BRA Retail Membership – This is why you should choose either Regular (free) or Distinguished Retail Membership

Board Retailers Association organizes and expresses the views and concerns of independent specialty retailers to industry associations, major trade show organizations, and others in an effort to help promote our industry, support the specialty retailers and protect our Lifestyles.

Be sure to review the differences between Regular (free) and Distinguished Retail Membership below.

Regular Retail Membership

As a Regular BRA Retail Member you will have a voice, you will benefit from BRA relationships and you will have access to BRA programs.  All Regular Retail Members will be included in periodic member surveys, receive regular communications (quarterly newsletters and exclusive partner emails detailing the latest issues, products and services affecting the industry and independent retailers), receive a number of BRA Vendor Partner discounts (including the exclusive Office Depot preferential BRA Member pricing program) as well as limited Brand Partner offerings, quarterly educational webinars and free access to most BRA sponsored Gatherings, Trade Shows and Retailer Roundtable Events.

This Membership is absolutely free to specialty retailers but does require completion of this super simple join form.

Distinguished Retail Membership

As a Distinguished BRA Retail Member, you will have all the benefits of Regular Membership and so much more.  You will receive even more discounts on the latest vendor services and products that as an individual shop you might not otherwise be able to access.  Our Distinguished Members are provided with training and education opportunities and occasional invitations to exclusive industry events.   We stand together as a voice in the industries that we serve to ensure our members are a part of the innovation and evolution of the board specialty retail. Learn more about each specific Distinguished Retail benefit below.

Distinguished Retail Member Benefits:

BRA Distinguished Retail Member Window Stickers

All Distinguished BRA Members will receive at least two of the BRA Distinguished Retail Member Window stickers (actual size = 4.50″ X 6.00″) that can be displayed prominently in the front window or door of your storefront(s). These high-quality stickers are provided courtesy of BRA Supporting Vendor Partner Inkgenda.

BRA Shipping Benefits Program

Distinguished Retail Member FedEx Discounts

Rely on FedEx for all of your shipping needs and save through the BRA benefits program. Distinguished Retail Members receive 50% off FedEx Express and 30% off FedEx Ground. If you currently ship with FedEx, you’ll be able to continue using it the same way you do today. After you enroll in the FedEx Advantage Program, the discounts will be added to your account and then automatically applied to your shipments. Don’t have an account? No problem – you can open one when you enroll. Enroll now

BRA Distinguished Retail Members save on shipments with TForce Freight, YRC, XPO, Saia, and many others. These competitive rates are made available through our endorsed shipping provider, PartnerShip^®. With this free Distinguished Retail Member benefit, you’ll reduce your freight costs, easily rate shop between carriers, and get dedicated support from shipping experts. Whether you’re shipping a single pallet or a full truckload, PartnerShip will help you ship smarter. Get a quote.

Distinguished Member Discounts and Special Offerings

Special offers and exclusive Retail Member discounts on POS systems, POP and signage services, office supplies, marketing and shipping resources, liability insurance, health insurance, accounting, surfboard protection plans, retail technologies and much more. 

Learn more about some of the special offerings provided by a few of our BRA Supporting Vendor Partners (listed below) via the links on the images at the bottom of this page or for a more comprehensive summary of current BRA Supporting Vendor Partner benefits for BRA Retail Members, you can email our Executive Director at [email protected] and he will reply with our current Retail Member Benefits summary. Doug can also (upon request) introduce you directly to the people behind any of our BRA Supporting Vendor Partners.

Introductions to professional service providers in your region

Any BRA Distinguished Retail Member can contact the BRA Executive Director with any professional service need(s).  The Director will identify the best professional service provider who has the capacity to perform the service at a competitive price then make an introduction to the Member even if the provider is not yet a BRA Vendor Partner.

Member Communications

Quarterly newsletters and exclusive partner emails detailing the latest issues, opportunities, products and services affecting the industry and independent retailers specifically for Distinguished Members.

Networking Opportunities

Connect in person or virtually with like-minded board specialty retailers throughout the USA in every state including Alaska and Hawaii.

News and Resourceful Articles

We have deliberately redirected the https://boardretailers.org/ landing page to our News and Resourceful Articles page which contains helpful and relevant news and resourceful articles (posted at least four times per week and sometimes every day pending available content) that you can benefit from as often as you like.

Private Label Program Access

Select BRA Vendor Partners including Slant Six and others offer towels, straw hats, fleece, board shorts, headwear, t-shirts, socks, hard-goods (decks, wheels, and more), fingerboards, custom clothing tags and other OEM shop branded products at lower minimums and lower unit costs to our Distinguished Retail Members.

Tax Deductible Member Dues

Since Board Retailers Association is set up as a 501(c)(6) non-profit organization, the already low Distinguished Member Annual Dues of $100 (averages out to just $10 monthly) are 100% tax deductible (which means that you can offset this entire expense when you do your taxes every year so effectively your annual cost is nothing).

Trade Show Special Networking Events

Our trade show partners including Surf Expo and Outdoor Retailer often recognize Distinguished BRA Retail Members with special luncheons, dinners and networking events, in addition to VIP retailer access at their shows.  Surf Expo even provides access to its Premier Buyer Club Lounge at both the September and January shows.

Retailer Roundtables

Distinguished BRA Members receive invitations to participate in any BRA Retailer Roundtable Panel Discussion Events, which will be scheduled on a variety of dates in various regions, at trade shows and/or virtually

View the following videos from one of our past Retailer Roundtables events:

If you are a specialty retailer interested in either Regular (free) or Distinguished BRA Retail Membership, complete this super simple join form right now.