Members of the North American Retail Dealers (NARDA) have approved a merger agreement with the United Servicers Association (USA), completing the deal. The Board of Directors of NARDA and USA announced plans earlier this year to merge the two associations into one not-for-profit trade association.
As part of the merger agreement, USA will become Service USA, the Service Division of NARDA and one of six divisions of the association. The other divisions are Appliances, Business Development, Education, Electronics and Furniture. Each division will be overseen by a NARDA Director and charged with providing programs that benefit the members who have an interest in those areas. USA will assume a board seat with oversight of the Service USA Division.
"The partnership between NARDA and USA created through The Service & Retail Convention (SRC) and numerous other areas of common interest laid the foundation for one cohesive association that can bring greater value to our members and better address challenges and opportunities", says Paul MacDonald, USA's Board President. "Industry consolidation is here to stay. We are not only better off as one organization, we are excited about the many potential opportunities ahead."
A number of transition activities are underway to complete the process of integrating the two organizations. One of the first major new initiatives that will be implemented as a result of the merger will be Regional Service Meetings (RSM's). These one-day sessions will offer technical and best practices service management training and will begin in fall 2007.
For more information, visit www.unitedservicers.com.
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