By the year 2000, it was no secret that attendance at the Wholesale Distributors Association (WDA) Annual Conventions was on a downward trend. Even though other regional and national organizations were feeling similar effects of our industry's consolidation, WDA was perhaps harder hit than others when a large number of its member companies were acquired during the late '90s consolidation boom.
Once arguably the largest of ASA's affiliate events, the WDA annual gathering was suffering from a decrease in the number of attending wholesalers. A large number of independent wholesalers that historically took part were now under the umbrella of two or three larger firms, whose participation was not necessarily a given. And even when these firms decided to participate, they would send fewer delegates to the events.