Vertically integrated commerce sounds a bit clinical but what it means is owning the process of selling a product from design & manufacture right through to the retail sale. Amazon has really disrupted the retail space in the US by building a strong online presence that relies solely on low prices.
There is a huge opportunity now for retailers to build their own unique product that no-one else can match exactly. Eyeglasses, tshirts, shoes, health products….
When I was selling motorcycles, I used to much prefer to sell a secondhand bike because every one of them was unique. No other motorcycle anywhere had exactly the same mileage on it or the same tyres or the same amount of registration etc. There was always something to differentiate mine from the one at the other dealer. On a new motorcycle, it almost always came down to price because my bike was identical to all the other new ones.
What sort of products do you think would be suited to this opportunity? Perhaps you’re already doing it….
The article below examines this process. If you know someone who would like to be doing better in retail at the moment, please pass this through to them. Who knows; it might just trigger an idea for them. It’s not necessarily about changing their entire business… It might just be a single product.
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