Q1. Why is FASA necessary?
Q2. What is FASA aiming to achieve?
Q3. Why should I join FASA?
Q4. What are the alternatives to FASA?
Q5. What do I get for my membership fees?
Q6. How will FASA be administered?
Q7. When will the website be finalised?
Q8. What general advertising is planned?
Q9. How will communication between FASA and Members be managed?
Q10. If you have two shops, do you need two memberships?
Question 1: Why is FASA necessary?
Answer:
Quite simply, retailers are being abused by manufacturers, by consumers and by the online shops.
Particularly in this climate, it’s time retailers were recognised and rewarded for what they do. By joining together under the FASA umbrella retailers can ensure this abuse is stopped once and for all.
Retailers have no exclusive forum through which to voice concerns or opinions and no lobbying group to represent and market them.
FASA gives retailers a voice for the first time and just one of the benefits for Members is professional marketing not generally affordable on an individual basis.
As individual businesses retailers are limited by what they can achieve to counteract discounted internet and non-showroom selling plus lack influence with the manufacturing sector.
FASA brings retailers together as a unified and strong group while retaining individuality with real influence to make change happen.
Marketing can be expensive if undertaken by individual retailers in isolation plus retailers may not have the skills or time necessary to make their marketing truly effective and deliver sufficient return on investment.
FASA marketing will be high quality, produced by experts and by using a proportion of pooled Membership fees very cost effective.
run by retailers for retailers!
Join now; safeguard our industry, your business and start to benefit
Download an application form (PDF)
Question 2: What is FASA aiming to achieve?
Answer:
The organisation has a number of aims and objectives:
- To promote the FASA brand and educate the public on the benefits of buying from a FASA Member
- To establish the FASA brand as the leading symbol to look for when buying so it becomes synonymous with quality, value and safety
- Through strength of Member numbers and with a common focus and direction to have more influence within the industry eg with manufacturers and other suppliers
- Negotiate bulk purchase agreements on exclusive and quality products possibly also an option for FASA online selling if our Members vote for this. Remember online selling is only a problem at the moment because prices quoted are low and therefore so too are margins. If FASA offers exclusive products we can control distribution as well as dictate prices and margins.
- To educate and encourage the highest standards in showroom presentation and customer service, installation techniques and general safety through structured training schemes and sharing best practice
run by retailers for retailers!
Join now; safeguard our industry, your business and start to benefit
Download an application form (PDF)
back to top
Question 3: Why should I join FASA?
Answer:
Quite simply if you don’t you will miss out on all the Member benefits which include:
- The prominent FASA web site with a high Google ranking plus a direct link to your business via postcode referral.
- Professional and effective national advertising, PR and promotion enabling you to reduce your own marketing budget.
- A forum - online and at Member events- to enable Members to share ideas, resources and experiences with each other, manufacturers and suppliers.
- For the first time retailers will have united representation and a powerful voice.
- Members will be encouraged to share aspirations and concerns with like-minded people and – through FASA – have the opportunity to bring about change.
- Reduce Members overhead costs by group purchase of credit card fee arrangements, business insurances, stationery, vehicles and general utilities.
run by retailers for retailers!
Join now; safeguard our industry, your business and start to benefit
Download an application form (PDF)
Question 4: What are the alternatives to FASA?
Answer:
Sell Non- Internet Products (NIPs)
Whether it’s gas or electric fires, stoves or fireplaces, manufacturers are increasingly introducing NIPs to the high street retailer or offering varying forms of new T&C contracts that prohibit online or distance selling.
These manufacturers are being proactive in their approach to the problem of online selling (and new suppliers see this as an effective marketing ploy) but while welcoming this awakening, FASA offers a word of caution about this approach.
Almost all NIPs are un-proven in the market place. Traditional retailers are being asked to invest in new showroom displays, re-educate themselves in the features of these new products and then hope they sell. Online sites carry on as usual with proven products and are unaffected.
FASA believes this is counter productive and that manufacturers should redirect familiar products back into the high street and offer these unproven goods to the online sites.
The past shows that it is only a matter of time before NIPs are sold on the Internet. If retailers offer customers NIPs while retaining margin, retailers risk pricing themselves out of the market because consumers compare on product type, not brand.
Compared to stand alone retailers FASA accredited retailers*, as a nationwide organisation with a premier web site and the finance available to create quality advertising and promotions, are a more attractive proposition for manufacturers They can then be encouraged to be more selective with first-line product distribution.
(*Online sites with showrooms won’t be accredited)
Avoid online products
As an individual retailer you could choose to not to sell or display products that are available online but since 95% of mainstream products are available online, this would result in a very sparse display to offer your customers.
Also it is highly likely a local competitor would adopt the range you’ve just kicked into touch.
However the threat of product removal by a significant number of FASA retailers means collectively a great deal of influence on manufacturers.
