In a letter to members, Association president Andrew Weiss calls for an end to "destructive activity".
Andrew Weiss, president of the British Home Enhancement Trade Association, has responded to growing unrest within the organisation over the proposed merger with the British Jewellery Gift and Finishing Federation by announcing an extraordinary general meeting to take place on July 23.

In a letter to members, Mr Weiss says that any attempt to split BHETA into separate hardware and housewares associations "is complicated, will generate an enormous amount of legal fees [and] possibly have huge tax implications at a time when the value of our assets are at their lowest". He also says that the intention behind the calling of an EGM is to "find a way forward to cease this destructive activity".

The "destructive activity" in question is a movement spearheaded by Cat Enterprises md Charles Harrison to call for a vote among members on whether stop the merger and to form separate housewares and DIY associations. This movement has gathered considerable momentum, particularly since the resignation of BHETA's popular housewares director Pam Plant. Indeed, Mr Harrison has made explicit his intention to gather sufficient support amongst members to force an EGM.

Mr Weiss says of this move "[Mr Harrison's] timing to raise this just prior to Exclusively Housewares enabled him to raise the required number of members to requisition an EGM... We are told he has the required number but is waiting until the upcoming Housewares forum to decide his next move." BHETA has pre-empted this move by calling an EGM itself.

The original strategy behind the move towards merger, claims Mr Weiss, was to "amortise our cost base by expanding the association into a federation, increasing our membership base and, using this scale, to increase our influence with key decision makers", according to the letter. It is also made clear that a two-year pre merger agreement that allowed BHETA to ensure that the 'federation' worked for members was built in to the agreement".

The merger was voted on by 100 of BHETA's 276 voting members and had an overwhelming 95 in favour of proceeding. Mr Weiss describes the proposed merger as "an outsourcing of all administrative costs, a tightening of our systems whilst maintaining absolute control of our assets and, crucially, our association and sector profiles, whilst we move towards federation status".

The EGM will take place at Brooke House on July 23 and will discuss the resolution: "That the Company supports the board of directors' strategy to:
1/ Outsource the administration of the Company's functions to BJGF for 2 years;
and
2/ During that 2 year period explore the feasibility of a merger of the Company with BJGF, and if the Board of directors thinks fit, to put the merger proposal to the Company's membership for approval."