Several prominent housewares suppliers have called for breakaway associations in the face of BHETA's merger with the BJGF (British jewellery, giftware and finishing federation).
In a letter to our sister site HousewaresLive.net, Cat Enterprises md Charles Harrison called for members to unite and force the association to call an extraordinary general meeting. His hope is that separate housewares and DIY associations could be set up.

The resignation of Pam Plant, the prominent and popular housewares director appears to have been the tipping point.

Mr Harrison said: "Following the announcement of Pam Plant's resignation I have had conversations with a number of fellow members and the consensus is that the association has lost its heart and soul.

"The question now being asked is whether the plan for BHETA to merge with BJGF best serves the interests of the sector. I firmly believe that it will be a disaster and what is really needed and wanted is an association that single-mindedly represents the interests of the housewares industry - more in line with the IHA in America."

He went on: "BHETA has never given its members the opportunity to support the establishment of separate housewares and DIY associations, even though the Articles and Memorandum of Association cover this eventuality. There is clearly concern amongst members and I have decided to raise my head above the parapet so that the full extent of the concern can be measured."

Under company law it requires the support of 10% of the voting members to requisition an extraordinary general meeting. Harrison is confident that the 30 members needed to make the requisition effective will be reached following the conclusion of next week's Exclusively Housewares show.

"There are some really good people on the Housewares Sector Committee at BHETA," said Harrison. "These are the people that should form the first board of a new housewares association and I hope they will now lead from the front and support the requisition."

Other members have already thrown their support behind the move. Amefa md Martin Russell told HousewaresLive.net: "We at Amefa are fully behind that stance. Our industry is changing, our retailers are changing, and we need a federation that not only recognises those changes but interacts with everyone in the industry to actively promote change - but to the benefit of the housewares industry."

Russell voiced his concern about the proposed merger at the time it was announced, saying that his overriding concern was "the possible loss of focus in these challenging times we may experience through this partnership.

"What our industry requires is to keep housewares clearly in the spotlight, and to generate a close connection with our industry association, I don't believe joining with a federation relating to jewellery and giftwares gives us that closeness and concentration on matters we require in the housewares sector."

He now says that the recent resignation of BHETA housewares director Pam Plant "would further echo those concerns. We have notified Charles of that support, so that is one less member he is now in search of."

Meanwhile, Alan Silverwood's managing director Simon Silverwood also says that Charles Harrison has his "wholehearted support". In a comment posted on yesterday's story on HousewaresLive.net he says: "The proposed merger with BJGF must inevitably lead to a dilution of focus for the core housewares sector of the association."

A statement to BHETA in response said that the decision to merge with the BJGF had "not been taken lightly and the Board's priority throughout has been focused on how to maintain and grow services for members."

It may also be a case of shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted as BHETA housewares committee chairman John Newcomb also pointed out that the committee voted unanimously for the merger "and have no intention of reversing that decision".

Similarly, all BHETA members were given the opportunity to vote for or against the merger. Of the 300 or so members, only 100 actually cast a vote, with 95 voting in favour and 5 against.

BHETA ceo David French was keen to point out the benefits of the merger: "This change will allow BHETA to ensure that all its members benefit from greater networking opportunities, the provision of market data (which has not been possible before), enhanced buying power for tried and tested services and the opportunity to add their voices on industry-wide issues to others in the Super Federation, giving BHETA members a more powerful lobbying platform and stronger representation at government level."

Are you satisfied with the proposed merger? Would you want to see new separate associations break away? Have your say. Post a comment below and let us know the views of the DIY sector.