Originally Posted by CliffordK

In some cases 2 extra layers (or more).

Shimano Japan sells to Shimano USA which sells to local regional wholesale company (which consolidates wholesale products from multiple vendors), which sells to the local bike shops.

For convenience, then, the local bike shops can simply call up the local wholesale company and buy Shimano parts, Continental parts, Schwalbe parts, SRAM parts, & etc.

But, they pay the price for doing that.

No doubt, Shimano USA doesn't want to give up their chunk of the profit, even if they are no longer serving any useful service.

What is their contract like?

Even franchises frequently break their contracts.

Translating languages, and converting Dollars to Yen to Euros to Rubles can be a hassle, but with modern banking, is easier than ever.

A small shop ordering from multiple vendors might be a bit of a hassle (labor costs?), but with good systems, should be easy enough now.

I have no idea how old auto parts stores used to work, but they used to have these monster banks of printed catalogs. So, a customer comes in and asks for a part. They spend a few minutes browsing through catalogs until they figure out what the part is, how much, and where to order it, potentially ordering direct from the suppliers, or even local parts refurbishing companies. And, often bypassing the car manufacturers.

In theory, it should be cheaper to ship components by the Connex box, surface freight. But, I'm not so sure. For one thing, small orders by mail can be shipped "just in time".

And, we have a problem if a company claims that by buying in bulk, they can not compete with small individual orders. Time to make changes?