GMDC Adopts New Name, Logo, Partners 2007-06-11

DAN ALAIMO

PHOENIX — GMDC, Colorado Springs, which discarded its original name of General Merchandise Distributors Council two years ago in favor of the letters GMDC alone, has elaborated on the abbreviation with the name Global Market Development Center.

The change was announced during GMDC's General Merchandise Marketing Conference here last week. The association also unveiled a new logo and new purple colors to differentiate it from other groups, David McConnell, GMDC president and chief executive officer, told SN during the event.

The General Merchandise Distributors Council name was abandoned because it no longer accurately represented the scope of the association's activities and the composition of its membership, McConnell said.

GMDC also announced affiliations with CrossKnowledge, of Paris, and Mercuri International, a European company with offices in Dallas, to provide educational programs, and iLumen Financial Information Network, Atlanta, for financial analysis and benchmarking, primarily for the association's smaller member companies.

McConnell said the new name, while maintaining connection to the well-known brand GMDC, is “aspirational. We want to be more global, and we already are to a great extent.”

Many of GMDC's members — manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers — do a great deal of business in other countries, he said. “We want to help our retail and wholesale members do a better job of sourcing the right product in a timely fashion, and in many cases it's going to be overseas.”

An ongoing rebranding analysis found GMDC has four primary strengths, McConnell noted: