Fletch
I'll Lock Up
- Messages
- 8,865
- Location
- Iowa - The Land That Stuff Forgot
Does it do any good to pester Hatco with unsolicited marketing ideas? Especially if their own e-commerce is out of their control?
I'm going to be devil's advocate here and say: what if the hat industry feels about the same towards the intertubes as the music and movie industry does? Ie, it could be their salvation or their destruction - and they can't figure out which, and aren't about to take chances. In the case of the hat biz, which is niche and probably low-margin, they can't afford to.
There are all kinds of reasons traditional wholesale/retail has to potentially be afraid of online sales and freely available product info. In Hatco's case, remember, we're not their customers (unless you're AaronHats, besdor, or a few other FL'ers). They have to sell in some volume - and it still has to be done thru traveling reps, in private cars. If Hat X isn't a sure bet, it won't make it into those cars. No cars means no Hat X on the shelves or the web.
The reason they prefer people try on in-person, in-store, may have to do with more than just keeping the brick/mortar stores going (rough enough these days). I suspect that even a small courtesy like free return shipping would blow the margins of any single retailer to hell - and a low-volume business depends on single retailers.
As I said, I'm playing devil's advocate here. But there are many parallels as far as not wanting to fully capitalize on e-commerce - or even being able to.
I'm going to be devil's advocate here and say: what if the hat industry feels about the same towards the intertubes as the music and movie industry does? Ie, it could be their salvation or their destruction - and they can't figure out which, and aren't about to take chances. In the case of the hat biz, which is niche and probably low-margin, they can't afford to.
There are all kinds of reasons traditional wholesale/retail has to potentially be afraid of online sales and freely available product info. In Hatco's case, remember, we're not their customers (unless you're AaronHats, besdor, or a few other FL'ers). They have to sell in some volume - and it still has to be done thru traveling reps, in private cars. If Hat X isn't a sure bet, it won't make it into those cars. No cars means no Hat X on the shelves or the web.
The reason they prefer people try on in-person, in-store, may have to do with more than just keeping the brick/mortar stores going (rough enough these days). I suspect that even a small courtesy like free return shipping would blow the margins of any single retailer to hell - and a low-volume business depends on single retailers.
As I said, I'm playing devil's advocate here. But there are many parallels as far as not wanting to fully capitalize on e-commerce - or even being able to.
