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Marketing Channel Strategy
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Eighth Edition

Global Edition
Marketing Channel Strategy

Robert W. Palmatier
University of Washington’s Foster School of Business

Louis W. Stern
Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management

Adel I. El-Ansary
University of North Florida’s Coggin College of Business

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data


Stern, Louis W.,
[Marketing channels]
Marketing channel strategy/Robert Palmatier, University of Washington’s Foster School of Business,
Louis Stern, Kellogg School of Management of Northwestern University, Adel El-Ansary,
Ohio State University. —8e [edition].
pages cm
1. Marketing channels. I. Palmatier, Robert W. II. Ansary, Adel I. III. Title.
HF5415.129.S75 2015
658.8'7—dc23

2013027291

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

ISBN 10: 1-29-206046-8


ISBN 13: 978-1-29-206046-0
This book is dedicated to my wife Kimberley and
my daughter Alexandra, with much love and thanks.
Robert W. Palmatier
To the love of my life, Rhona, with whom life has been
exciting, challenging, surprising, and, above all, loving.
Louis W. Stern

To my family, the guiding lights of my life, wife Stephana,


sons Waleed and Tarik, stepdaughters Johanna and Stephanie,
and grandchildren Noor, Boody, Haya, and Isabelle.
Adel I. El-Ansary
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BRIEF CONTENTS
PART I Introduction
Chapter 1 Understanding Channel Strategies 1

PART II Designing Channel Strategies


Chapter 2 End-User Analysis: Segmenting and Targeting 34
Chapter 3 Channel Analysis: Auditing Marketing Channels 53
Chapter 4 Make-or-Buy Channel Analysis 95
Chapter 5 Designing Channel Structures and Strategies 125

PART III Channel Structures and Strategies


Chapter 6 Retailing Structures and Strategies 163
Chapter 7 Wholesaling Structures and Strategies 206
Chapter 8 Franchising Structures and Strategies 232
Chapter 9 Emerging Channel Structures and Strategies 264

PART IV Implementing Channel Strategies


Chapter 10 Managing Channel Power 290
Chapter 11 Managing Channel Conflict 320
Chapter 12 Managing Channel Relationships 351
Chapter 13 Managing Channel Policies and Legalities 382
Chapter 14 Managing Channel Logistics 418

vii
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CONTENTS
Preface xix
About the Author xxv

PART I Introduction

Chapter 1 Understanding Channel Strategies 1


The Importance of Marketing Channel Strategies 1
What Is a Marketing Channel Strategy? 3
Who Participates in Marketing Channels? 3
Manufacturers: Upstream Channel Members 4
Intermediaries: Middle Channel Members 5
End-Users: Downstream Channel Members 6
Combinations of Channel Members 6
Why Do Marketing Channels Exist? 6
Benefits for Downstream Channel Members 6
Benefits to Upstream Channel Members 8
■ SIDEBAR 1-1 Tea selling in Taiwan: The key roles of tea intermediaries 11
What Are the Key Functions Marketing Channels Perform? 12
Channel Strategy Framework 14
End-User Analysis: Segmentation and Targeting 16
Channel Analysis: Auditing Marketing Channels 18
Make-or-Buy Channel Analysis 19
Designing Channel Structures and Strategies 19
Benchmarking Traditional and Emerging Channel Systems 21
Implementing Channel Strategies 22
N Take-Aways 24
Endnotes 25
Appendix 26

PART II Designing Channel Strategies

Chapter 2 End-User Analysis: Segmenting and Targeting 34


Understanding the Importance of Segmentation 35
■ SIDEBAR 2-1 CDW and PC purchases by small to medium-sized business
buyers 35
End-User Segmentation Criteria: Service Outputs 37
Bulk Breaking 37
Spatial Convenience 38
ix
x Contents

Waiting Time 38
Product Variety and Assortment 39
Customer Service 40
Information Sharing 41
Segmenting End-Users by Service Outputs 42
Targeting End-User Segments 45
N Take-Aways 47
Endnotes 47
Appendix 49

Chapter 3 Channel Analysis: Auditing Marketing Channels 53


Channel Audit Criteria: Channel Functions 54
■ SIDEBAR 3-1 CDW and PC purchases by small and medium-sized business
buyers: Channel functions and equity principle insights 56
■ SIDEBAR 3-2 Reverse logistics: Channel functions for returned
merchandise 60
Auditing Channels Using the Efficiency Template 66
Evaluating Channels: The Equity Principle 70
Evaluating Channels: Zero-Based Channel Concept 71
Auditing Channels Using Gap Analysis 73
Sources of Channel Gaps 73
Service Gaps 75
Cost Gaps 76
Combining Channel Gaps 78
Evaluating Channels: Gap Analysis Template 81
N Take-Aways 85
Endnotes 87
Appendix 89

Chapter 4 Make-or-Buy Channel Analysis 95


Trade-Offs of Vertical Integration 97
Degrees of Vertical Integration 97
Costs and Benefits of Make-or-Buy Channels 98
Payment Options for Buying Marketing Channels 99
■ SIDEBAR 4-1 Vertical integration forward: Harder than it looks 100
Make-or-Buy Channel Options: The Buying Perspective 101
Return on Investment: The Primary Criterion 102
Buying or Outsourcing Channels as the Base Case 102
Six Reasons to Outsource Distribution 103
Make-or-Buy Channel Options: The Making Perspective 106
The Role of Company-Specific Capabilities 107
Six Company-Specific Distribution Capabilities 110
Contents xi

■ SIDEBAR 4-2 Decades of rivalry between Coke and Pepsi 112


Vertically Integrating to Deal with Thin Markets 114
Vertically Integrating to Cope with Environmental Uncertainty 115
Vertically Integrating to Reduce Performance Ambiguity 117
Vertically Integrating to Learn from Customers 118
Channel Members Integrating Upstream 119
■ SIDEBAR 4-3 A retailer loses focus by integrating backward 119
Summary: Make-or-Buy Decision Framework 120
N Take-Aways 121
Endnotes 123

Chapter 5 Designing Channel Structures and Strategies 125


Channel Intensity Decisions 127
Downstream Channel Members’ Perspective on Intensive
Distribution 127
■ SIDEBAR 5-1 Royal Canin 130
Upstream Channel Members’ Perspective on Intensive
Distribution 131
Channel Competition to Prevent Complacency (Factor 1) 134
Product Category (Factor 2) 135
Brand Strategy: Premium and Niche Positioning (Factor 3) 137
■ SIDEBAR 5-2 LVMH acquires Donna Karan 138
Channel Influence (Factor 4) 140
Dependence Balancing (Factor 5) 143
Opportunity Cost (Factor 6) 145
Transaction Costs (Factor 7) 146
Other Manufacturers’ Strategies (Factor 8) 147
Channel Type Decisions 149
■ SIDEBAR 5-3 Tupperware’s retail channels cannibalize the party 150
Dual Distribution Decisions 151
The Demonstration Argument 152
Carrier-Rider Relationships 153
Closing Channel Gaps 154
Closing Service Gaps 154
Closing Cost Gaps 155
Closing Gaps Produced by Environmental or Managerial
Bounds 156
Summary: Designing Effective Channel Structures
and Strategies 157
N Take-Aways 159
Endnotes 160
xii Contents

PART III Channel Structures and Strategies

Chapter 6 Retailing Structures and Strategies 163


Retail Structures 164
Retail Positioning Strategies 174
Cost-Side Positioning Strategies 174
■ SIDEBAR 6-1 Zara: A European retailer using the low-margin, high-turnover
model of retailing 175
■ SIDEBAR 6-2 H&M: Another low-margin, high-turnover European retailer, with
a different channel strategy 177
Demand-Side Positioning Strategies 179
Taxonomy of Retail Positioning Strategies 182
Multichannel Retail Strategies 185
Internet Retail Channel 185
Direct Selling Channel 186
Hybrid Retail Channels 189
Adapting to the Increasing Power of Major Retailers 190
Effects of Forward Buying 193
Effects of Slotting Allowances 193
Effects of Failure Fees 194
Effects of Private Branding 194
Effects of Globalization of Retailing 195
Summary: Retailing Structures and Strategies 197
N Take-Aways 197
Endnotes 198
Appendix 200

