Would intermediaries be equally eager to get exclusive distribution for any type of product? Why or why not?

Discussion: in my opinion, intermediaries would not be equally eager to have exclusive distribution to any product. The main reasons that I think plays an important role in the desire to enjoy exclusive rights to a product are based on the capabilities and expertise of the intermediary, the profit margin, the commission they get, the competition they face in the market, the availability of the resources if the intermediary is interested in manufacturing the product themselves and so on.

For example an intermediary is an expert in distributing books for Amazon in the state of California. They might not reject to get distribution contracts for other products but they would not be eager for the responsibilities of exclusive rights as they don’t want to divert their main focus from Amazon. Amazon is a big company and having exclusive rights to distribute their products is a great opportunity in terms of profits.

Other case could be that if an intermediary thinks that it does not really matter if they have the exclusive rights or not, the number of sales is going to remain stable. The company might have reached out to a maximum number of customers and there is no room for any other competitor. Or there could be a case of intensive distribution where a product is available to all possible retail outlets (Miracle, 1965) then there is no need for exclusive distribution rights.

The Intermediaries also have to make a decision based on the financial benefits. If they think that becoming an exclusive distributor means a decrease in the amount of commission, they might not opt for this option and remain as the usual distributor.