CHANNELS OF DISTRIBUTION
Channels of
distribution can be grouped under two major headings: (i) Direct Selling by
manufacturer and (ii) Indirect Selling through middlemen.
For direct selling,
the first option involves supplying the product to the customer using your own
salesmen and arranging your own deliveries. The second option is using the
medium of post office. You obtain orders from your customers who respond by
mail or telephone to your advertisements or to letters mailed directly to their
houses. You deliver your products to them through mail or through some other
carrier. The next alternative is to establish your own retail stores. Bata
Ltd., for example, has established its own retail stores throughout the
country. This practice has also been adopted on a smaller scale by a number of
textile mills who have their own retail shops like Calico Mills, Raymonds, DCM
etc., has franchised a number of retailers to sell their products to the
consumers.
Figure-I : Alternative
Channels of Distribution