Chapter 7 Wholesaling Structures and Strategies 206


Wholesaling Structures 206
Wholesaler-Distributors 207
Master Distributors 208
Other Supply Chain Participants 210
Wholesaling Strategies 211
An Historical Perspective on Wholesaling Strategy 212
Wholesaling Value-Added Strategies 213
Wholesaling Strategies in Foreign Markets 214
■ SIDEBAR 7-1 Export trading companies 215
Wholesaling Strategies in Emerging Economies 215
Alliance-Based Wholesaling Strategies 218
■ SIDEBAR 7-2 Ace Hardware Corporation 220
■ SIDEBAR 7-3 Direct selling in France 222
Contents xiii

Consolidation Strategies in Wholesaling 223


Adapting to Trends in Wholesaling 225
International Expansion 225
Electronic Commerce 225
B2B Online Exchanges 226
Online Reverse Auctions 227
Fee for Services 227
Vertical Integration of Manufactures into Wholesaling 228
Summary: Wholesaling Structures and Strategies 229
N Take-Aways 229
Endnotes 230

Chapter 8 Franchising Structures and Strategies 232


Franchising Structures 234
Benefits to Franchisees 234
■ SIDEBAR 8-1 McDonald’s 235
Benefits to Franchisor 239
Another View: Reasons Not to Franchise 244
Franchising Strategies 245
Product and Trade Name Franchising Strategies 245
■ SIDEBAR 8-2 ADA discovers the benefits of franchisees 245
Business Format Franchising Strategy 246
Franchise Contracting Strategies 246
Company Store Strategies 252
Adapting to Trends in Franchising 256
Survival Trends 256
Multiunit Franchising 258
Summary: Franchising Structures and Strategies 259
N Take-Aways 261
Endnotes 261

Chapter 9 Emerging Channel Structures and Strategies 264


Trends Influencing Marketing Channels 264
Channel Strategies for Services 265
Drivers of the Shift to Services 265
Effect of Key Service Characteristics on Channel Strategies 267
Effects of Product Aspects on Channel Strategies 270
Effects of Acquiring Service Capabilities, Infrastructure, and
Knowledge 271
■ SIDEBAR 9-1 Fujitsu and Federal Express build a close relationship 272
Channel Members’ Responses to Service Transition
Strategies 273
xiv Contents

Channel Strategies for Globalization 273


Drivers of Globalization 274
Effects of Globalization on Channel Strategies 275
Channel Strategies for E-Commerce 279
Drivers of Increased E-Commerce 279
■ SIDEBAR 9-2 Zappos.com, an e-commerce fairytale 280
Effects of E-Commerce on Channel Strategies 283
■ SIDEBAR 9-3 Channel conflict and Internet Commerce 284
Hierarchical Multichannel Strategies 284
Summary: Emerging Channel Structures and Strategies 286
N Take-Aways 287
Endnotes 288

PART IV Implementing Channel Strategies

Chapter 10 Managing Channel Power 290


The Nature of Power 290
Power Defined 291
Power as a Tool 292
The Need to Manage Channel Power 293
The Five Sources of Channel Power 294
Reward Power 295
Coercive Power 295
Expert Power 296
■ SIDEBAR 10-1 Retailers build expertise power over suppliers 297
■ SIDEBAR 10-2 The mystery shopper 298
Legitimate Power 299
Referent Power 301
■ SIDEBAR 10-3 Gore-Tex® changes its power base 302
Grouping the Five Power Sources 303
Summary of Power Sources 304
Dependence as the Mirror Image of Power 304
Defining Dependence 304
■ SIDEBAR 10-4 CNH Group: Easier to replace than we thought 305
Measuring Dependence 306
Balancing Power: A Net Dependence Perspective 308
Imbalanced Dependence 309
Power-Based Influence Strategies 311
Effectiveness of Six Influence Strategies 312
Framing Influence Strategies 314
Contents xv

Summary: Managing Channel Power 315


N Take-Aways 316
Endnotes 317

Chapter 11 Managing Channel Conflict 320


The Nature of Channel Conflict 320
Types of Conflict 321
Measuring Conflict 322
Consequences of Conflict 323
Functional Conflict: Improving Channel Performance 323
■ SIDEBAR 11-1 Functional conflict in plumbing and heating supplies 324
Manifest Conflict: Reducing Channel Performance 325
Major Sources of Conflict in Channels 326
Competing Goals 326
Differing Perceptions of Reality 327
Intrachannel Competition 329
Multiple Channels 329
Unwanted Channels: Gray Markets 333
Minimizing the (Negative) Effects of Channel Conflict 335
Reducing the Use of Threats 336
Intolerance of Conflict in Balanced Relationships 336
■ SIDEBAR 11-2 Oakley battles its biggest customer 337
Mitigating the Effects of Conflict in Balanced Relationships 338
Perceived Unfairness: Aggravating the Effects
of Conflicts 339
Conflict Resolution Strategies 340
Forestalling Conflict Through Institutionalization 340
Ongoing Conflict Resolution Styles 342
Using Incentives to Resolve Conflict 344
Summary: Managing Channel Conflict 345
N Take-Aways 346
Endnotes 347

Chapter 12 Managing Channel Relationships 351


The Nature of Channel Relationships 351
Upstream Motives for Building a Strong Channel
Relationship 353
■ SIDEBAR 12-1 John Deere helps dealers reach out to women 354
Downstream Motives for Building a Strong Channel
Relationship 356
Effectiveness of Strong Channel Relationships 357
xvi Contents

Building Channel Commitment 359


Need for Expectations of Continuity 359
Need for Reciprocation: Mutual Commitment 360
Strategies for Building Commitment 362
Building Channel Trust 364
Need for Economic Satisfaction 365
■ SIDEBAR 12-2 Philip Morris substitutes channels for advertising 366
Strategies for Building Channel Partners’ Trust 366
The Channel Relationship Life cycle 370
The Five Stages of a Channel Relationships 370
Managing the Stages 373
Managing Troubled Relationships 374
Relationship Portfolios 375
Summary: Managing Channel Relationships 376
N Take-Aways 377
Endnotes 378

Chapter 13 Managing Channel Policies and Legalities 382


Market Coverage Policies 383
■ SIDEBAR 13-1 Continental TV v. GTE Sylvania 384
Customer Coverage Policies 386
Pricing Policies 388
Price Maintenance 388
■ SIDEBAR 13-2 Monsanto v. Spray-Rite 389
■ SIDEBAR 13-3 Business Electronics Corp. v. Sharp Electronics 390
■ SIDEBAR 13-4 Albrecht v. Herald and State Oil Co. v. Khan 391
Price Discrimination 392
■ SIDEBAR 13-5 Liggett & Myers v. Brown & Williamson 394
■ SIDEBAR 13-6 Texaco v. Hasbrouck 399
Product Line Policies 399
Exclusive Dealing 399
■ SIDEBAR 13-7 Tampa Electric Co. v. Nashville Coal Co. 401
Tying 402
■ SIDEBAR 13-8 Jefferson Parish Hospital District No. 2 v. Hyde 403
■ SIDEBAR 13-9 Eastman Kodak Co. v. Image Technical Service, Inc. 405
Full-Line Forcing 405
Designated Product Policies 406
■ SIDEBAR 13-10 U.S. Federal Trade Commission v. Toys ‘R US 406
Selection and Termination Policies 407
Ownership Policies 409
Vertical Integration by Merger 409
Contents xvii

Vertical Integration by Internal Expansion 410


Dual Distribution 410
Summary: Managing Channel Policies and Legalities 411
N Take-Aways 412
Endnotes 414

Chapter 14 Managing Channel Logistics 418


Impact of Channel Logistics and Supply Chain Management 418
■ SIDEBAR 14-1 Reverse logistics 419
Efficient Channel Logistics 420
Efficient Consumer Response 421
Barriers to Efficient Consumer Response 422
Quick Response Logistics 423
Barriers to Quick Response 424
■ SIDEBAR 14-2 Zara, the quick response master 425
Supply Chain Strategies 427
Physical Efficiency Versus Market Responsiveness 427
Effective Supply Chain Management 428
■ SIDEBAR 14-3 How to build triple-A supply chains 430
Summary: Managing Channel Logistics 430
N Take-Aways 431
Endnotes 432
Name Index 435
Subject Index 442
Company Index 461
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PREFACE

