About HBT

Who are we?

Hardware & Building Traders (HBT) is a buying group created for independent timber, hardware, garden and building supplies retailers.

We commenced operation in January 1997 (formerly called Heavy Building Traders) with 13 member stores.  Since then we have grown quickly and as at Janurary 2009 our members operate 291 retail stores located throughout all the States and Territories of Australia.

At the same date we had deals in place with over 250 national and local suppliers and the list continues to grow.

All members are independently owned and operated businesses.  And whilst HBT has fostered a strong culture of support and co-operation between it’s members, we restrict our formal role to that of a buying group.  We do NOT involve ourselves in marketing or other activities.

What are we trying to do?

We have only two mutually reinforcing objectives:-

1. For our members – Lower buying prices and higher margins. 
2. For our suppliers – Build volume.

As a not unimportant side-benefit, our regular member meetings provide an excellent informal forum for the exchange of ideas and information between members.  Store owners seem to really look forward to the meetings.

Our suppliers also enjoy these meetings as an opportunity to present new products and build personal relationships.

Are We for You?

We seek members with a strong retail hardware or garden operation and / or an emphasis in building supplies and a strong trade customer base. We want to work with our members to assist them in being the dominant force in their immediate marketplace.

The stores in our group are mostly strong, well-established traders whose trade area does not conflict with that of another member.

There is a strong regional component to our membership list and this tends to reflect in a friendly informal approach to the way we work.

How are we set up?

We run very lean with a minimal yet highly professional administrative structure.

Our Executive is composed of store owners (members) who are responsible for approving all membership and supplier matters.  They hold an Executive meeting or teleconference each month to administer the group.

For Calendar 2009 the Executive is:

HBT is a private company owned by the people who set it up and run it. It is managed to benefit the member stores by lowering their buying prices. We aren't a typical buying group. You don't have to buy shares or take any responsibility. All you have to do is sit back and enjoy good deals and plenty of valuable interaction with your peers. There's none of the bureaucracy or politics that groups like this sometimes suffer from. We hold two member conferences each year (attendance at which is considered “compulsory”).

How do we work with suppliers?

Our Executive negotiates a deal with a supplier, which is then included in our Deal Directory.

Each member is responsible for their own relationship with each supplier.  They open their own accounts and are responsible for ordering, payment, account maintenance etc directly with each supplier.

Every deal provides for a 1%* administrative rebate together with a member rebate which varies between 1-10%*. These rebates are paid quarterly to HBT. HBT retains the 1% to cover running costs and then collates and pays the stores rebates to each member. (* Based on the value of net purchases).

Other deal terms such as settlement discounts, advertising support etc are agreed by HBT but left for each member to implement with the supplier concerned. Where commercial circumstance requires, suppliers may offer differential pricing to individual members, but under the umbrella of the agreed deal.

HBT does not guarantee payment by members to suppliers and does not place orders or (at this stage) put together collated buys.

At the regular member meetings, member support for deals is reviewed and member comments are actioned and fed back to suppliers.

How do you become a member?

Simply complete our application form and send it to us with your cheque for the $1,500 (including GST) joining fee.

Once approved by the Executive, you will be sent our plain English membership agreement to sign and our Deal Directory so you can get trading.

You pay nothing further.  There are no annual membership fees, as the group meets it’s costs from the 1% administration fee paid by suppliers.

Simple:

1. Pay the joining fee.
2. Be “fair dinkum” in supporting all the deals you possibly can. Minimum desirable purchases per annum are $250,000 or $100,000 for garden centres.
3. Come to the member meetings (two per year). You need to attend at least two out of every three meetings.