Each time a sale rep. steps into your shop to sell you products there is a sales target they need to meet to justify their time. Depending on your location, the sales target cold be for the town or region. This can see their products in competitor stores.
Buying from a business that does not have reps could feed into a point of difference for your shop. It all depends on how the supplier manages retail partner locations.
In my experience, businesses without sales reps tend to have better systems to leverage office based sales. This can see them better manage retail location data, thereby ensuing better local retailer borders.
Buying from a head office online or over the phone costs the supplier business less. If they are smart this is reflected in their pricing.
In another retail channel of which I have knowledge, a mid-size supplier cut all ten of their sales reps, saving the business $1.2M a year in wages, vehicle and on-costs. They invested close to this in the first year in enhanced back office facilities to enable online ordering and stock management. Today, three years on, their customers benefit from the savings through lower prices and this, in turn, is fuelling revenue growth.
While I know many newsagents respect and appreciate the personal contact with sales reps in-store, the costs today are such that the model for many suppliers is not appropriate. We as a channel need to expect fewer reps and to see businesses moving to that model and doing so in a way that can benefit us.
All usually the case for single company reps processing repetitive orders. But good agents, representing who fight for the brands and are selective in their outlets are a different story. Cut them out at your peril.