The GoodBuy Network Greets Northwest Arkansas

Since leaving his seat as the director of membership services at the Fayetteville Chamber of Commerce, Kevin La Born has sought human resource managers who need to bolster their employee incentive programs.

In May, La Born opened a Northwest Arkansas branch of The GoodBuy Network, a firm that coordinates a discount program that allows a company to offer its employees 10-50 percent discounts at participating national, local and e-commerce businesses.

The GoodBuy Network originated in Little Rock in 1998, La Born said, and more than one million employees now receive discounts at national and local businesses. About 33,000 cities participate in the network.

As area manager of the network, La Born said companies enroll their employees in the program for free. When a company joins the program, its employees must register the membership on the Internet at www.goodbuynetwork.com. Online, the program offers discounts to national chains such as Land’s End, Old Navy and Barnes & Nobles Booksellers.

Meals at restaurants, visits in hotels and tourist attraction tickets are popular discounted items, La Born said.

He is currently encouraging local storefronts of the national chains to recognize The GoodBuy Network. La Born said he expects online shopping will be more accessible to Northwest Arkansas members for a while.

Fayetteville companies offering discounts through the program include Faybles, Buster Belly’s Bar and Deli, Jose’s and Locomotion. Because the company wants to be family-friendly, La Born said, no alcohol or tobacco products are discounted through the program.