by Retailer
Retailers are basically sellers, who are at the end position of any business management system and who sell the products to customers. They are direct representative of the consumers, that is, they help the manufacturers to know about the need and requirements of the consumer. They are ‘a business or person that sells goods to the Retailer consumer, as opposed to a wholesaler or supplier, who normally sells their goods to another business’.
Generally, a retailer buys a small quantity of items from a distributor or a wholesaler, in order to gain profit, which would coincide with their business objectives. They purchase the products at a competitive prize from the suppliers and market them according to their benefits. They are generally shopkeepers, who make the product available to the consumers.
Distributor
A distributor is one who distributes the goods, products and/or services to the respective authorities, which may include any one, the retailer, supplier, etc. In business, a distributor acts as an ‘an entity that buys non-competing products or product lines, warehouses them, and resells them to retailers or directly to the end users or customers’. They provide strong manpower and cash support to the supplier or manufacturer’s promotional efforts.
They supply the services such as product information, estimations, technical supports, after-sales services and credits to the customer. They also supply goods directly to the stores or other businesses, who sell to the consumers. Their distribution of products takes place in channels, which are interdependent organizations and are designed by firms with the help of proper path-orientation. They also maintain an exclusive buying agreement, which limits their participants and enable them to cover a certain territory.
Retailer |
Distributor |
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| Who are they | A retailer is a person or business who sells the products or services directly to end customers. | A distributor is a person who distributes and supplies the products to the other respective authorities. |
| Relation with | They have a direct relation with the consumers. | They frequently have a relationship with the manufacturers. |
| Functions | They sell the goods, products and services to the end-users. | They supply the goods, products and services to the retailers. |
| Knowledge about the consumer’s need. | They know about the end-users needs and demands. | They are unaware about the local needs and demands of the end-users. |
| Link between | They act as a link between the supplier and consumers. | They act as a link between the manufacturer and the retailer. |
| Systems | Their sale does not include any such management. | They supply the products through a chain management system. |
| What roles they can be | They cannot be manufacturers. | The distributors may be manufacturers. |
| Prize at which they sell the products | They sell the products with their profit margin and also along with the recognized price. | The prices at which they supply the products are the overall wholesale prices. |
| Receives goods from | They commonly buy from the distributors. | They commonly buy from the manufacturer. |
