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Distribution Business

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  • 24-10-2017 8:49pm
    #1
    whitesheep
    Closed Accounts Posts: 42 ✭


    I sell hair supplies and one of the my suppliers is looking for a new distributor as the other is letting them down. i would like to pitch for the business but I have no idea what I'm getting myself in.

    is distributor essentially a reseller? ie but stock in advance and then sell on?

    what sort of margin is typical? do I just wait for orders or do I need to get on the road selling? I have plenty of time as my own business is tipping away nicely.

    what else do I need to know before approaching them?

    any advice would be great!


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    #2
    jetsonx
    Registered Users Posts: 1,327 ✭✭✭jetsonx


    You should'nt be asking us!

    You should get onto the distributor who "let them down". Phone them up. See what they have to say about the wholesaler/manufacturer. There are two sides to every story. if they don't want to talk - you've nothing to lose.
    But don't waste a year of your life dealing with a duff wholesaler. On the other hand, the distributor might be
    bone lazy idle waster who did nothing to promote the product. So before you do anything else, try to find out why the relationship broke down first. Just my two cents.


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    #3
    JMR
    Registered Users Posts: 633 ✭✭✭JMR


    whitesheep wrote: »

    what else do I need to know before approaching them?

    any advice would be great!

    Couple of questions to ask the wholesaler / manufacturer
    1. Are they offering you an exclusive distributorship for your territory? If so, is it only Ireland on offer or can you sell to the UK without impinging on another distributor? If not exclusive, who are the other distributors?
    2. Is there a Minimum Order Quantity (MOQ)?
    3. Are you obliged to meet certain annual targets to maintain distributorship rights?
    4. Does the wholesaler set the retail price or are you free to sell at what you deem to be the correct price point

    Good advice earlier to contact the previous distributor. In what way does the wholesaler feel let down by them? Are they not meeting targets, providing bad customer service, negatively impacting the brand image. Always a good idea to hear both sides and make your own mind up.

    Best of luck with it


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