NEW TO THIS EDITION


The primary goal for this Eighth Edition, as reflected in the change in the title—from
Marketing Channels to Marketing Channel Strategy—has been to create a comprehensive,
research-based, action-oriented guide for practicing managers and managers-in-training
with an interest in how to adopt and apply real-world channel strategies. This edition of
the book is structured to provide background knowledge and process steps for under-
standing, designing, and implementing high-performing channel strategies.
Other significant changes to this edition include the following:

of the rest of this book, providing a structured approach that guides managers
through the steps necessary for evaluating an existing marketing channel strat-
egy or for developing and implementing a new one. A new figure offers a visual
representation of this approach (see Figure 1-3).
-
lated chapters each support a specific stand-alone analysis that is critical for
designing an effective channel strategy:

integrates material from multiple chapters in the previous edition together with
new material, to walk readers through three key channel design decisions. The
revised chapter also offers a new perspective on the eight factors that influence
the intensity versus selectivity trade-off and its effects on channel strategy.

strategies that result from dramatic changes in the business environment, such
as the shift from products to services, the globalization of firms and industries,
and increases in e-commerce. These changes are causing new channel systems to
emerge, with the potential of disrupting many tradition channel institutions.

emphasis on the role of strong relationships in successful channel management.


Recent academic research added to this chapter cites the key influence of rela-
tionship velocity on future channel performance and the detrimental effect of
perceived unfairness in channels.

channel success, we have integrated information-sharing notions and applica-


tions throughout the book as a key channel function. Thus, information sharing
appears within the efficiency templates in Chapter 3, demonstrated with new
examples related to CDW and building materials.

top 250 global retailers, due to globalization and consolidation, are outlined in

xix
xx Preface

Chapter 6. The fundamental shift to e-commerce in many product categories is


also highlighted throughout the book (e.g., music, books), along with the neces-
sary shifts in strategy.
Overall, Marketing Channel Strategy is designed for an international audience of
managers and managers-in-training. The focus is firmly on marketing channel strategy,
that is, the set of activities focused on designing and managing a marketing channel to
enhance the firm’s sustainable competitive advantage and financial performance. More
simply, companies and processes come together to bring products and services from
their point of origin to their point of consumption. Through marketing channels, the
originator of the products or services gains access to markets and end-users. Channel
structures and strategies thus are critical to any firm’s long-term success.
The book features examples taken from around the world and from a range of
industries and markets. However, the ideas and processes generalize to virtually any
context and channel situations. Sidebars appear in every chapter to highlight key
channel issues and strategies and provide concrete examples of the theories, pro-
cesses, and ideas presented in the text.
Each chapter is also designed to stand on its own. The chapters are modular,
so they can be combined with other material and used in various classes for which
channels play an important role (e.g., service marketing, marketing strategy, sales
management, business-to-business marketing). The content of each chapter reflects
leading academic research and practice in distinct disciplines (e.g., marketing, strat-
egy, economics, sociology, political science).
Beyond this modular design, the four major parts of this book reflect some over-
riding themes. Part I consists of just one chapter, which introduces the basic ideas and
concepts underlying channel strategy. To help channel managers design a strategy and
then manage it over time, Chapter 1 addresses some central channel questions:

The answers suggest that a marketing channel strategy entails three stages:
(1) analyzing and designing, (2) benchmarking, and (3) implementation or manage-
ment. Parts II–IV address each of these stages in turn.
In particular, Part II, Designing Channel Strategies, comprises four chapters that
describe how to align the needs of upstream and downstream members of the chan-
nel to enable all the parties to work together to meet target end-users’ demands, at
minimum cost. We start with a detailed discussion of how to employ an end-user
analysis to segment markets, in accordance with end-users’ needs, and then select
certain segment(s) to target (Chapter 2). In Chapter 3, we outline methods for evaluat-
ing existing channels by auditing their efficiency and potential service or cost gaps.
These two analysis steps lead into the task of determining whether to perform chan-
nel functions in-house or outsourced, so Chapter 4 describes the make-or-buy channel
analysis. Finally, we summarize the design phase, as it appears with regard to three
Preface xxi

design questions: the degree of channel intensity, the mix of channel types, and the
use of dual distribution (Chapter 5).
With Part III, Channel Structure and Strategies, we provide the means for channel
managers to understand some of the most common channel structures and strategies:
retailing (Chapter 6), wholesaling (Chapter 7), and franchising (Chapter 8). With such
an understanding, managers can identify best practices to integrate into their new or
revised channel systems, as well as compare their own channel structure and strat-
egy with previously developed channel systems. This section thus provides lessons
learned by previous channel managers, helps today’s readers avoid the same common
mistakes, and allows them to take advantage of known channel efficiencies. Finally,
Chapter 9 offers guidelines to help managers address and design creative, emerging
channel structures and strategies, in accordance with constantly changing business
environments.
Finally, Part IV, Implementing Channel Strategies, focuses on the five factors
that lead to optimal channel management and help ensure ongoing channel success.
Specifically, channel managers need to identify and work with the source of each
channel member’s power and dependence (Chapter 10), as well as recognize and
avoid potential channel conflict (Chapter 11), so that they can build and maintain
good working relationships among channel partners (Chapter 12). The last two chap-
ters detail how to manage channel policies and legalities (Chapter 13) and logistics
(Chapter 14), and thus maintain the effectiveness and efficiency of the channel system.
The framework presented in this book is thus useful for creating a new channel
strategy in a previously untapped market, as well as for critically analyzing and refin-
ing a preexisting channel strategy. Supporting materials for this textbook are available
to adopting instructors through our instructors’ resource center (IRC) online at www.
pearsonhighered.com.
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The authors express their appreciation to Erin Anderson for her past efforts on this
book and the deep insights into channel strategy she provided. Her passing was a loss
to her family, to us, and to the academic discipline.
Rob Palmatier thanks the authors of previous editions of this book, including
the founding authors, Lou Stern and Adel El-Ansary, whose efforts made this book
possible, as well as Anne Coughlan for her extraordinary efforts and contributions to
the core knowledge offered by this text. He is also very grateful to Charles and Gwen
Lillis for their generous support of the Foster School of Business and his research
activities, which helped make this edition possible. In addition, he also appreciates
his colleagues and doctoral students, whose ongoing insights into channel research
have helped inform this revision in multiple ways: Todd Arnold, Inigo Arroniz, Joshua
T. Beck, Kevin Bradford, Steven Brown, Robert Carter, Fred C. Ciao, Daniel Claro,
Rajiv P. Dant, Kenneth R. Evans, Eric Fang, Shankar Ganesan, Gabriel Gonzalez, Morris
George, Srinath Gopalakrishna, Dhruv Grewal, Rajiv Grewal, Sujan Harish, Colleen
Harmeling, Conor Henderson, Mark B. Houston, Gary Hunter, Sandy Jap, Cheryl Jarvis,
Frank R. Kardes, Irina V. Kozlenkova, Ju-Yeon Lee, Vincent Onyemah, Dominique
Rouzies, Stephen Samaha, Lisa K. Scheer, Arun Sharma, Shrihari Sridhar, Rosann Spiro,
Jan-Benedict E.M. Steenkamp, Lena Steinhoff, George F. Watson IV, Bart Weitz, and
Jonathan Zhang.
Lou Stern would like to acknowledge the support, encouragement, and friend-
ship of his Northwestern University marketing department colleagues over a long
period of time who have never waivered in their enthusiasm for his work. He is espe-
cially grateful to Anne Coughlan who shouldered a number of revisions of the text
along with his dear, late friend, Erin Anderson of Insead. His greatest debt is, how-
ever, owed to his doctoral students at Northwestern and Ohio State (one of whom,
Adel El-Ansary, has been his coauthor on this text for more than 40 years) who kept
him current, intellectually stimulated, and enthusiastic throughout his career. And his
appreciation of Rob Palmatier is unbounded. Rob agreed to take the leadership on this
edition and, by doing so, to keep the text alive for future generations of students who
find the study of marketing channels fascinating, challenging, and rewarding. Lou’s
gratitude for what he has done is infinite.
Adel El-Ansary would like to acknowledge the intellectual exchange and friend-
ship of faculty colleagues of the Inter-organizational and Relationship Marketing
Special Interest Groups, Academic Division of the American Marketing Association
and the Board of Governance, Distinguished Fellows, and Leadership Group of the
Academy of Marketing Science. His greatest debt is, however, owed to his mentors at
the Ohio State University. William R. Davidson and the late Robert Bartels fueled his
interest in the study of marketing. Lou Stern sparked his interest in marketing chan-
nels, leading to a lifetime of intellectual inquiry and partnership on the text for over
40 years. Rob Palmatier is a leader of the field. His taking charge, commencing with

