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I think PPP is great. It has helped me as a manager to meet others in my field and it has given me a greater resources and knowledge. The buying power we have by being a part of this has enabled our shop go from one level to the next, especially with the Catalog Network and the great Christmas catalogs we are able to provide to our customers. In our community we are now known as the best place to shop. Thank you PPP!
P.P.P. has been very beneficial to us. The discounts we have received have meant a larger profit margin as well as thousands of dollar savings. They are always looking for new vendors to help our Gift Shops. The seminars are full of knowledge and a good way to get feedback from other Gift Shop Managers. I am very impressed with the Purchasing Power Plus buying group. Keep up the good work. Thanks,
If I could say anything about PPP it would be-It's fantastic! PPP gives us the opportunity to give our customers the widest selection of quality merchandise at reasonable prices! Our hospital has 1200 employees and it only takes a few to spread the word about the merchandise when it arrives! If I could estimate the amount of money PPP saves our shop it would be in excess of $10,000. per year. The $650 fee is well worth the benefits you receive in return! Bea Roaden, Mgr/Buyer
Our shop has been a member of PPP for the past four years. I really appreciate the benefit of discounts from some of my major vendors. Also, I enjoy receiving the brochures and information regarding new companies and products. I have ordered from several of the companies for which I have received brochures regarding their products. Estella Brashear, Coordinator of Volunteer Services
The Purchasing Power Plus program has worked very well for us. We save an average of between $5,000 - $10,000 a year depending on vendor turns. Your staff has been very helpful and pleasant to work with and we look forward to our continued relationship. There are so many "in the now" companies that participate in the program it is easy to reap the savings! At the shows in Atlanta, I have encouraged companies who were not part of the Purchasing Power Plus program to get on board and have been very pleased to find so many that have. I would encourage any hospital gift shop, large or small to take advantage of this additional revenue-producing program. Thanks for the good work!! Linda Brown, Manager/Buyer
We have been members of PPP for over 5 years. We have more than saved our membership fee in the 1st quarter of each year. It has given us opportunities to find vendors we may not have known about & they have offers that have been beneficial to our shops profits. The PPP Staff is a wonderful group of professionals that are always working to improve PPP. I have attended 3 of the PPP conferences & have always come away with more information & great ideas from networking with peers from across the country. We have never doubted our relationship with PPP. Renee Schumacher, Manager
I discovered PPP about a year and a half ago as the result of a direct mail postcard from the company. We immediately researched participation, our Auxiliary (which owns and operates our Gift Shop) approved the action on my recommendation, and we've been members ever since. P.P.P. is easy to use, saves us far more than each year than the membership costs, and more and more vendors are also participating, which increases our savings opportunities. We save more than enough with only one vendor to balance out the membership fee. Marge Sullivan, DVS
We have been a member of P.P.P. for several years. In a years time we have saved approximately $4500.00 by being a member. With the rate that freight has been increasing, I feel it is well worth the membership. Sharon Hogan, Gift Shop Manager
In April of 2003, I became the first paid coordinator for the gift shop at Great Plains Regional Medical Center. I had been involved with retail business for twenty plus years, but had no background in hospital gift shop management. Purchasing Power Plus information was made available to me upon my arrival in the shop and I made the decision to become a PPP member in May 2003. What a wonderful asset it has proven to be. While I realized that the discounts from vendor members would be a huge benefit, I have been totally impressed with the helpful tips and information that is included in the newsletters and information packets we receive monthly. Purchasing Power Plus has made my introduction into the world of hospital gift shops much easier. Has it been worth the investment? Absolutely!!! Will our membership be renewed in 2004...YOU BET! Thanks PPP!! Sincerely,
We are opening a new hospital gift shop in southwest Omaha and decided to become members of Purchasing Power Plus. Our membership was $500 and on our first buying trip to Chicago, we saved a total of $813. We still have several categories to buy such as greeting cards, and will look for vendors that offer the discount. We found ourselves looking for the vendors that had the PPP sticker in the window and, if we didn't see it, we would ask the vendor if they participated in the program. Hopefully, we generated some interest for those that didn't belong - several said they would follow up on the program. I find the newsletter particularly interesting and helpful to a new gift shop manager. Sincerely,
