the family-owned brand and shares the latest on their plans to hold their 13th annual SUNHEAT Open charity golf event, set for July 31. Head over to sunheat.com for all the details!

27: Understanding ART, Nationwide’s New Assortment Rationalization Tool

27: Understanding ART, Nationwide’s New Assortment Rationalization Tool

Art can certainly be beautiful. But the ART that we’re referring to here is Nationwide’s new Assortment Rationalization Tool. Data visualizations, which is the simplest way to describe ART, can certainly be beautiful in their own way. And this type of ART promises to streamline an independent retailer’s business.

26: Bray & Scarff Dishes on Their Digital Upgrades and Getting Back to Business

26: Bray & Scarff Dishes on Their Digital Upgrades and Getting Back to Business

Joe Ochs, the VP of Sales for Bray & Scarff, a DC-Baltimore-based appliance retailer and kitchen design outfit, chats about what it’s been like managing more than a dozen stores during the coronavirus pandemic, the digital efforts of the retailer, and how they’re preparing to fully reopen their stores.

25: A Look Ahead to the Second Half of the Year in Home Appliances

25: A Look Ahead to the Second Half of the Year in Home Appliances

Nationwide’s VP of Home Appliances Doug Wrede recaps how dealers in the home appliance category — deemed essential across most of the country during the coronavirus pandemic — fared the past few weeks and looks at what challenges lie ahead in the second half of the year.

24: Digital Services are Allowing Retailers to Successfully Navigate a Global Pandemic

24: Digital Services are Allowing Retailers to Successfully Navigate a Global Pandemic

The digital transformation of the retail industry was kicked into high gear as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. Chat, appointment shopping, video consultations and more have been nothing short of a lifeline for many independent retailers during this time. We dive deep into digital with Nationwide’s tech guru, Dev Mukherjee.

23: How Chat Became a Game Changer for Don’s TV During the Coronavirus Crisis

23: How Chat Became a Game Changer for Don’s TV During the Coronavirus Crisis

Donnie Thedford, co-owner of Don’s TV & Appliance, talks about his foray into the world of chat. Thedford recently rejoined Nationwide Marketing Group and almost immediately began realizing the benefits of a full-blown chat strategy — at just the right time, too, as COVID-19 began forcing businesses into a state of uncertainty.

22: A Deep Dive Into the Evolving Role of Point of Sale Systems in Retail

22: A Deep Dive Into the Evolving Role of Point of Sale Systems in Retail

Steve Mahler is the director of Point of Sale (POS) for Nationwide Marketing Group and the perfect guy to talk to if you’re interested in learning everything there is to know about POS. He spoke with us about how POS has evolved over the years and the many benefits retailers can realize by utilizing the right POS for their business. 

21: John Riddle on Howard’s Retail Strategy in the Age of COVID-19

21: John Riddle on Howard’s Retail Strategy in the Age of COVID-19

The novel coronavirus has had an impact on nearly every aspect of our daily lives — and the same holds true for retail. John Riddle, president and CEO of Howard’s, shares how the Southern California retailer has adjusted to this “new normal.”

20: Exploring the Great Outdoors with John Laing, Nationwide’s Outdoor Guru

20: Exploring the Great Outdoors with John Laing, Nationwide’s Outdoor Guru

The outdoor category presents a massive opportunity to independent retailers of all shapes and sizes — and no one can explain why better than Nationwide’s own John Laing, director of outdoor. 

19: How Orsini’s Has Stayed Afloat During the Coronavirus Crisis

19: How Orsini’s Has Stayed Afloat During the Coronavirus Crisis

PJ Orsini, a third-generation retail owner, has seen business boom during the coronavirus crisis. How? He’s leaned into new digital offerings and capitalized on the Paycheck Protection Program. He walks us through the past few weeks at Orsini’s.

18: Checking In On the State of Furniture & Bedding with Jeff Rose

18: Checking In On the State of Furniture & Bedding with Jeff Rose

The past few weeks haven’t been too kind to the independent furniture and bedding retailers around the country. As COVID-19 continues to dominate headlines, Nationwide’s F&B team — lead by Jeff Rose — has been hard at working giving dealers the resources they need to continue serving their communities.

17: Beyond the Products, Smart Home Retail Requires Strong Merchandising and Tech Support

17: Beyond the Products, Smart Home Retail Requires Strong Merchandising and Tech Support

Selling the smart home is about more than just displaying some cool products. Two new Nationwide Marketing Group programs — one focusing on merchandising, the other on offering tech support — prove why.

16: Smartphones in Furniture Stores? Here’s How AT&T and Nationwide are Helping Reshape Independent Retail

16: Smartphones in Furniture Stores? Here’s How AT&T and Nationwide are Helping Reshape Independent Retail

Moving into the second year of a partnership with AT&T, Nationwide Marketing Group Director of Connected Services Eric Sindelar dives deep into what the wireless carrier offers independent retailers of all shapes and sizes.

15: How Consumer Electronics Will Become the Heart of the Home

15: How Consumer Electronics Will Become the Heart of the Home

In some ways, it’s already the case. But at PrimeTime in Houston, Lee McDonald, director of CE for Nationwide, talks about how CE will become the heart of consumers’ homes.

14: What’s a Giant Inflatable T-Rex Doing in a Selden, Kansas Furniture Store?

14: What’s a Giant Inflatable T-Rex Doing in a Selden, Kansas Furniture Store?

Oh, that’s just Renee Spresser, owner of Paul’s Furniture  continuing a hilarious video series she’s created to brilliantly market her business in the town of 200. Spresser was recently honored with a Synchrony Pillar Award and joined the podcast from PrimeTime in Houston to share her story.

13: Recapping Houston PrimeTime with Chief Member Advocate Tom Hickman

13: Recapping Houston PrimeTime with Chief Member Advocate Tom Hickman

From a keynote featuring an astronaut to the extraordinary deals available to members across the showfloor, PrimeTime was action-packed in Houston. We recap the show with Nationwide’s Chief Member Advocate Tom Hickman.

12: On Servicing the Connected Home with Tech Smart USA

12: On Servicing the Connected Home with Tech Smart USA

Chris Carey, CEO of Tech Smart USA, talks about the services his company offers and the opportunity the independent retail channel has in helping customers overcome the challenges in the connected home category.

11: WithIt Grooms the Next Generation of Women Leaders

11: WithIt Grooms the Next Generation of Women Leaders

WithIt Executive Director Amy Van Dorp chats about the group’s mission to help women across various industries develop their business skills — and about their partnership with the WIN: Women in Nationwide network.

10: We Sit Down with Independent We Stand at PrimeTime in Houston

10: We Sit Down with Independent We Stand at PrimeTime in Houston

See what we did there? Bill Brunelle of Independent We Stand spoke with us about all of the tremendous resources IWS has made available to the independent retail channel.

9: Astronaut Mike Massimino Shares Several Out-Of-This-World Leadership Lessons

9: Astronaut Mike Massimino Shares Several Out-Of-This-World Leadership Lessons

Former NASA Astronaut Mike Massimino, fresh off of a keynote at Nationwide Marketing Group’s PrimeTime show in Houston, shares stories from space and relates some of the things he learned to the independent retail channel.