How To Fight Unethical Sole Distributors Here In Thailand ?

[Holysteel]

How to fight sole distributors, authorized agents here in the Land of Smiles? Especially when they are low balling everybody in the market. And competing directly with everyone ? Driving everyone out of business ?

[NBD]

A bit more ambiguity might help.

[sotsira]

You need to do the same as they're doing, become a sole distributer or authorised agent yourself.

In other words if you can't beat them join them.

Why do you say it's unethical ?

[Holysteel]

A bit more ambiguity might help.

Okay. Here it goes. I dun want to name industry. So here it is :

Company A got distributors rights to distribute here in Thailand from manufacturer. Com A get the products at a special cheap price for being a agent. Company A starts to sell out products to all retailers & to smaller sub agents @ slightly lower retail price so that they can make a profit out of it.

Once their brand was 'established'. Com A decided to get a share of the market by directly compete with their retailers & sub agents at lower price.

Ah. dam_n.. I guess im not in the joy of explaining clearly for the moment. But i hope u get the drift. ; )

[Holysteel]

You need to do the same as they're doing, become a sole distributer or authorised agent yourself.

In other words if you can't beat them join them.

Why do you say it's unethical ?

They promised not to compete with their "sub agents" in their area of terrority. But now they are turning the game around. And doing the competing. At a lower price.

[transam]

You need to do the same as they're doing, become a sole distributer or authorised agent yourself.

In other words if you can't beat them join them.

Why do you say it's unethical ?

They promised not to compete with their "sub agents" in their area of terrority. But now they are turning the game around. And doing the competing. At a lower price.

Isn't that called business ?

[Holysteel]

You need to do the same as they're doing, become a sole distributer or authorised agent yourself.

In other words if you can't beat them join them.

Why do you say it's unethical ?

They promised not to compete with their "sub agents" in their area of terrority. But now they are turning the game around. And doing the competing. At a lower price.

Isn't that called business ?

Thats unethical lying. Anyway. Yeah it is business all right. So how do we fight these pple ? Anyone ?

[Spoonman]

You need to do the same as they're doing, become a sole distributer or authorised agent yourself.

In other words if you can't beat them join them.

Why do you say it's unethical ?

They promised not to compete with their "sub agents" in their area of terrority. But now they are turning the game around. And doing the competing. At a lower price.

What was the timeline given for the no compete ?

[Scully]

You need to do the same as they're doing, become a sole distributer or authorised agent yourself.

In other words if you can't beat them join them.

Why do you say it's unethical ?

They promised not to compete with their "sub agents" in their area of terrority. But now they are turning the game around. And doing the competing. At a lower price.

Isn't that called business ?

Thats unethical lying. Anyway. Yeah it is business all right. So how do we fight these pple ? Anyone ?

Make it cheaper.

[sotsira]

If they have distribution rights for Thailand then there's not a lot you can do.

Unless there's another company that has a product that is equivalent, then you could try

and compete against them.

[h90]

A bit more ambiguity might help.

Okay. Here it goes. I dun want to name industry. So here it is :

Company A got distributors rights to distribute here in Thailand from manufacturer. Com A get the products at a special cheap price for being a agent. Company A starts to sell out products to all retailers & to smaller sub agents @ slightly lower retail price so that they can make a profit out of it.

Once their brand was 'established'. Com A decided to get a share of the market by directly compete with their retailers & sub agents at lower price.

Ah. dam_n.. I guess im not in the joy of explaining clearly for the moment. But i hope u get the drift. ; )

yes that is usual....and small problem.

Bigger problem: I need product a. Company in Farangistan tells: yes we have on stock, but don't sell to Thailand as we have the dealer there.

Dealer tells: no too old spare part no have anymore. You tell NO the Germans have it on stock. Thailand tell NO HAVE

You call again in Germany: No sale to Thailand ask the dealer. You tell no go...sell my parents or my friends in Europe. OK but only if they are company no sale to private person.....

Big problem 2: You need machine a) it costs 1 Million. With shipping 1.2 Million. But no sell....Dealer and he want 4 Million and can go down to 3 Million....

A lot big companies took themself out of the market by that.

[Holysteel]

Make it cheaper.

Make it cheaper? We might as well burn up our shops. Lol

[SteveLynch]

Holy Steel

I have sent you a pm

[NBD]

Get onto the manufacturer and see if/when they will review the arrangements for distribution? But assuming they're selling lots of Product A they're probably not going to be much interested in rocking the boat, unless you can credibly claim you will be able to sell a lot more.

Plan B would be a substitute product that you can compete with them on.

[transam]

Make it cheaper.

Make it cheaper? We might as well burn up our shops. Lol

Unfortunately most do. They come and they go.

Open any shop and for sure if someone thinks your making money they will open up next door selling the same stuff. Guaranteed.

[Holysteel]

Yeah thats true.

[StreetCowboy]

Make it cheaper.

Make it cheaper? We might as well burn up our shops. Lol

Good to see you're thinking outside the box.

Sue them for breach of the agreement regarding non-competition.

Unless there's no agreement... in which case there was no agreement, and there's nothing wrong with what they are doing.

I assume that they are still selling to the retailers; or are the retailers just trying to clear old stock that they over-bought?

SC

[samran]

Well, sounds like you have a number of options.

- spend truckloads of time and effort building up the relationship with the supplier, showing them how you can be trusted to switch sole suppliers to you.

- Spend loads of time and money building up an effective logistics network and re-sellers so you'll be even more attractive.

-take the risk yourself, and purchase that machine yourself offshore for 1.5m baht, go through the hassle of importing it, insuring the travel, paying taxes and duties etc, and then seeing if the 4m baht local price is actually reasonable in this context.

- Move to the workers paradises of North Korea and Cuba where you don't have to worry about this <deleted>, cause they, like you, find all this business stuff distasteful and 'unethical'.

[Gary A]

I think it's a losing battle from the start. Small electronic, hardware and food stores obviously can't compete with the likes of Tesco, Makro and Big C. Look at it from the manufactures standpoint. No way are they going to give a small buyer the same price as they give companies that will buy thousands of items at one time rather than just a few.

In the US, small Mom and Pop businesses were being killed by the thousands. Those small businesses had to band together and buy their products in huge lots to compete. Those small independent businesses are now franchised to enable them to stay in business.

It's all about buying power. Here in Thailand, small farmers are paid low prices for their products. At some time they are going to have to establish co-ops to eliminate the fat middlemen or they will continue to get the short end of the stick. It is truly the classic Catch 22. It takes big money to build massive storage facilities and those poor farmers simply can't afford investments of that scale. Big is not always bad but big usually means big corruption.