What is Exclusive Distribution? 

Exclusive distribution  is a level of product availability that limits the choice of outlets that customers can use to find our product or buy our product. 

One of the reasons we do this is to preserve our product or brand image. So this has a trade-off built in. First, it requires consumers to make an effort to buy our product. They can't just go anywhere and find it. What this does though in the process is it limits the competition among our intermediaries or our wholesalers and retailers. 

This is a really good thing if we want to make sure our price stays high or at the level that we set it. If there's too much competition between the wholesaler and the retailer, there's a good chance eventually they're going to start dropping that price maybe below the point with which we're comfortable.

Typically the types of products that work for exclusive distribution are going to be luxury goods or large ticket items. In other words, things with big prices. Typically, any other type of product customers are not going to go to the effort to find it and they're also not that interested in the exclusive sort of image that this kind of distribution creates. Exclusive distribution is usually reserved for luxury items. 

If we want to limit our distribution in order to preserve our image, and we think customers will put the effort into getting our product, exclusive distribution may be a good choice.

Related Topics

• What Does "Place" or "Placement" Mean?
• What is a Distribution Channel?
• What is Direct Distribution and Indirect Distribution
• What is Multi-Channel Distribution?
• What is a Channel System?
• Vertical Market
• Vertical Integration
• Ideal Market Exposure
• Intensive Distribution
• Selective Distribution
• Exclusive Distribution
• Discrepancy of Assortment
• Discrepancy of Quantity
• Channel Conflict
• Channel Stuffing