Bullying Tactics by Suppliers

[jont]

Having built up a brand in the UK as a major distributor the producer sold the company to a massive global brand company. The UK distribution changed hands accordingly and we were left high-and-dry.

I received a call from the original importer demanding we removed these products from the site as they were top of the search engine listings. The key part being "demanding". As a relatively small company (especially compared to the new owners of the product) it annoyed the hell out of me that they tried to steam-roll tactics like that and expect us to play ball.

I took the "mature" route and kept the pages almost intact but commenting that we would no longer stock these items due to concerns with quality, high prices and other items being better value for money etc etc etc with links to alternatives.

I received an email from the manufacturer in Australia wanting to know what issues we had with their products. I waffled on about something and that-was-that.

I have now apparently missed a call from the global brand manager in the USA wanting to speak to me about my comments!!!

Just wondered if anyone else had stories of "bullying" from suppliers and any victories made against the big guys?

[pinbrook]

I have experienced similar calls from the UK distributers of certain products we had on Surfwax.

Initially Surf-wax took the majority of its products from small suppliers who in turn ordered from the distributors.

The reason being the small suppliers shipped for us, and we took a commission. The disributors got stroppy as they thought SW was sourcing products from elsewhere when they had sole UK rights over distribution.

I dealt with it by passing the buck back to our supplier, but there have been instances of distritubors being awkward in saying to our suppliers they hadn't given their permission to have items sold by 3rd parties. There are still plenty of distributors in the Uk who still refuse to deal with web only businesses, which annoys the c**p out of me

[Luddite]

Thankfully we've never been in that sort of situation - but we have regular problems with larger shops using our tiny little shop like its a trade fair - i.e. coming in and writing down names of products/suppliers etc and then trying to get them into their own place. Thankfully most of our suppliers are happy to give us exclusivity within a certain postcode limit, unfortunately some of the larger suppliers aren't so loyal, so we tend to stop dealing with them.

Nick

[chris ashdown]

We Have a ongoing problem with Dickies Workwear in that when I first contacted their area salesman he agreed to give me trade prices if I spent an initial £1000 on stock to which I agreed.

They then said they would not supply me as other agents in the area would complain

They then said they would not supply to a web based company

At present have to buy via a third party which is not ideal but being such a popular brand i have to offer them

[Duncan Rounding]

This really sums up the whole issue. I think many suppliers feel that by selling directly to web companies they will loose business from B&M shops - hence they either directly or indirectly force web companies to pay more in a hope that they will not under cut the B&M shops. They don't seem to see the ecommerce as a growth area. The area rep commissions also become questionable when ebusinesses sell nationwide and encrouch on each others 'areas'.

[wesleythorne]

hi, i get the feeling that uk companys just dont want to sell their products.
We sell confectionery and you would be surprised how many companys have little or no distribution. Often products just stop, I contact the makers direct to find out where I can buy from for resale only to be told ' we are looking into that'
If you take jelly belly beans the jelly bean from the usa, they have one uk distributor who charges way over the odds and only seems interested in supplying the likes of sainsburys.

Also as a customer point of view how many times do you go into a shop to buy something on display only to be told it is not in stock and they dont know when it will be.
Sorry to rant and a bit of topic.
Wesley