"Mike Marlow" writes:
Leon wrote:


That is correct, BUT the retailer is not required or locked into a
fixed particular or specific profit margin. They can change that on
a whim. A retailer would be foolish to set everything at a specific
mark up and not tweak it on a routine basis. If you have a slow
mover you decrease the mark up, a fast mover you increase the mark
up. Ideally you want to keep the least amount of inventory such that
you do not run out of inventory before the next order arrives.


Yup - and for the most part, that is exactly what they do. That's one
component of how/why we see "specials" or discounted pricing in stores every
day.


Exactly, this is simply the manufacturer raising prices if the price
for "similar" sized product remains the same. Take a look at coffee.
You used to buy that by the pound, now by the 12 oz. bag.


But again - that's not a retailer's domain. That's the domain of the
"manufacturer". The retailer simply passes these new realities on to the
consumer.

However, a large enough retailer can certainly influence
the product mix provided by the manufacturer. WalMart, Borg,
Lowes, CostCo are all large enough to make custom packaging
economical for both the manuf and the retailer.