🚀 go-pugleaf

>As as ex-European may I express strong endorsment of Herbert Burkert's
>remarks. It is very frustrating, and should be illegal restraint of
>trade, for a US supplier to refuse supply to some countries. We
>made arrangements with colleagues in the USA to avoid such
>constraints.
>
>Good companies who wish to truly support their customers should
>avoid giving local distributors 'exclusive' rights. Let them
>compete in terms of price and service. The value in good will
>and reputation alone of not refusing to supply customers who
>want to buy from you is justification enough.
>
>It is a pity to see Niles falling into this old trap.
>
>Brian Gaines

As an American who spent a sabbatical and a number of summers in Germany,
these discussions of European exclusive rights are deja vu all over again.
I was involved in helping circumvent at least one European distributor of
US biological electronics, and the manufacturer eventually realized that
their European sales were less because this exclusive distributor more than
doubled their US price (something which can work both ways across the
oceans, of course). The solution there was for the exclusive distributor to
become a regional sales representative and get a percentage of each sale
whether he had done anything or not, as is common in the US. That way the
manufacturer paid for and could judge for itself if there was value
received, and the customers ordered direct from the US.

Robert DeVoe
============================================================================
Robert DeVoe,  School of Optometry, Indiana University, Bloomington IN 47405
Tel: (812) 855-2861     Fax: (812) 855-6616     Email: devoe@indiana.edu
============================================================================