The Move to Administered Vertical Marketing Systems by British Retailers Available to Purchase

Using the evidence from interview surveys of UK retailers and manufacturers, it is argued that the changing horizontal structure of retailing in the UK is having a profound influence on the structure of vertical relationships in the channel. Whilst horizontal competition has increased and retailer strategies have been directed at improving their competitive horizontal advantage, the form of vertical relationships has been changed to an administered structure in order to maximise this horizontal competition. This has resulted in a number of vertical channel changes, including more stable relationships. The implications of this change are profound, both for the academic study of marketing channels and for the practice of channel management.