Join the club to beat the recession

Clubbing together to combat the recession‐bogey is a prevailing feature of recent years, and AIS — Associated Independent Stores Ltd — seem to be having no little success in preventing its members from succumbing to this peril. The association consists of over 100 member department stores who have joined together to negotiate the best terms in the fashion and furnishing fields. The association does no buying itself (except in foreign markets) but catalogues merchandise for member stores to choose from, and then uses its considerable muscle to negotiate with suppliers on terms similar to group central buyers. But membership of the association is not easily come by and it's no supporter of “lame ducks”. Ann Foster describes how it works.