A live look from Orgill's 2025 Dealer Market
Thousands of retailers have gathered in New Orleans to attend Orgill's three-day show, Feb. 20 - 22. Following Thursday morning’s official event opening, attendees perused nearly 1 million square feet of products, as well as a slew of vendors and service providers (more than 1,200 exhibitors in total, per Orgill).
The 2025 Dealer Market coincides with Orgill’s Spring Buying Event, which began Feb. 17 and runs through March 2. The online buying event is one of four seasonal online events Orgill holds throughout the year.
“With the rapid pace of change in the home improvement industry right now, we want to do everything we can to provide our customers with the products, services and support they need to be successful,” says Boyden Moore, Orgill’s president and CEO. “Hosting our 2025 Dealer Market concurrently with our online Buying Event helps remove any friction for our customers in accessing the tools they need to build their businesses and remain competitive within their trading areas.”
“We are excited to welcome a record number of first-time attendees at this Market, including new customers and prospects, which we think indicates that the way Orgill goes to market and puts the customer first is truly resonating throughout the channel,” Moore says. “We have so many new visitors with us exploring everything Orgill has to offer. It’s such a great opportunity for them to talk to our existing and long-time customers to learn more about why so many retailers choose Orgill."
“Whether it is our long-term vendors who have supported our customers for years or newer relationships, our merchandising team is constantly working to create strong vendor partnerships that allow our customers to meet the unique needs within their trading areas,” says Clay Jackson, Orgill executive vice president and chief operating officer.
“I give a tremendous amount of credit to our vendors who understand how important these events are for our customers. The exhibitors here know that this event plays a key role in helping the retailers we serve plan their promotional buying for the year and the Market allows them to maximize their margin potential by taking advantage of show specials,” Jackson says.
According to Orgill, some of the biggest opportunities for retailers to leverage show specials were found in the Seasonal Door Buster promotional areas, pallet buy areas and among the Flash Market deals.
“The promotional buying is a huge value of the show,” says Darrell Baker, vice president of marketing and merchandising for the W.E. Aubuchon Company. “The tens of thousands of core items available at discounts with dating always make the time investment worthwhile. Then you have the Door Buster booking, which just tees up the promotional year. After that, the coupons, (planogram) discounts and new item showcase discounts are always valuable. And those are just the warehouse programs. Vendors always bring their A game to the Orgill Dealer Market as well. It all adds up to significant savings.”
Attendees are also using the show to gather ideas and inspiration from two fully merchandised concept stores, take part in dozens of educational sessions and hear the latest about Orgill's retail services.
“We've got a detailed list of vendors we will meet with at the show. The Dealer Market is a great opportunity to see new products and take advantage of the many deals available,” says Matt Nichols, vice president of branch operations at Koopman Lumber. “The concept stores are our first stop Thursday morning, and we've budgeted two hours with our sales representative to walk them and hopefully take back some fresh ideas.”
"While viewing products or assortments in a booth is valuable, it's crucial to see how these assortments and ideas would actually look in a real store environment," says Mobley. "Our model stores give guests the opportunity to visualize a planogram or product assortment in a true retail setting. They also allow us to highlight everything we offer, from programs to services, giving customers a sense of what it might look and feel like in their own stores."