xxiii
xxiv Acknowledgments

this edition of Marketing Channel Strategy, extends the life of the brand and ensures
that future generations of students will be informed of the importance of the role of
channels in marketing and society.
Finally, we are indebted to the vast number of authors whose work we cite
throughout this text. Without their efforts, we could not have written this book.
Robert W. Palmatier
Seattle, Washington

Louis W. Stern
Evanston, Illinois

Adel I. El-Ansary
Jacksonville, Florida
ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Robert W. Palmatier is Professor of Marketing, and he holds the John C. Narver Chair
of Business Administration at the University of Washington’s Foster School of Business.
He earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Electrical Engineering from Georgia
Institute of Technology, as well as an MBA from Georgia State University and his
doctoral degree from the University of Missouri. He did a one year post doctoral study
at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management. Prior to entering aca-
demia, Professor Palmatier held various industry positions, including President and
Chief Operating Officer of C&K Components and European General Manager and
Sales & Marketing Manager at Tyco-Raychem Corporation. He also served as a U.S.
Navy Lieutenant onboard nuclear submarines.
Professor Palmatier’s research interests focus on relationship marketing, channels,
and marketing strategy. His research has appeared in Journal of Marketing, Journal
of Marketing Research, Marketing Science, Journal of Retailing, Journal of Consumer
Psychology, Journal of Academy of Marketing Science, Marketing Letters, International
Journal of Research in Marketing, and Industrial Marketing Management. He has
also published a monograph entitled Relationship Marketing and chapters in vari-
ous texts, including Channel Relationships, Relationship Marketing, Anti-Relationship
Marketing: Understanding Relationship Destroying Behaviors, and Understanding the
Relational Ecosystem in a Connected World. His research has also been featured in The
New York Times Magazine, Electrical Wholesaling, Agency Sales, and The Representor,
as well as on NPR and MSNBC.
In addition to serving as an area editor for Journal of Marketing, Professor
Palmatier sits on the editorial review boards for Journal of the Academy of Marketing
Science, Journal of Retailing, and Journal of Business-to-Business Marketing. His
publications have received multiple awards, including the Harold H. Maynard, Louis
W. Stern, and the American Marketing Association Best Services Article awards. He
also received the Varadarajan Award for Early Contribution to Marketing Strategy
Research. He teaches marketing strategy in the doctoral, EMBA, and MBA programs
at the University of Washington. He has received numerous teaching awards including
the Robert M. Bowen EMBA Excellence in Teaching Awards, MBA Professor of the Year
Award, and PhD Student Mentoring Awards.
Among the numerous industry and governmental committees on which Profes-
sor Palmatier has served, he chaired proposal selection committees for the National
Research Council (NRC), National Academy of Sciences (NAS), and the Wright Centers
of Innovation, which awarded grants of $20 million for the development of a new
Wright Center of Innovation based on joint academic–industry proposals. He has
served on NASA’s Computing, Information, and Communications Advisory Group,
with the AMES Research Center. This advisory group assesses the current state of
technology development within academia, governmental agencies, and industry related
to NASA’s information technology activities and space exploration requirements;
recommends future investment areas; and outlines a sustainable process to ensure

xxv
xxvi About the Authors

optimal investment strategies and technology portfolios for NASA’s Space Exploration
Enterprise. He has also consulted for numerous firms including Microsoft, Emerson,
Telstra, Fifth Third Bank, Littelfuse, Cisco, Wells Fargo, Premera, and Manufacturers’
Representative Educational Research Foundation.
Professor Palmatier lives in Seattle, Washington, with his wife Kimberley and
daughter Alexandra.
Louis W. Stern is the John D. Gray Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Market-
ing at the Kellogg School of Management of Northwestern University. Professor Stern
joined the Northwestern faculty in 1973. Prior to that, he was Professor of Marketing
at the Ohio State University. He was appointed to the Ohio State faculty in 1963 after
having spent two years at the industrial research firm Arthur D. Little, Inc., Cambridge,
Massachusetts. From January 1965 until June 1966, he served as a principal economist
for the National Commission on Food Marketing in Washington, D.C., and during the
1969–1970 academic year, he was a visiting associate professor of business admin-
istration at the University of California, Berkeley. From 1977 to 1980, he served as
chairman of the Department of Marketing at Northwestern, and from 1983 to 1985,
he was Executive Director of the Marketing Science Institute, Cambridge, Massachu-
setts. During the 1984–1985 academic year, he was the Thomas Henry Carroll Ford
Foundation Visiting Professor at Harvard Business School. From 1998 to 2001, concur-
rent with his position at Northwestern, he was appointed a visiting scholar at the Haas
School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley. From 2004 to 2006, he was
designated the Dorinda and Mark Winkelman Distinguished Scholar at The Wharton
School of the University of Pennsylvania, a Senior Fellow of the Wharton School, and
codirector of Wharton’s Jay H. Baker Retailing Initiative, positions he held in addition
to the John D. Gray professorship at Kellogg.
Professor Stern’s research efforts have focused on issues related to designing and
managing marketing channels and on antitrust issues. His articles have appeared in a
wide variety of marketing, legal, and behavioral science journals. Among the books he
has coauthored are Marketing Channels (Prentice-Hall, 7th Ed., 2006), Management
in Marketing Channels (Prentice-Hall, 1989), and Legal Aspects of Marketing Strategy:
Antitrust and Consumer Protection Issues -

Torger Reve) was named the best article on marketing theory to appear in the Journal
of Marketing during 1980. In 1986, he received the Paul D. Converse Award from the

Marketing Executives-International, and in 1990, he received the same honor from

1994, he was selected as the recipient of the American Marketing Association/Irwin

teachers in U.S. business schools by Business Week magazine. In 1999, his Kellogg
classroom was purchased and named in his honor by his former students, friends,
clients, and family. And, in June 1999, he was the first recipient of Kellogg’s newly cre-
ated Special Lifetime Achievement Award for Teaching Excellence.
About the Authors xxvii

