It is very frustrating to lose sales to the internet. It is even more frustrating when you have invested in displays, power them up to give a true product demonstration, then lose it to the internet.

Some manufacturers have a very dismissive view of this. I remember talking to a large sink manufacturer just after MFI went down. I was commenting that MFI shifted a lot of their product. Their response was that customers would just go somewhere else to buy them.

Some manufacturers are protecting independent retailers against the internet. They recognise our investment in their brand and their investment in us. They structure the price to benefit retailers who do not 'transact' the sale online.
With the market down, manufacturers are coming to terms with reduced volumes. They have made redundancies and restructured. It is perhaps fair to say that they are not interested in our well-being, it is simply about shifting boxes.

Vincent Turner, The Factory Outlet, Manchester

What do you think? Email the editor direct: andrew@kbbreview.com