Might have solved the distribution puzzle...

My doctorate requires (yet another) course in business ethics. As I was reading an article about treachery as a normal business practice, one section really stood out. Apparently, large retailers make it a practice to consistently screw suppliers out of money - sometimes amounting to withholding 1/5 of agreed upon prices. Interestingly enough, discounters have the reputation of dealing fairly with suppliers in return for deep discounts. Suppliers can be faced with an attractive offer that may yield a fraction of the contracted price, or a much smaller payout on a sure thing. Makes me wonder if the frequent appearance of Mega products in discount stores before they are even seen in normal retailers is a result of Mega salesmen not wanting to get screwed and going for the safe option. Maybe LEGO has come to dominate the shelves because they're either better able to tolerate losses or so powerful that retailers think twice before trying to stiff them.