Professor Stern has participated in distinguished lecturer/visitor series at


numerous universities. He has taught at the Hernstein Institute in Vienna and at the
Norwegian School of Economics and Business Administration in Bergen, and has been
a faculty associate at the Management Centre Europe in Brussels. Professor Stern has
served on the editorial boards of the Journal of Marketing, the Journal of Marketing
Research, and Marketing Letters. He was on the Board of Directors of the Council of
Better Business Bureaus, Inc., from 1978 to 1983. He was a member of the Board of
Trustees of the Williston Northampton School in Easthampton, Massachusetts. He is a
member of the Board of Directors of the Academy for Urban School Leadership, a non-
profit organization dedicated to improving student achievement in Chicago’s chroni-
cally failing schools. In addition, he is a member of the Executive Directors Council of
the Marketing Science Institute.
Among the numerous business firms for which he has consulted are IBM, Ford,
Hewlett-Packard, S.C. Johnson, Brunswick, Roche Laboratories, Steelcase, ExxonMobil,
Xerox, Boise Cascade, Johnson & Johnson, and Motorola. He has also served as a con-
sultant to the Federal Trade Commission and as an academic trustee of the Marketing
Science Institute. Professor Stern is a member of the American Marketing Association.
Adel I. El-Ansary is the Donna L. Harper Professor of Marketing at the Coggin
College of Business, University of North Florida, and Distinguished Fellow of the
Academy of Marketing Science. He received the State of Florida University System Pro-
fessional Excellence Award in 1999 and was named Prime Osborne, III Distinguished
Professor in 2001. Prior to joining the faculty at the University of North Florida as
the First Holder of the Paper and Plastics Educational Research Foundation Eminent
Scholar Chair in Wholesaling, he served as professor and chairman of Business Admin-
istration at the George Washington University, Washington, D.C.
El-Ansary is a Fulbright scholar. He is coauthor of the leading text-reference
book on Marketing Channels, firstt through eighthh edition, Prentice-Hall, 1977–2015
and E-Marketing, third and fourth editions, Prentice-Hall, 2003 and 2006. He is a
contributor to the Encyclopedia of Marketing, Encyclopedia of Economics, American
Marketing Association Marketing Encyclopedia, and The Logistics Handbook. Also, he
has contributed over 35 papers and articles to books and conference proceedings.
El-Ansary’s research and writing contributed 18 key articles published in major
journal including the Journal of Marketing, Journal of Marketing Research, Journal
of Marketing Channels, Journal of Retailing, Journal of the Academy of Marketing
Science, Journal of Relationship Marketing, Journal of Macro Marketing, European
Business Review, Journal of Personal Selling and Sales Management, and Interna-
tional Marketing Review.
El-Ansary’s scholarly interests are diverse but revolve around marketing systems
reform to improve distribution effectiveness, efficiency, and equity with particular ref-
erence to food distribution in developing countries. He served on a sub-Presidential
Mission for President Reagan’s Caribbean Initiatives on improving food distribution in
Central America. His teaching interest includes Marketing Channels, Marketing Strat-
egy, Marketing on the Internet, and Global Branding Strategy and Management.
El-Ansary was on leave from the University of North Florida 1995–1996 to serve
as Chief of Party of International Business and Technical consultants, Inc. in Cairo,
Egypt. He was in charge of all aspects of project management for the monitoring and
evaluation of the Privatization Program of the Government of Egypt funded through
xxviii About the Authors

technical assistance provided by the U.S. Agency for International Development


(U.S. AID). El-Ansary served as team leader and project coordinator, implemented,
or participated in, over 20 government and international organization contracts and
assignments including U.S. AID, the World Bank, and the Governments of Egypt, Saudi
Arabia, Tunisia, Kuwait, and Qatar. He served on Presidents’ Nixon and Ford national
Advisory Council for the U.S. Small Business Administration.
El-Ansary served on the Global Council of the American Marketing Association.
He is the founding chairman of the Special Interest Group in Wholesale Distribution
and served as cochairman of the Relationship Marketing Interest Group of the
Academic Council of the American Marketing Association. He is chartered member
of the Academy of Marketing Science since its foundation in 1972 and was elected
member of its Board of Governors, 1994–1998.
Another random document with
no related content on Scribd:
THE SNOW-STORM.

By Professor Wilson.

