The two-day event offered a programme of insight, networking and practical sessions designed to strengthen ties between independent merchants and Suppliers.

National Buying Group brought Partners and Suppliers together at the Crowne Plaza & SEC in Glasgow for its 2025 Conference on 4–5 November, with this year’s theme of Building Partnerships. 

The two-day event offered a programme of insight, networking and practical sessions designed to strengthen ties between independent merchants and Suppliers as they navigate an increasingly competitive market. Over the course of the Conference, attendees explored ways to convert collaboration into measurable sales and operational advantages. 

Day one’s Supplier Summit included a welcome from Managing Director Mark Hughes, who demonstrated building partnerships by walking the audience through NBG’s recent decision to form a strategic alliance with IBC. 

The session also featured a Q&A from IBC’s Managing Director Vick Patel and Chief Operating Officer Ian Murphy who jointly discussed the partnership with NBG, and the benefits both entities can expect. Attendees also heard from Gareth Thomas, Managing Director of Data Yard, who laid out the methods for achieving standardised and complete product data and how merchants and Suppliers stand to benefit.

For the first time, day one included a preview of the following day’s exhibition, allowing Partners to explore the venue, familiarise themselves with the layout of stands, and put plans in place to maximise their time at the main exhibition.  

The exhibition itself on day two provided a setting for engagement, with Suppliers presenting exclusive deals, product innovations and core ranges across the exhibition floor. Partners used the face-to-face environment to test new ideas, and identify opportunities to work together to strengthen range and margin at their branches — all central to NBG’s theme of forging closer partnerships between merchants and their supply chain. 

In keeping with tradition, the Conference concluded with an evening gala dinner and awards ceremony that celebrated Partner and Supplier achievements from the previous 12 months. Held at Glasgow’s Crowne Plaza, the gala’s silent auction, donations, and the previous day’s charity football match, raised over £30,000 in support of the Rainy Day Trust and Cancer Research UK. 

Commenting on the event, Hughes said: “This year’s Conference was a powerful demonstration of what we can achieve when Partners and Suppliers work in true partnership. NBG is evolving into a stronger organisation, better equipped to take on the challenges facing the market. The conversations that have taken place over the two days of the NBG Conference have highlighted to us the need to build, maintain and strengthen partnerships with Suppliers and within the NBG network of independent merchants.”