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Mail order companies. They are big and powerful.
They sell products to virtually the entire geography of your market. In
the Sporting Goods Industry, some of them now do entire league and government
bids. In awards, they "ASI" product to big corporations, non profit groups,
and the general public.
Will maturing digital commerce make these entities more powerful, and reps and dealers less powerful and profitable? The following is an ongoing analysis that will help answer these and other questions. 1. In sporting goods, there are about 5-8 truly big mail
order players. Not all are head to head competitors. Right now, their online
versions of their catalogs are minimally good at best. However, they are
learning fast and as a group seem to be making progress at a fair pace.
Sporting goods and awards stores are now starting to have a small effect on the mail order market. They will become a far bigger factor in the spring of 1998. This will happen through their web page presence, with them having their products up for sale on the internet, and even more so when they advertise super specials. Specials that match or beat the mail order guys. Losing one or fifty of these cyber bids won't spell doom for established mail order houses. But, when there are hundreds and thousands of these small cyber transactions going on every day, 24 hours a day, then, couple that with growing confidence of millions of new cyber customers, well that spells massive competitive problems for the standard catalog mail order type operation. The local dealer will still keep many of his "loyal" local customers. The mail order house , now that he is on a level playing field with thousands of competitors instead of 5-8, will be challenged for its very existence. To be continued. Forces that will help validate and give confidence
to commerce on the internet.
Signifant help from-Governments- State, Local
Coming Soon:
Come back in about a week, and we will begin discussing these questions and more. It is our sincerest hope that through electronic communications, we can help solve our current and future problems. Send comments, suggestions, etc. to
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Credits &
Suggested Reading The Digital Estate by Chuck Martin Other suggested reading: The Road Ahead
-Revised Edition
Other sites of interest. The Archives Index Preview
THE
TEAM MANAGER
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