In summer there is beauty in the wildest moors of Scotland, and


the wayfaring man who sits down for an hour’s rest beside some little
spring that flows unheard through the brightened moss and water-
cresses, feels his weary heart revived by the silent, serene, and
solitary prospect. On every side sweet sunny spots of verdure smile
towards him from among the melancholy heather; unexpectedly in
the solitude a stray sheep, it may be with its lambs, starts half-
alarmed at his motionless figure; insects, large, bright, and beautiful,
come careering by him through the desert air; nor does the wild want
its own songsters,—the gray linnet, fond of the blooming furze, and
now and then the lark mounting up to heaven above the summits of
the green pastoral hills. During such a sunshiny hour, the lonely
cottage on the waste seems to stand in a paradise; and as he rises to
pursue his journey, the traveller looks back and blesses it with a
mingled emotion of delight and envy. There, thinks he, abide the
children of Innocence and Contentment, the two most benign spirits
that watch over human life.
But other thoughts arise in the mind of him who may chance to
journey through the same scene in the desolation of winter. The cold
bleak sky girdles the moor as with a belt of ice—life is frozen in air
and on earth. The silence is not of repose but extinction; and should
a solitary human dwelling catch his eye, half buried in the snow, he is
sad for the sake of them whose destiny it is to abide far from the
cheerful haunts of men, shrouded up in melancholy, by poverty held
in thrall, or pining away in unvisited and untended disease.
But, in good truth, the heart of human life is but imperfectly
discovered from its countenance; and before we can know what the
summer or what the winter yields for enjoyment or trial to our
country’s peasantry, we must have conversed with them in their
fields and by their firesides, and made ourselves acquainted with the
powerful ministry of the seasons, not over those objects alone that
feed the eye and the imagination, but over all the incidents,
occupations, and events, that modify or constitute the existence of
the poor.
I have a short and simple story to tell of the winter life of the
moorland cottager—a story but of one evening—with few events and
no single catastrophe—which may haply please those hearts whose
delight it is to think on the humble underplots that are carrying on in
the great drama of life.
Two cottagers, husband and wife, were sitting by their cheerful
peat-fire one winter evening, in a small lonely hut on the edge of a
wide moor, at some miles’ distance from any other habitation. There
had been, at one time, several huts of the same kind erected close
together, and inhabited by families of the poorest class of day-
labourers, who found work among the distant farms, and at night
returned to dwellings which were rent-free, with their little gardens
won from the waste. But one family after another had dwindled
away, and the turf-built huts had all fallen into ruins, except one that
had always stood in the centre of this little solitary village, with its
summer-walls covered with the richest honeysuckles, and in the
midst of the brightest of all the gardens. It alone now sent up its
smoke into the clear winter sky—and its little end window, now
lighted up, was the only ground-star that shone towards the belated
traveller, if any such ventured to cross, on a winter night, a scene so
dreary and desolate. The affairs of the small household were all
arranged for the night. The little rough pony, that had drawn in a
sledge, from the heart of the Black-moss, the fuel by whose blaze the
cottars were now sitting cheerily, and the little Highland cow, whose
milk enabled them to live, were standing amicably together, under
cover of a rude shed, of which one side was formed by the peat-stack,
and which was at once byre, and stable, and hen-roost. Within, the
clock ticked cheerfully as the fire-light reached its old oak-wood case,
across the yellow-sanded floor; and a small round table stood
between, covered with a snow-white cloth, on which were milk and
oat-cakes, the morning, mid-day, and evening meal of these frugal
and contented cottars. The spades and the mattocks of the labourer
were collected into one corner, and showed that the succeeding day
was the blessed Sabbath; while on the wooden chimneypiece was
seen lying an open Bible ready for family worship.
The father and the mother were sitting together without opening
their lips, but with their hearts overflowing with happiness, for on
this Saturday night they were, every minute, expecting to hear at the
latch the hand of their only daughter, a maiden of about fifteen years,
who was at service with a farmer over the hills. This dutiful child
was, as they knew, to bring home to them “her sair-won penny fee,” a
pittance which, in the beauty of her girlhood, she earned singing at
her work, and which, in the benignity of that sinless time, she would
pour with tears into the bosoms she so dearly loved. Forty shillings a-
year were all the wages of sweet Hannah Lee; but though she wore at
her labour a tortoise-shell comb in her auburn hair, and though in
the kirk none were more becomingly arrayed than she, one half at
least of her earnings were to be reserved for the holiest of all
purposes; and her kind, innocent heart was gladdened when she
looked on the little purse that was, on the long-expected Saturday
night, to be taken from her bosom, and put, with a blessing, into the
hand of her father, now growing old at his daily toils.
Of such a child the happy cottars were thinking in their silence.
And well, indeed, might they be called happy. It is at that sweet
season that filial piety is most beautiful. Their own Hannah had just
outgrown the mere unthinking gladness of childhood, but had not
yet reached that time when inevitable selfishness mixes with the pure
current of love. She had begun to think on what her affectionate
heart had felt so long; and when she looked on the pale face and
bending frame of her mother, on the deepening wrinkles and
whitening hairs of her father, often would she lie weeping for their
sakes on her midnight bed, and wish that she were beside them as
they slept, that she might kneel down and kiss them, and mention
their names over and over again in her prayer. The parents whom
before she had only loved, her expanding heart now also venerated.
With gushing tenderness was now mingled a holy fear and an awful
reverence. She had discerned the relation in which she, an only child,
stood to her poor parents, now that they were getting old, and there
was not a passage in Scripture that spake of parents or of children,
from Joseph sold into slavery to Mary weeping below the Cross, that
was not written, never to be obliterated, on her uncorrupted heart.
The father rose from his seat, and went to the door to look out into
the night. The stars were in thousands, and the full moon was risen.
It was almost light as day, and the snow, that seemed encrusted with
diamonds, was so hardened by the frost, that his daughter’s
homeward feet would leave no mark on its surface. He had been
toiling all day among the distant Castle-woods, and, stiff and wearied
as he now was, he was almost tempted to go to meet his child; but his
wife’s kind voice dissuaded him, and, returning to the fireside, they
began to talk of her whose image had been so long passing before
them in their silence.
“She is growing up to be a bonny lassie,” said the mother; “her long
and weary attendance on me during my fever last spring kept her
down a while—but now she is sprouting fast and fair as a lily, and
may the blessing of God be as dew and as sunshine to our sweet
flower all the days she bloometh upon this earth.”
“Ay, Agnes,” replied the father, “we are not very old yet—though
we are getting older—and a few years will bring her to woman’s
estate; and what thing on this earth, think ye, human or brute, would
ever think of injuring her? Why, I was speaking about her yesterday
to the minister, as he was riding by, and he told me that none
answered at the examination in the kirk so well as Hannah. Poor
thing—I well think she has all the Bible by heart—indeed, she has
read but little else—only some stories, too true ones, of the blessed
martyrs, and some o’ the auld sangs o’ Scotland, in which there is
nothing but what is good, and which, to be sure, she sings, God bless
her, sweeter than any laverock.”
“Ay,—were we both to die this very night, she would be happy. Not
that she would forget us all the days of her life. But have you not
seen, husband, that God always makes the orphan happy? None so
little lonesome as they! They come to make friends o’ all the bonny
and sweet things in the world around them, and all the kind hearts in
the world make friends o’ them. They come to know that God is more
especially the Father o’ them on earth whose parents he has taken up
to heaven; and therefore it is that they, for whom so many have fears,
fear not at all for themselves, but go dancing and singing along like
children whose parents are both alive. Would it not be so with our
dear Hannah? So douce and thoughtful a child—but never sad or
miserable—ready, it is true, to shed tears for little, but as ready to dry
them up and break out into smiles! I know not why it is, husband,
but this night my heart warms towards her beyond usual. The moon
and stars are at this moment looking down upon her, and she looking
up to them, as she is glinting homewards over the snow. I wish she
were but here, and taking the comb out o’ her bonny hair, and letting
it all fall down in clusters before the fire, to melt away the
cranreuch!”
While the parents were thus speaking of their daughter, a loud
sough of wind came suddenly over the cottage, and the leafless ash-
tree under whose shelter it stood, creaked and groaned dismally as it
passed by. The father started up, and, going again to the door, saw
that a sudden change had come over the face of the night. The moon
had nearly disappeared, and was just visible in a dim, yellow,
glimmering den in the sky. All the remote stars were obscured, and
only one or two were faintly seen in a sky that half an hour before
was perfectly cloudless, but that was now driving with rack, and mist,
and sleet, the whole atmosphere being in commotion. He stood for a
single moment to observe the direction of this unforeseen storm, and
then hastily asked for his staff. “I thought I had been more weather-
wise—a storm is coming down from the Cairnbrae-hawse, and we
shall have nothing but a wild night.” He then whistled on his dog—an
old sheep-dog, too old for its former labours—and set off to meet his
daughter, who might then, for aught he knew, be crossing the Black-
moss. The mother accompanied her husband to the door, and took a
long frightened look at the angry sky. As she kept gazing, it became
still more terrible. The last shred of blue was extinguished, the wind
went whirling in roaring eddies, and great flakes of snow circled
about in the middle air, whether drifted up from the ground, or
driven down from the clouds, the fear-stricken mother knew not, but
she at least knew that it seemed a night of danger, despair, and
death. “Lord have mercy on us, James, what will become of our poor
bairn!” But her husband heard not her words, for he was already out
of sight in the snow-storm, and she was left to the terror of her own
soul in that lonesome cottage.
Little Hannah Lee had left her master’s house, soon as the rim of
the great moon was seen by her eyes, that had been long anxiously
watching it from the window, rising, like a joyful dream, over the
