Every so often, someone trots out the old, tired argument – and usually it’s from someone running spreadsheets a little too late at night with a little too much coffee: “We could save a couple points of margin if we just sold direct to retailers. We’ve got the internet. We’ve got overnight shipping. Can’t we just… cut out the middleman?”
Tempting – until you realize it’s sorta like pulling the engine from your car to save fuel. You might coast downhill, but the moment you need to accelerate, you’re stuck.
Even in the age of e-commerce and next-day delivery, the smartest brands aren’t ditching distributors. They’re doubling down. Because they know what many don’t understand, there is great power in partnering with wholesale distributors.
Reach You Can’t Buy Overnight
Let’s be real, breaking into a market solo is slow, expensive, and frustrating. Retailers guard shelf space like gold.
Distributors already have the trust, the relationships, and the buying patterns established to plug you straight into hundreds – sometimes thousands – of accounts. Through NASGW’s 30+ distributor members, you can gain access to the entire FFL market without years of cold calls, “maybe later” conversations, and trade show booths.
And wholesale distributors don’t just get you on the shelf, they keep you there. Bulk inventory means retailers can restock fast without waiting on your production schedule.
The “Middleman” Myth
The idea distributors are just an unnecessary middleman is flat-out wrong. Here’s just a few of the ways distributors save you time and money:
- Warehouse so you don’t need to. Buildings and workers mean huge overhead.
- Aggregate demand so your factory stays efficient and doesn’t bounce between feast and famine.
- Take inventory risk so you get paid no matter what. No collection calls to make.
- Open doors to retailers who may not even pick up the phone if you called them.
- Handle sales and marketing headaches so you can focus on making great products.
They’re not just taking a cut – they’re multiplying your reach at a scale you can’t match without burning millions.
Financial Firepower
Here’s something that gets far too little attention in our industry… distributors buy big and pay fast, sometimes before your product even hits store shelves. They extend 30-, 60-, and 90-day terms to retailers, letting stores carry more inventory, sell more, and take a chance on new products.
Remove them, and you drain the cash flow that keeps the whole channel alive. You also put at risk the availability of products consumers are demanding.
Relationships That Actually Sell
I will believe this to my grave… business still runs on trust and personal relationships. Distributors, because they’ve been doing this job for years, and track the industry religiously, know which stores thrive in hunting season, which SKUs fly off shelves, and if you ask them, they probably know which days to skip deliveries because the owner’s kid has football or soccer practice.
In the end, I’m sorry, but no e-commerce cart or fancy software program claiming otherwise, can replace a distributor sales rep who’s been showing up for years. That’s simply false advertising from companies more focused on their own profits than they are with yours. People sell, not platforms.
Compliance Without Headaches
In regulated industries like ours, distributors are your safety net. They hold licenses and partner with compliance experts like Orchid, eCheckpoint, Fastbound, and others. They manage secure logistics and know exactly where – and where not – to ship. Cut them, and you’re gambling with legal risk you can’t afford and that could wipe you out.
The Real Math
Sure, going direct might save 2–3% in margin. But you’ll:
- Pay more in operations.
- Sell slower.
- Lose access to credit that keeps product moving.
- Spend years rebuilding relationships you walked away from.
Those “savings” evaporate fast when sales slow and costs climb.
The Takeaway
Distributors bring you speed, reach, efficiency, market intelligence, financial stability, compliance, and relationship-driven access to retailers. They get your product in front of customers where and when it’s needed.
Distributors aren’t a layer to cut – they’re the all-important engine to the shooting sports industry. They put the power behind your sales channel to make it work for you, especially when you have hills to climb.
Until next time,
Kenyon Gleason
NASGW President