Quote:
Originally Posted by hobnail
Decades ago there was a segment on the 60 Minutes news show about distributors being restricted to selling only sodas made by Coke. Pepsi did the same thing. So grocery stores had to deal with two distributors instead of one. But it was more of a problem for the distributors. You'll also notice that when you go into a fast food place you can order Coke sodas, but not Pepsi sodas, or vice versa.
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That's because they sign exclusivity deals.
Exclusivity deals aren't forbidden nor are they mandated. It's all about the contract terms.
Retailers carrying multiple brands is actually common.
(Walmart, Best buy, Gamestop, pretty much ever electronics retailer.)
Unless they have an exclusivity deal with Kobo there is nothing wrong with either a distributor or retailer carrying both Kindle and Kobo.
Best Buy used to carry both not too long ago. The carry XBOXes and Playstations as well as gaming PCs.
Retail is inherently darwinian.
Consumers rule by voting their wallets.