gloomy mountain-tops; and all by herself she tripped along beneath
the beauty of the silent heaven. Still as she kept ascending and
descending the knolls that lay in the bosom of the glen, she sang to
herself a song, a hymn, or a psalm, without the accompaniment of
the streams, now all silent in the frost; and ever and anon she
stopped to try to count the stars that lay in some more beautiful part
of the sky, or gazed on the constellations that she knew, and called
them, in her joy, by the names they bore among the shepherds. There
were none to hear her voice, or see her smiles, but the ear and eye of
Providence. As on she glided, and took her looks from heaven, she
saw her own little fireside—her parents waiting for her arrival—the
Bible opened for worship—her own little room kept so neatly for her,
with its mirror hanging by the window, in which to braid her hair by
the morning light—her bed prepared for her by her mother’s hand—
the primroses in her garden peeping through the snow—old Tray,
who ever welcomed her home with his dim white eyes—the pony and
the cow;—friends all, and inmates of that happy household. So
stepped she along, while the snow diamonds glittered around her
feet, and the frost wove a wreath of lucid pearls round her forehead.
She had now reached the edge of the Black-moss, which lay half-
way between her master’s and her father’s dwelling, when she heard
a loud noise coming down Glen-Scrae, and in a few seconds she felt
on her face some flakes of snow. She looked up the glen, and saw the
snow-storm coming down fast as a flood. She felt no fears; but she
ceased her song; and had there been a human eye to look upon her
there, it might have seen a shadow on her face. She continued her
course, and felt bolder and bolder every step that brought her nearer
to her parents’ house. But the snow-storm had now reached the
Black-moss, and the broad line of light that had lain in the direction
of her home was soon swallowed up, and the child was in utter
darkness. She saw nothing but the flakes of snow, interminably
intermingled, and furiously wafted in the air, close to her head; she
heard nothing but one wild, fierce, fitful howl. The cold became
intense, and her little feet and hands were fast being benumbed into
insensibility.
“It is a fearful change,” muttered the child to herself; but still she
did not fear, for she had been born in a moorland cottage, and lived
all her days among the hardships of the hills. “What will become of
the poor sheep!” thought she,—but still she scarcely thought of her
own danger, for innocence, and youth, and joy, are slow to think of
aught evil befalling themselves, and, thinking benignly of all living
things, forget their own fear in their pity for others’ sorrow. At last,
she could no longer discern a single mark on the snow, either of
human steps, or of sheep-track, or the footprint of a wildfowl.
Suddenly, too, she felt out of breath and exhausted, and, shedding
tears for herself at last, sank down in the snow.
It was now that her heart began to quake with fear. She
remembered stories of shepherds lost in the snow, of a mother and a
child frozen to death on that very moor—and in a moment she knew
that she was to die. Bitterly did the poor child weep, for death was
terrible to her, who, though poor, enjoyed the bright little world of
youth and innocence. The skies of heaven were dearer than she knew
to her—so were the flowers of earth. She had been happy at her work,
happy in her sleep,—happy in the kirk on Sabbath. A thousand
thoughts had the solitary child,—and in her own heart was a spring
of happiness, pure and undisturbed as any fount that sparkles
unseen all the year through, in some quiet nook among the pastoral
hills. But now there was to be an end of all this—she was to be frozen
to death—and lie there till the thaw might come; and then her father
would find her body, and carry it away to be buried in the kirk-yard.
The tears were frozen on her cheeks as soon as shed; and scarcely
had her little hands strength to clasp themselves together, as the
thought of an overruling and merciful Lord came across her heart.
Then, indeed, the fears of this religious child were calmed, and she
heard without terror the plover’s wailing cry, and the deep boom of
the bittern sounding in the moss. “I will repeat the Lord’s Prayer;”
and, drawing her plaid more closely around her, she whispered,
beneath its ineffectual cover,—“Our Father which art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name; thy kingdom come; thy will be done on earth
as it is in heaven.” Had human aid been within fifty yards, it could
have been of no avail—eye could not see her, ear could not hear her
in that howling darkness. But that low prayer was heard in the centre
of eternity—and that little sinless child was lying in the snow,
beneath the all-seeing eye of God.
The maiden, having prayed to her Father in heaven, then thought
of her father on earth. Alas! they were not far separated! The father
was lying but a short distance from his child; he too had sunk down
in the drifting snow, after having, in less than an hour, exhausted all
the strength of fear, pity, hope, despair, and resignation, that could
rise in a father’s heart, blindly seeking to rescue his only child from
death, thinking that one desperate exertion might enable them to
perish in each other’s arms. There they lay, within a stone’s-throw of
each other, while a huge snow-drift was every moment piling itself
up into a more insurmountable barrier between the dying parent and
his dying child.
There was all this while a blazing fire in the cottage, a white-spread
table, and beds prepared for the family to lie down in peace. Yet was
she who sat therein more to be pitied than the old man and the child
stretched upon the snow. “I will not go to seek them—that would be
tempting Providence, and wilfully putting out the lamp of life. No; I
will abide here, and pray for their souls!” Then as she knelt down,
looked she at the useless fire burning away so cheerfully, when all
she loved might be dying of cold; and unable to bear the thought, she
shrieked out a prayer, as if she might pierce the sky up to the very
throne of God, and send with it her own miserable soul to plead
before Him for the deliverance of her child and husband. She then
fell down in blessed forgetfulness of all trouble, in the midst of the
solitary cheerfulness of that bright-burning hearth, and the Bible,
which she had been trying to read in the pauses of her agony,
remained clasped in her hands.
Hannah Lee had been a servant for more than six months, and it
was not to be thought that she was not beloved in her master’s
family. Soon after she had left the house, her master’s son, a youth of
about eighteen years, who had been among the hills looking after the
sheep, came home, and was disappointed to find that he had lost an
opportunity of accompanying Hannah part of the way to her father’s
cottage. But the hour of eight had gone by, and not even the company
of young William Grieve could induce the kind-hearted daughter to
delay setting out on her journey a few minutes beyond the time
promised to her parents. “I do not like the night,” said William;
“there will be a fresh fall of snow soon, or the witch of Glen-Scrae is a
liar, for a snow-cloud is hanging o’er the Birch-tree-linn, and it may
be down to the Black-moss as soon as Hannah Lee.” So he called his
two sheep-dogs that had taken their place under the long table before
the window, and set out, half in joy, half in fear, to overtake Hannah,
and see her safely across the Black-moss.
The snow began to drift so fast, that before he had reached the
head of the glen, there was nothing to be seen but a little bit of the
wooden rail of the bridge across the Sauch-burn. William Grieve was
the most active shepherd in a large pastoral parish; he had often
passed the night among the wintry hills for the sake of a few sheep,
and all the snow that ever fell from heaven would not have made him
turn back when Hannah Lee was before him, and, as his terrified
heart told him, in imminent danger of being lost. As he advanced, he
felt that it was no longer a walk of love or friendship, for which he
had been glad of an excuse. Death stared him in the face, and his
young soul, now beginning to feel all the passions of youth, was filled
with frenzy. He had seen Hannah every day—at the fireside—at work
—in the kirk—on holidays—at prayers—bringing supper to his aged
parents—smiling and singing about the house from morning till
night. She had often brought his own meal to him among the hills;
and he now found that, though he had never talked to her about love,
except smilingly and playfully, he loved her beyond father or mother,
or his own soul. “I will save thee, Hannah,” he cried, with a loud sob,
“or lie down beside thee in the snow—and we will die together in our
youth.” A wild whistling wind went by him, and the snow-flakes
whirled so fiercely round his head, that he staggered on for a while in
utter blindness. He knew the path that Hannah must have taken, and
went forwards shouting aloud, and stopping every twenty yards to
listen for a voice. He sent his well-trained dogs over the snow in all
directions—repeating to them her name, “Hannah Lee,” that the
dumb animals might, in their sagacity, know for whom they were
searching; and, as they looked up in his face, and set off to scour the
moor, he almost believed that they knew his meaning (and it is
probable they did), and were eager to find in her bewilderment the
kind maiden by whose hand they had so often been fed. Often went
they off into the darkness, and as often returned, but their looks
showed that every quest had been in vain. Meanwhile the snow was
of a fearful depth, and falling without intermission or diminution.
Had the young shepherd been thus alone, walking across the moor
on his ordinary business, it is probable that he might have been
alarmed for his own safety; nay, that, in spite of all his strength and
agility, he might have sunk down beneath the inclemency of the
night, and perished. But now the passion of his soul carried him with
supernatural strength along, and extricated him from wreath and
pitfall. Still there was no trace of poor Hannah Lee; and one of his
dogs at last came close to his feet, worn out entirely, and afraid to
leave its master, while the other was mute, and, as the shepherd
thought, probably unable to force its way out of some hollow, or
through some floundering drift.
Then he all at once knew that Hannah Lee was dead, and dashed
himself down in the snow in a fit of passion. It was the first time that
the youth had ever been sorely tried; all his hidden and unconscious
love for the fair lost girl had flowed up from the bottom of his heart,
and at once the sole object which had blessed his life and made him
the happiest of the happy, was taken away and cruelly destroyed; so
that, sullen, wrathful, baffled, and despairing, there he lay cursing
his existence, and in too great agony to think of prayer. “God,” he
then thought, “has forsaken me, and why should He think on me,
when He suffers one so good and beautiful as Hannah to be frozen to
death?” God thought both of him and Hannah; and through His
infinite mercy forgave the sinner in his wild turbulence of passion.
William Grieve had never gone to bed without joining in prayer, and
he revered the Sabbath-day and kept it holy. Much is forgiven to the
human heart by Him who so fearfully framed it; and God is not slow
to pardon the love which one human being bears to another, in his
frailty—even though that love forget or arraign His own unsleeping
