A summary of the events leading to the dissolution of The Wholesale Distributors Association in late 2002.
By the year 2000, it was no secret that attendance at the 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.