Tales Of A Fourth Generation Textile Executive: Exclusive Sales Reps, Multi-Line Sales Reps & Distributors Discussed

As you know from my last blog, Studioe & A.E. Nathan are changing from multi-line sales reps to the Blank Quilting Corp. exclusive sales force.  I thought that I would delve into this subject a little further to discuss exclusive sales forces, multi-line reps. and distributors.  I wanted to touch on some of the positives and negatives of each.

Exclusive sales reps do just what it sounds like they do, they carry lines exclusively for one company. In the case of Jaftex, the reps are now carrying three companies, but ones that are all under the same umbrella.  Most exclusive reps carry one line and only one line. Multi-line reps, on the other hand, carry multiple lines.  Their loyalty usually lies with the company or companies that sell the best for them which makes total sense.  I have heard that some of these reps could carry up to 10 lines.  Not all 10 lines are very large i.e. some will carry a small homespun line, batik line or a flannel line like A.E. Nathan’s.  That being said, they still have a lot to schlep around and that definitely takes a toll on you over time.  One pitfall of having multi-line reps carry your line is that it is hard to show all the lines in one sitting because there is so much to show and shop owners tend to get bored after three or four hours. So sometimes a line doesn’t get shown at all, which I imagine might have happened to Studioe since we were one of the new kids on the block.  This was definitely a contributing factor in the decision to move Studioe to the Blank team.  

Then there are distributors who not only carry loads of lines, but they also sell notions, patterns, books, etc.  Some of the larger distributors include E.E. Schenck, Checker, Brewer, Troy, Foust and Christensen’s.  Studioe, Henry Glass and A.E. Nathan all use the majority of large US distributors.  Upon acquiring Blank, they only had relationships with a couple distributors, but we decided to cut all ties with distributors to focus on the direct sales force.  The thought was that we would increase the flexibility of the reps being able to be more aggressive about pricing without having to worry about hurting our distributors as they demand an even playing field. Distributors typically buy at a discount to the direct to store price and then have their reps sell at the same price as our reps. So you can understand how difficult things could be if price structures are not adhered to.

Here are some of the benefits and detriments of each role. For exclusive reps, the problems include not making enough to survive as the product offering is limited, bearing the high costs of travel, gas and food.  For all fabric sellers, quality of life is a big issue as is being away from loved ones.  Some ways around the exclusive rep issues are to pay the rep a salary/draw, provide a car allowance and/or a food stipend. In our case, we increased the commission for the Blank reps and gave the reps two additional lines (Studioe & A.E. Nathan).  Now they have more to sell and in effect should have more commissions flowing to them while their expenses stay the same.  A positive aspect of being exclusive is that you have one boss to listen to. Carrying 10 lines and having to answer to 10 people could get nuts.  For me, that would be like having 10 wives.  I am joking.  Speaking of which, my wife and I celebrated 7 years of marriage yesterday!  

For multi-line reps, some challenges include keeping up with all the constantly changing lines from the various vendors, coordinating the timing of receiving the various lines and coordinating appointments.  Another downside for multi-line reps is that they could get “fired” a lot as companies are often rejiggering their sales force. The good news is that they still have their other lines to sell.  Recently, when I called to advise one of the Studioe reps that we were changing the sales force, he said to me, “Scott, I have been fired so many times over the years.”  Some positives for multi-line reps is that they frequently have new product to offer which helps to get them frequent appointments.  If the rep carries a line in his territory exclusively, where he is the only one carrying the line i.e. no distributors, that rep could be in high demand if he has a hot line.  No doubt that that is a good feeling.

For distributor sales reps, some challenges include keeping track of all of the different products, carrying so much product and getting paid a lower commission than direct or exclusive reps.  Some positives include having a ton of product to offer and receiving lots of support from the parent company.  Nowadays, a large majority of distributors are also producing their own fabric lines so in some cases the distributor’s rep has this line exclusively.  So that blurs the line of distributor rep and exclusive rep, but this is a good thing for the sales rep.  

In speaking with customers, they all have different reasons for wanting to work with one of these different types of sellers and I guess that is what makes the world go round. Do you prefer to work with an exclusive rep, direct rep or distributor and why?

Hope this snippet was informative.  Of course I could delve deeper in to the subject, but I am trying to keep my blogs short which I didn’t really do here.

Have a great day!

Let me know if you want to make an appointment at quilt market with any of our related companies (Blank, Studioe, A.E. Nathan or Henry Glass)

Exclusive Scott