Originally Posted by
SRX2
Hobbico/Great Planes and even Horizon have a sort of monopoly where shops have to deal with them because they have exclusive lines. If it wouldn't be for these exclusive lines I'm sure shops would prefer buying from a distributor who isn't competing with the shops. I worked in a shop for 7 years in the early 90s. At that time Hobbico/Great Planes was the exclusive distributor for Futaba. A transmitter/receiver and servo combo would cost the shops 41.00 and Towers was selling the exact same for 39.00 when we would complain the answer we got was to buy them from Towers. Now 20+ years later they are the exclusive distributor for HPI and they prefer to sell the kits direct to make more money than to supply the shops. This is a very poor way of doing business but it's smart and they know they can get away with it. The companies who give these distributors exclusive distributorship of their brands are the ones to blame as they know how they do business.
Distribution is a very challenging business decision. The RC world isn't the only where a company will wear 2 hats of being a distributor and a end sales. Unfortunately there isn't always a good solution.
I am sure if HPI/HB felt like they could handle distribution to NA themselves, they would do it, but they decided to use Hobbico to get more consistent order fulfillment. Lets face it, you can have the best product for the cheapest price, but if the customer can't get their hands on it, it doesn't matter.
You also need to consider what it costs to run distribution. In your example, maybe Futaba could be their own distributor, but they would have to pay for the employees, buildings, and transit. And maybe the receiver would have wholesaled to everyone for $45. Yes, this would be more "fair," but more expensive for the consumer.
In the day-and-age of internet purchasing, LHS's will never be able to win on price. Even with There is just too much overhead on shipping, employees, and keeping the lights on. They need to offer great service, good advice, and additional perks like tracks and events.