The Dark Side of Private Labeling

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Private labeling is creating a real squeeze for manufacturers’ reps. Some distributors, primarily national companies, are actively pursuing private labeling to improve margins and capture market share, and some manufacturers are willing to support these distributors in their initiatives.

Caught in the middle are independent reps. Reps must still provide some level of support to any distributors that private-label for other lines they carry. But, they still need to generate commission dollars — while street-level pricing deteriorates due to competitive pressures that may have been sparked by the market entry of private-label products in the first place.

The electrical market … Read the rest