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Inside Outdoor | SUMMER 2021 22 weeks could be found on the vendor’s rented site. Her initial reaction was to cancel all future orders from the ven- dor. Who could blame her? The reality of the situation, however, is that she would have to replace the merchan- dise with something else, and that isn’t always so easy. As if business for the indepen- dent retailer isn’t already challenging enough. Now the competition isn’t just the store down the street but the vendor you thought you were partner- ing with to build a mutually beneficial relationship. Think again. You agreed that you would not advertise a price below the minimum advertised price (MAP) until a certain prespecified date. If you get discov- ered going against the agreement, you will most likely incur the wrath of the vendor via a stern warning, at least, and losing the line, at worst, should the practice continue. But what happens when the vendor vio- lates his own policy? Not much, as it turns out, and it happens all the time. What you can do? Having collaborated with both re- tailers and manufacturer’s represen- tatives, a few proactive options are offered for consideration. • Search out resources that do not sell on Amazon or other shopping sites. • Ask potential vendors if they sell directly to the customer from their own websites or if online inquiries are referred to a local retailer. • If the same items are found on a ven- dor’s site or on Amazon, you will most likely need to reduce your retail price to remain competitive. Ask that the vendor to make up the difference in markdown money. Not a credit toward next season’s purchases but a check. • You may wish to return the unsold items to the vendor. I also believe you would be justified in charging freight back to the vendor. Obviously, this is costly not only from a time standpoint but also the opportunity costs, since you now have to find a replacement for the items in question. • Should the practice continue, you can always reduce or cancel current and future orders. This is easier said than done since in some cases it is difficult to replace the volume generated by major lines. • With regard to apparel lines, creating a private label program should be considered. A store la- bel promotes the store name and brand and helps shield the retailer against online comparison. • Know your numbers on each brand you carry. This is especially impor- tant if the brand is selling through distribution channels that are in di- rect competition with you. If a brand becomes unprofitable, it is your re- sponsibility to work with the vendor to find a mutual solution. If a satis- factory outcome cannot be reached, there are only two choices available to you: maintain the status quo and remain unprofitable or find a replace- ment for the brand. • Have written vendor agreements in place with specified end-of-season gross margin targets, as well as lib- eral stock balancing and return privi- leges on slow selling merchandise. • With regard to MAP violations, once the vendor is in violation of their own policy, on what grounds would it still be enforceable with a retailer? • Vendors, at the very least, should offer discounted merchandise to their retailers first, prior to liquidat- ing using alternative methods. The direct to consumer or DTC topic is most certainly the elephant in the room among retailers I consult with. Given the many pressures fac- ing the independent retailer today, competing against vendors for the same retail customer should not be among them. Unfortunately, the toothpaste is already out of tube as it pertains to this issue. The reality is that DTC is most likely here to stay due to the power of the almighty dollar. You don’t have to like it, but you do have to learn to live with it. The best single thing you can do, in my opinion, is to support the ven- dors that don’t engage in DTC selling whenever possible. If retailers mount enough resistance, then and only then will vendors realize that DTC practices may damage the indepen- dent retail community irreparably, if they haven’t already. m Ritchie Sayner is with Advanced Retail Strategies LLC, an affiliate of merchandise planning company Management-One. He is the author of Retail Revelations, 2nd ed. – Strat- egies for Improving Sales, Margins, and Turnover . He can be reached through the website www.advance- dretailstrategies.com or by email at ritchie@arsotb.com. Nike Direct-to-Consumer SalesWorldwide, 2010-2020 % of total revenues Source: Nike, company reports; eMarketer Ethnicity Among First-Time Camper Households Source: KOA 13.5% 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 14.3% 14.1% 15.7% 20.5% 17.3% 22.9% 25.0% 28.7% 30.0% 33.1% 3% 1% 1% 3% 16% 5% 12% 64% 13% 14% 12% 61% 17% 17% 14% 51% 22% 14% 14% 49% 50% 16% 17% 14% 39% 24% 15% 14% 8% 74% 6% 3% 8% 9% U.S. Census First-time Campers in 2016 First-time Campers in 2017 First-time Campers in 2018 First-time Campers in 2019 First-time Campers in 2020 All Campers in 2016 Caucasian Black Hispanic /Latino Asian/Pacific Is lander All other