Reps can be helpful to newsagents providing advice and in-store support.
Reps can also be problematic. This is especially true in regional and rural situations where they need to make travelling the long distance worthwhile.
The best way a rep can make a long trip worthwhile is to sell more product.
If you cannot provide the return a rep and their employer needs from your one business they will go elsewhere in town or nearby. This is where reps can be problematic.
I saw this recently in a town where a rep did a swing through and lazily sold the same products to three retailers within close proximity. None were happy.
My advice to newsagents is to seek written assurances when ordering (make a diary note) and to seek out suppliers who do not have reps as they are less likely to put product in two nearby businesses in my experience.
While reps have a job to do so do newsagents. Our needs for our businesses must come first. Point of difference in key traffic driving categories is important in my view.
Hi Mark
i have always found that ordering off reps or at gifts fairs you end up buying a lot more than you need we go to 3 gift fairs mainly just to see what is new and collect web sites and order later cheers
Unfortunately our Gibson rep has gone down this path putting their product in 4 shops in our centre. Coupled with this Amcal chemist has some of their product too now, cheap of course.
Makes it unviable for everyone so Gibson is out for us.