If it were up to Ashley Gorrie, her company, Unwasted, wouldn’t have enough raw material at its disposal to even exist. But, until we can stop pulling plastic from our oceans, Unwasted will work to use them to manufacture its product. Gorrie jumps on the Independent Thinking Podcast to share the brand’s inspiring story.

These first few weeks of 2022 have been some of the busiest for the Nationwide Marketing Group Furniture and Bedding division. After Las Vegas Market and PrimeTime in January and February, the F&B team quickly turned around for High Point Market in April. We recap it all with Mike Derro and Jeff Rose.

Just days removed from her attendance at the 2022 HTSN CI Summit in Dallas, Vanessa Zitzmann, senior managing editor at Connected Design, recaps her experience. We also dive into some home technology trends that she’s keeping an eye on and more.

Azione Unlimited is fresh off of its New Dreams in New Orleans event, and Patrick McCarthy, the group’s director of new business and member services, jumps on the Independent Thinking Podcast to recap what went down. We also dive into some of the latest custom integration trends, how the business has evolved and more.

After their acquisition of Nortek Control in October 2021, Nice North America has big plans to help custom integrators simplify the story around the smart home. Paul Williams, Chief Product Officer for Nice, jumped on the Independent Thinking Podcast to share that vision and talk through the benefits the company can provide to integrators.

Greg Simmons, Vice President of industry partnerships for Snap One, spent the bulk of his career on the custom integration side of the business. He shares what it’s like being on the brand side and more on his push to train and educate inspiring technicians.

Whether it’s new partnerships like that with Snap One, or upcoming programming with CEDIA Tech Summits and the HTSN CI Summit, education is at the heart of everything Hank Alexander is doing for Nationwide Marketing Group’s network of custom integration dealers.

Damon and Lu Holter were never supposed to own a steak sauce and spice brand. But thanks to a single homemade steak dinner and a passion for flavor, the two have gone on to build Croix Valley Foods into a household name around the globe. They hopped on the Independent Thinking Podcast to share their story, which shares roots with the independent retail world. 

Over the past two years, the outdoor space has garnered a great deal of attention from consumers looking to invest in their at-home entertainment experience. Furrion, makers of outdoor TVs and other entertainment gear, breaks down the market and opportunities for independent retailers.

On the heels of a busy PrimeTime in Phoenix, Nationwide Marketing Group’s appliance team was in Orlando for the Kitchen and Bath Industry Show (KBIS). We sat down to talk about the trends they spotted, products and experiences that stood out and more.

After Nationwide Marketing Group wrapped up PrimeTime in Phoenix, we took a short trip to Tempe, Arizona, where we sat down with Bear Hendley, co-owner and retail sales and installation manager, of Walts. We dive into their evolving in-store experience, the growth of the company and much more.

At Nationwide Marketing Group’s PrimeTime show in Phoenix, blind adventurer and motivational speaker Erik Weihenmayer shared his absolutely incredible story, which saw him overcome a rare disease that caused him to go blind and ultimately reach the summit of Mt. Everest. Erik sat down with the Independent Thinking Podcast to dive deeper into his message and the meaning behind his No Barriers Lifestyle movement.

Amid a busy schedule, Nationwide Marketing Group Sr. Director of Furniture and Bedding Jeff Rose sat down inside the new NMG showroom at Las Vegas Market to provide updates on the show, the industry and more.

Nationwide Marketing Group’s Vice President of Consumer Electronics Lee McDonald jumps on the Independent Thinking Podcast to recap the things he saw out in Las Vegas during CES 2022. Among the trends identified: new innovations in TV tech, some smart home updates, and more.

In a word, 2021 was busy for the team at Howard’s in Southern California. And 2022 looks to be more of the same as the retailer gets set to expand into more markets. We sat down with President and CEO John Riddle and Chief Customer Experience Officer Michelle Nein to talk about their growth strategy, which has included two recent acquisitions and the planned opening of several new experience centers throughout the region.

The ceramic Komodo-style grill space can be a rather intimidating one for consumers. New Nationwide vendor partner Vision Grills explains how their product — and the game-changing quick-change gas technology that it supports — is helping to retailers simplify the story for their customers.

This week marks a major milestone for our Independent Thinking Podcast — 100 episodes! It’s been an incredibly fast two years of publishing interviews, so we’re taking a second to pause and reflect on some of our favorite sound bites.

Nationwide Marketing Group’s VP of Consumer Electronics Lee McDonald looks back on a humbling 2021 and projects what’s to come for the industry in 2022.

Chris Benner, vertical product manager for retail at Oracle NetSuite, provides an overview on the world of enterprise resource planning platforms. NetSuite, a Nationwide vendor partner, provides retailers with the tools they need to efficiently run their businesses and provide a seamless experience for their customers.

Consumers have myriad options available to them when it comes to paying for goods. Gone are the days of just cash and checks. To wrap our heads around all of the alternative payment options available today, we sat down with Nationwide’s VP of Business and Financial Services Chris Kirk.