DTR vs. Wholesale
There are two main types of greeting card publisher, differentiated by the distribution method they use and therefore types of retailer they supply.
- The Direct to Retail (DTR) sector distributes through sales representatives (working directly for one publisher), sales agents (working on a commission only basis for several publishers), or a distributor (sometimes another publisher with a strong network of agents or reps). Direct to Retail cards are found in department stores, independent card shops and retail chains. This is what most new publishers will be.
- Wholesale publishers sell through specialist wholesale warehouses and cash and carries to a mixture of CTNs, supermarkets, discount card chains etc. These publishers rely on large volume sales and tiny margins.
