The Greater Houston Retailers Cooperative Association is a leading example of the power of industry associations.
By: Shannon Carroll
Brian Trout, the CEO of the Greater Houston Retailers Cooperative Association (GHRA) says his organization is “one of the best-kept secrets in retail”—and thinks it’s time the secret got out.
“[In Houston, Texas,] we’re the fourth-largest market in the U.S.,” he said. “We represent close to 40% of the [c-store] marketplace where we operate. And people don’t know about us.” Trout thinks part of the reason the organization has had success is because Houston is a huge independent market that, as a result, large national retailers have found difficult to permeate.