Create a single or number of buying groups
A buying group is simply a name attached to a group of otherwise separate businesses that still purchase and take delivery individually. Highly unlikely to be attractive to manufacturers.
Also this does not tackle the problem of online selling. The buying group would have to display and discount those goods in their existing showrooms or on yet another discounted web site to guarantee equal opportunity and make the sale. All that this creates is a competitor to the existing virtual stores: the original high street business and its margins have not benefitted.
Moreover who would administer this scheme and negotiate with manufacturers? Regional and personal preferences of product and manufacturer make it extremely difficult to administer.
Once FASA has established itself as a strong brand a FASA buying group is an attractive and powerful proposition for manufacturers to supply exclusive products - possibly FASA branded.
Create your own ecommerce Internet site
This would only exacerbate the online pricing war problem.
FASA can achieve this with exclusive products on its own web site in a more controlled manner with the huge advantage of a comprehensive national supply and installation service.
Convince manufacturers to stop supplying discount outlets
Highly unlikely to succeed, manufacturers need turnover and profit as much as any business.
If a virtual store offers an attractive route to market what is their incentive to ignore it?
Traditional stores aren’t an attractive enough alternative right now and now is when manufacturers’ creditors and shareholders want to be paid.
As for product removal – this is where FASA has influence through strength of numbers.
Join the NFA
It is widely acknowledged this has never been a successful marketing organisation and it is not retailer-exclusive.
FASA is retailer exclusive, retailer administered and retailer focused
Create a communal advertising fund
Only a very small percentage of businesses would contribute.
Effectively such an approach would actually help the online discounters and other non-participants through generic product awareness.
FASA advertising will promote and generate business solely for accredited FASA retailers.
Name and shame manufacturers and third party suppliers guilty of discounted online selling
It will achieve absolutely nothing tangible to solve the problem.
A blacklist will not be a deterrent to stop supplying; in any event, the old chestnut of restrictive trading will be cited.
These manufacturers and suppliers won’t ever be able to become FASA members so will be sidelined.
Form an alliance with a manufacturer or group of manufacturers to create a supplier branded store
There are serious potential problems with corporate ownership and operational management issues.
It would need to be instigated by a manufacturer and there is no indication that this is likely.
This would certainly be a way to control exclusivity of supply and margins. So, in time, a generic FASA store may be developed if the Members are in agreement.
run by retailers for retailers!
Join now; safeguard our industry, your business and start to benefit
Download an application form (PDF)
Question 5: What do I get for my membership fees?
Answer:
1. Voting rights in the FASA Incorporated Company
2. A cost effective generic FASA web site and national promotional advertising
3. An organisation with the sole purpose of representing and promoting independent fireplace and stove retailers
4. A vehicle to influence and form closer working ties with manufacturers
5. Opportunity to be a regional representative or officer of the company
run by retailers for retailers!
Join now; safeguard our industry, your business and start to benefit
Download an application form (PDF)
Question 6: How will FASA be administered?
Answer:
FASA is an Incorporated Company limited by guarantee.
Each member company will receive a vote for a nominated named representative of that company.
Up to 5 Members will be voted in by the membership as its board of directors. The directors will appoint and work in close harmony with an auditor, a lawyer and a marketing expert to administer FASA on a daily basis.
There will be continuous two-way communication to inform Members about events, proposals and all promotional initiatives and Members will be encouraged to put forward ideas to further progress and expand FASA.
run by retailers for retailers!
Join now; safeguard our industry, your business and start to benefit
Download an application form (PDF)
Question 7: When will the website be finalised?
Answer:
FASA is a brand new organisation so this website will grow and be developed with the maximum amount of Member input and we will keep Members updated with progress.
run by retailers for retailers!
Join now; safeguard our industry, your business and start to benefit
Download an application form (PDF)
Question 8: What general advertising is planned?
Answer:
Initial promotions are dependant on two things:
1. Membership numbers and therefore available budgets
2. Member preferences from the range to be presented by our marketing partner
run by retailers for retailers!
Join now; safeguard our industry, your business and start to benefit
Download an application form (PDF)
Question 9: How will communication between FASA and Members be managed?
Answer:
Regular communications with Members is crucial to the success of FASA and we will send regular emails, newsletters and bulletins. Regional and national meetings will take place from time to time.
Members will have plenty of opportunities to raise concerns, ask questions and make suggestions. FASA will provide the ideal communication and information forum.
run by retailers for retailers!
Join now; safeguard our industry, your business and start to benefit
Download an application form (PDF)
Question 10: If you have two shops, do you need two memberships?
Answer:
Full registration and annual fee for shop No1 and 2/3 of that sum for the second shop
i.e Shop No1 = £50 + £250 and Shop No2 = £200 in total run by retailers for retailers!
Join now; safeguard our industry, your business and start to benefit
Download an application form (PDF)