Article: Vendor matrices: men's wear's new kingmakers. (trend toward mergers and centralized buying in retail clothing trade is hurting small suppliers; includes article about merchandising brand name products)

NEW YORK -- Forget ad allowances and markdown money. The expression that strikes the most fear into manufacturers' hearts is vendor matrix.

"If you win, you win big," said Howard Cooley, chief executive officer of Jockey, Inc. "But if you lose, you lose totally."

Although the vendor matrix concept has been around for years, the recent rash of retail mergers and subsequent downsizing have resulted in a heightened dependence on centralized buying. For example, Federated-Allied instituted a team-buying system for its nine divisions in 1990, and by swallowing competitors, May Department Stores Co., Dayton Hudson Corp., P.A. Bergner & Co. and Dillard ...

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