Woolies warning for trade associations

It’s our first Christmas without Woolworths, and so many things are suddenly more difficult. Where will we find spare bulbs for the tree lights? Christmas cake decorations? Batteries? Naff chart compilation CDs to delight 12-year-old daughters? Same daughter’s entire shopping list for family and friends? And where will we find it all in the same shop?

There are some things which are such a part of life as we know it that you assume they will always be there, whether you use them or not. Age, affluence and a growing veneer of sophistication may have led us to choose to shop elsewhere, but you could always rely on Woolies when you needed it. It’s only now it’s gone that I realise the gap it’s left.

How many businesses would feel the same sense of loss if they were to lose their trade association? Like Woolworths, trade associations offer a broad range of services through a single provider. The services are effective and good value, although the more affluent and sophisticated companies tend to graduate to more upmarket, specialist providers who they feel better reflect their needs. And there are some things, such as driving standards or representation and lobbying, which can’t be provided in the same way anywhere else.

Trade association membership subscriptions are inevitably under harsh scrutiny in the current economic climate, and everyone will make their individual decision based on their perception of the value and benefit they get. But I do get a sense that some think their decision relates only to them; the trade association will continue on regardless, and all will reap the benefit of what they do for the industry as a whole.

No business – trade association or retailer – has a right to exist, and none can sustain themselves on insufficient trading. I know as well as anyone that we have to justify our subscription and maintain our relevance. Nevertheless, I do sometimes wonder if the true value of a trade association would only really be felt with its loss.

Merry Christmas.