Distributors Under Siege

Dear Client:It seems that wherever you look these days, somebody is slamming on wholesalers. Not the least of which is the New York Times editorial page, where an op-ed by a wine blogger begins with, "Imagine if Texas lawmakers, in a bid to protect mom-and-pop bookstores, barred Amazon.com from shipping into the state," comparing books to wine shipping. "It is estimated that because of wholesalers, consumers pay 18 percent to 25 percent more at retail than they otherwise would," says