ABSTRACT
The United Kingdom is one of many countries in which the balance of power has shifted from producers to distributors over the last twenty-five years. The single most significant influence may have been the abolition of resale price maintenance from 1964, but the process has been continued and intensified through the development of many more large stores, increased customer mobility, over-capacity in most areas of manufacturing, and the concentrated buying power of large retail chains. As large-scale retailers have become major marketing organizations in their own right, both manufacturers and smaller/more specialized retailers have sought ways of re-establishing more control over their distribution channels. One approach has been to enter concessionaire agreements with major retailers, whereby specialist ‘shops within shops’ are operated within the retailers' stores.
