One thing that changed everything in the wholesale/retail relationships was the taxing of goods held on 1 January. Wholesale companies used to manufacture goods and sell them to retailers for at least a 100% markup. This allowed retailers to afford to maintain inventory, process returns, etc. Tax laws changed in the 1980’s. Companies are now taxed for any goods they hold on 1 January, so they desire to hold little to nothing at end of year.
Toss in the MBA programs teaching to get profits at all stages of the process and take everything today and forget about tomorrow, and the two make for a Just-In-Time sales pipeline that is fragile. Wholesale leaves retail no more than 20% markup margins and often just 3-5%. Retail cannot afford inventory due to cost and taxes.
Yes, factor that in and its a wonder anything works at all. Our government is stupid across all fronts.