u/Big_Alternative_6967

Most brands think distribution = sales.

After visiting ~50 vape shops across Michigan, I don’t think that’s true anymore.

I’ve seen the same pattern over and over:
products get placed → sit on shelves → no reorder

Not because the product is bad.

Because nothing actually happens in the store.

No one explains it
No one pushes it
No reason for the clerk to care

So it just… dies there.

What surprised me more:
some stores with worse products actually sell better —
just because the owner is engaged at the counter level.

At this point I think:
distribution without activation doesn’t just slow sell-through

it kills it.

Curious if others here have seen the same thing?

Or am I over-indexing on small retail?