I have been a PPP member for several years and I can remember trying to come to a decision on whether this would be a good move for our small hospital gift shop. What I did was look at the purchases I made yearly just from one vendor, one of my largest suppliers. That alone was enough to know what a great savings this program can be to the gift shop. I also enjoy the web page and especially the member forum because I find new product and "hot sellers". Their monthly mailings are also very informative. I hope that within a few years PPP can host another informational/educational/networking event. These are great but understandably very costly. PPP has been a great asset to me and the hospital gift shop! Pat Vogt, Gift Shop Manager
Purchasing Power Plus provides a valuable service to gift shop managers. Educational offerings are always top notch and the potential to network with other gift shop managers is invaluable. In our business, many of us are fairly solitary. Unlike larger retail environments, we do not have an in-house network of other managers that we can share ideas with. Purchasing Power Plus provides the network we need to stay creative and keep up with trends. Further, from a bottom-line standpoint, you need to be a member of Purchasing Power Plus. While the discounts provide a great savings, the dating is what attracts me to Purchasing Power Plus. I love receiving gorgeous new merchandise that I will not have to pay for until most of it is sold!!!!!!!!!! Many vendors offer 60 and/or 90 day dating programs. This is an awesome cash flow tool. You'll find yourself getting spoiled by these special terms. You'll never want to buy at Net 30 again! Bernie Gosky, Gift Shop Manager
Five years ago, when I started as a Co-Chairman of our hospital gift shop, I experienced my first Gift Mart shopping trip. As rookies we entered a showroom where we purchased a considerable amount of merchandise and the clerk asked us if we were Purchasing Power members. We asked for an explanation. She told us how it worked and gave us the number to call. Using my cell phone, I contacted Purchasing Power Plus and a representative of the company was in the mart so we met with her and signed up saving 10% on our bill that day. Each year our bookkeeper has figured our savings to determine if it is wise for us to sign up again the following year. Each year we have found it beneficial for us to continue our membership. In addition to receiving a discount from the vendors we regularly use, we receive a lot of material from vendors that contact us because we are on the Purchasing Power Membership List. Through these contacts, we have found some good selling items that we would have missed if we had not been on that list. We signed up again this month for another year and just today received 10% discounts from two vendors that called on us at our hospital, so we have already recovered a good portion of the membership fee. Pat Thomas, Gift Shop Manager
The first year as a member, I tracked all PPP discounts. The shop saved $2570.15 that year. The savings are real. Nancy Simmons, Gift Shop Manager
The GIFT SHOP @ Sacred Heart in Spokane Washington is proud to be associated with PPP. As a gift shop manager I take advantage of the networking offered by the group. The forum on the website offers the ability to network with people in the same business about new ideas, problems and questions. We have been fortunate to attend the yearly shows and symposiums. The educational offerings have been terrific as have been the vendor floors. The available vendors cover a wide range of products and services. We feel the yearly dues are well worth the benefits we gather. Claudia Hall, Manager
The GIFT SHOP at Sacred Heart/Spokane, Washington has participated in the P.P.P. program for at least the six years I have been buying here. While I cannot easily identify precise dollar amounts of annual savings, the discounts from any of 3 or 4 major suppliers more than cover our PPP annual fee. I review each vendor list as it comes, highlighting companies with whom we do business. When we are in contract negotiations with vendors making proposals for our business (such as a major card vendor), their participation with P.P.P. gives them preferential status. We are very vocal with those vendors in an on-going manner that P.P.P. is a vital part of any extension of that contract. I do not buy from a vendor based solely on their P.P.P. designation, but if there are products I want that discounting is much appreciated. Using just our two top card vendors, both of which offer a 10% P.P.P. discount, we spend about $17,000 annually; equating to a $1,700 savings, which more than pays our dues. Michael Wetherell, Gift Shop Buyer
We have been a member of PPP since 2001 and we love it! We were a little skeptical because of the $650.00 membership fee, but quickly realized we had it paid off with 1 Christmas order! Last year, we saved over $1500.00(above and beyond the fee) with vendors we already worked with so it was really great! I really enjoy the great information that comes with the newsletter. Thank you! Diane MacDonald , Gift Shop Coordinator |
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