By Isabelle Piotrowski
Membership Manager
Every dealer serving the foodservice equipment and supplies industry shares in the challenges posed by labor shortages, government intrusion into operations and advancing environmental regulation. But for smaller dealers who often lack the specific resources or dedicated employees to confront the current regulatory climate, the burden can be even more pronounced.
To better address the needs of those members in a way that is more specific to their operations, FEDA is forming the Small Dealers Council. This new council is made up of the principals of approximately 30 dealerships with annual sales of around $40 million or less. The focus of this group will be on business and industry issues most directly affecting small dealers. The council’s initial discussions will begin with topics such as needed business resources, workforce challenges and FEDA’s new tech initiatives. Moreover, council members will have the opportunity to suggest and pursue additional subjects as they move forward.
Small dealers are already participating in many FEDA initiatives, including the FEDA Data Portal and Governance Project and the FEDA Advocacy Council. Through these efforts, we have learned much about the unique needs of this segment of our membership, and have seen how the economic, regulatory and technology changes occurring in the industry are impacting smaller dealers differently and often more substantially than larger dealers. This is especially true in the areas of margins, resources, labor and industry technology. As such, we believe a dedicated Small Dealers Council will provide those members with a useful forum for tackling these industry challenges.
The Small Dealers Council will meet four times a year, with the first meeting being held in person on Oct. 26 at the 2023 FEDA Annual Conference in Frisco, Texas. Top leaders from many of the most successful small dealerships have joined this council. FEDA is excited that many new faces will be attending the conference in part so that they can participate in this kick-off meeting.
The council’s work will help inform future FEDA programs and initiatives. FEDA’s board of directors is looking forward to the group’s feedback and recommendations on how the association can help them become more successful. If you are a small dealer interested in becoming involved in the Small Dealers Council, please reach out to me at [email protected].