Analyzing the Factors Affecting Long-Term Relationship between Manufacturers and Retailers

Suman Prosad Saha, Abul Khair Jyote and Toriqul Islam

In a retailing environment, the relationship between retailers and manufacturer is a two-way relationship with the focus on a mutually beneficial principle. Retailers are working as a medium for these firms to make sure that products are available for consumers in any corners of the country. As a result, a manufacturer can focus more on production, marketing, and supplementary strategies to achieve their objectives. A manufacturer needs to understand the significance of retailers in reaching its business goals. The manufacturer must find out the factors that can influence to build a long-term relationship with retailer and analyze those factors. It is believed that a company should keep its distributors satisfied; in turn, distributors will help a company to achieve its objectives. Moreover, in the traditional distribution channels, the relationships between retailers and manufacturers have yet to be explored in research in Bangladesh. This study aims to fill this gap. A descriptive research method was followed to conduct the research. A structured questionnaire was developed to collect data from the target population during the time period of July to September 2017. The findings suggest that proposed model is suitable to find out the components for a longlasting relationship between manufacturer and retailers. The results provide evidence to support the hypothesized relationship and useful information for firms to devise strategies to construct a long-term relationship with its retailers.