providence. His voice has told us to love one another—and William
loved Hannah in simplicity, innocence, and truth. That she should
perish was a thought so dreadful, that, in its agony, God seemed a
ruthless being. “Blow—blow—blow—and drift us up for ever—we
cannot be far asunder—Oh, Hannah—Hannah, think ye not that the
fearful God has forsaken us?”
As the boy groaned these words passionately through his quivering
lips, there was a sudden lowness in the air, and he heard the barking
of his absent dog, while the one at his feet hurried off in the direction
of the sound, and soon loudly joined the cry. It was not a bark of
surprise, or anger, or fear—but of recognition and love. William
sprang up from his bed in the snow, and, with his heart knocking at
his bosom even to sickness, he rushed headlong through the drifts
with a giant’s strength, and fell down, half dead with joy and terror,
beside the body of Hannah Lee.
But he soon recovered from that fit, and, lifting the cold corpse in
his arms, he kissed her lips, and her cheeks, and her forehead, and
her closed eyes, till, as he kept gazing on her face in utter despair, her
head fell back on his shoulder, and a long deep sigh came from her
inmost bosom. “She is yet alive, thank God!”—and, as that expression
left his lips for the first time that night, he felt a pang of remorse: “I
said, O God, that Thou hadst forsaken us—I am not worthy to be
saved; but let not this maiden perish, for the sake of her parents, who
have no other child.” The distracted youth prayed to God with the
same earnestness as if he had been beseeching a fellow-creature, in
whose hand was the power of life and of death. The presence of the
Great Being was felt by him in the dark and howling wild, and
strength was imparted to him as to a deliverer. He bore along the fair
child in his arms, even as if she had been a lamb. The snow-drift blew
not; the wind fell dead; a sort of glimmer, like that of an upbreaking
and disparting storm, gathered about him; his dogs barked, and
jumped, and burrowed joyfully in the snow; and the youth, strong in
sudden hope, exclaimed, “With the blessing of God, who has not
deserted us in our sore distress, will I carry thee, Hannah, in my
arms, and lay thee down alive in the house of thy father.” At this
moment there were no stars in heaven, but she opened her dim blue
eyes upon him in whose bosom she was unconsciously lying, and
said, as in a dream, “Send the ribbon that ties up my hair as a
keepsake to William Grieve.” “She thinks that she is on her deathbed,
and forgets not the son of her master. It is the voice of God that tells
me she will not now die, and that, under His grace, I shall be her
deliverer.”
The short-lived rage of the storm was soon over, and William could
attend to the beloved being on his bosom. The warmth of his heart
seemed to infuse life into hers; and, as he gently placed her feet on
the snow, till he muffled her up in his plaid, as well as in her own, she
made an effort to stand, and, with extreme perplexity and
bewilderment, faintly inquired where she was, and what fearful
misfortune had befallen them? She was, however, too weak to walk;
and, as her young master carried her along, she murmured, “O
William! what if my father be in the moor?—For if you, who need
care so little about me, have come hither, as I suppose, to save my
life, you may be sure that my father sat not within doors during the
storm.” As she spoke, it was calm below, but the wind was still alive
in the upper air, and cloud, rack, mist, and sleet were all driving
about in the sky. Out shone for a moment the pallid and ghostly
moon, through a rent in the gloom, and by that uncertain light came
staggering forward the figure of a man. “Father—father!” cried
Hannah—and his gray hairs were already on her cheek. The barking
of the dogs, and the shouting of the young shepherd, had struck his
ear, as the sleep of death was stealing over him, and, with the last
effort of benumbed nature, he had roused himself from that fatal
torpor, and pressed through the snow-wreath that had separated him
from his child. As yet they knew not of the danger each had endured,
but each judged of the other’s sufferings from their own; and father
and daughter regarded one another as creatures rescued, and hardly
yet rescued, from death.
But a few minutes ago, and the three human beings who loved
each other so well, and now feared not to cross the moor in safety,
were, as they thought, on their deathbeds. Deliverance now shone
upon them all like a gentle fire, dispelling that pleasant but deadly
drowsiness; and the old man was soon able to assist William Grieve
in leading Hannah along through the snow. Her colour and her
warmth returned, and her lover—for so might he well now be called
—felt her heart gently beating against his side. Filled as that heart
was with gratitude to God, joy in her deliverance, love to her father,
and purest affection for her master’s son, never before had the
innocent maiden known what was happiness, and never more was
she to forget it. The night was now almost calm, and fast returning to
its former beauty, when the party saw the first twinkle of the fire
through the low window of the Cottage of the Moor. They soon were
at the garden gate, and, to relieve the heart of the wife and mother
within, they talked loudly and cheerfully—naming each other
familiarly, and laughing between, like persons who had known
neither danger nor distress.
No voice answered from within—no footstep came to the door,
which stood open as when the father had left it in his fear, and now
he thought with affright that his wife, feeble as she was, had been
unable to support the loneliness, and had followed him out into the
night, never to be brought home alive. As they bore Hannah into the
house, this fear gave way to worse, for there upon the hard clay floor
lay the mother upon her face, as if murdered by some savage blow.
She was in the same deadly swoon into which she had fallen on her
husband’s departure three hours before. The old man raised her up,
and her pulse was still—so was her heart—her face pale and sunken—
and her body cold as ice. “I have recovered a daughter,” said the old
man, “but I have lost a wife;” and he carried her with a groan to the
bed, on which he laid her lifeless body. The sight was too much for
Hannah, worn out as she was, and who had hitherto been able to
support herself in the delightful expectation of gladdening her
mother’s heart by her safe arrival. She, too, now swooned away, and,
as she was placed on the bed beside her mother, it seemed, indeed,
that Death, disappointed of his prey on the wild moor, had seized it
in the cottage and by the fireside. The husband knelt down by the
bedside, and held his wife’s icy hand in his, while William Grieve,
appalled and awe-stricken, hung over his Hannah, and inwardly
implored God that the night’s wild adventure might not have so
ghastly an end. But Hannah’s young heart soon began once more to
beat—and, soon as she came to her recollection, she rose up with a
face whiter than ashes and free from all smiles, as if none had ever
played there, and joined her father and young master in their efforts
to restore her mother to life.
It was the mercy of God that had struck her down to the earth,
insensible to the shrieking winds, and the fears that would otherwise
have killed her. Three hours of that wild storm had passed over her
head, and she heard nothing more than if she had been asleep in a
breathless night of the summer dew. Not even a dream had touched
her brain, and when she opened her eyes, which, as she thought, had
been but a moment shut, she had scarcely time to recall to her
recollection the image of her husband rushing out into the storm,
and of a daughter therein lost, till she beheld that very husband
kneeling tenderly by her bedside, and that very daughter smoothing
the pillow on which her aching temples reclined. But she knew from
the white steadfast countenances before her that there had been
tribulation and deliverance, and she looked on the beloved beings
ministering by her bed, as more fearfully dear to her from the
unimagined danger from which she felt assured they had been
rescued by the arm of the Almighty.
There is little need to speak of returning recollection, and
returning strength. They had all now power to weep, and power to
pray. The Bible had been lying in its place ready for worship, and the
father read aloud that chapter in which is narrated our Saviour’s act
of miraculous power by which He saved Peter from the sea. Soon as
the solemn thoughts awakened by that act of mercy, so similar to
that which had rescued themselves from death, had subsided, and
they had all risen up from prayer, they gathered themselves in
gratitude round the little table which had stood so many hours
spread; and exhausted nature was strengthened and restored by a
frugal and simple meal, partaken of in silent thankfulness. The whole
story of the night was then calmly recited; and when the mother
heard how the stripling had followed her sweet Hannah into the
storm, and borne her in his arms through a hundred drifted heaps—
and then looked upon her in her pride, so young, so innocent, and so
beautiful, she knew, that were the child indeed to become an orphan,
there was one who, if there was either trust in nature or truth in
religion, would guard and cherish her all the days of her life.
It was not nine o’clock when the storm came down from Glen-
Scrae upon the Black-moss, and now in a pause of silence the clock
struck twelve. Within these three hours William and Hannah had led
a life of trouble and of joy, that had enlarged and kindled their hearts
within them; and they felt that henceforth they were to live wholly
for each other’s sakes. His love was the proud and exulting love of a
deliverer, who, under Providence, had saved from the frost and the
snow, the innocence and the beauty of which his young passionate
heart had been so desperately enamoured; and he now thought of his
own Hannah Lee ever more moving about in his father’s house, not
as a servant, but as a daughter—and, when some few happy years
had gone by, his own most beautiful and loving wife. The innocent
maiden still called him her young master, but was not ashamed of
the holy affection which she now knew that she had long felt for the
fearless youth on whose bosom she had thought herself dying in that
cold and miserable moor. Her heart leapt within her when she heard
her parents bless him by his name; and when he took her hand into
his before them, and vowed before that Power who had that night
saved them from the snow, that Hannah Lee should ere long be his
wedded wife, she wept and sobbed as if her heart would break in a fit
of strange and insupportable happiness.
The young shepherd rose to bid them farewell—“My father will
think I am lost,” said he, with a grave smile, “and my Hannah’s
mother knows what it is to fear for a child.” So nothing was said to
detain him, and the family went with him to the door. The skies
smiled as serenely as if a storm had never swept before the stars; the
moon was sinking from her meridian, but in cloudless splendour;
and the hollow of the hills was hushed as that of heaven. Danger
there was none over the placid night-scene; the happy youth soon
crossed the Black-moss, now perfectly still; and, perhaps, just as he
was passing, with a shudder of gratitude, the very spot where his
sweet Hannah Lee had so nearly perished, she was lying down to
sleep in her innocence, or dreaming of one now dearer to her than all
on earth but her parents.
LOVE AT ONE GLIMPSE;
OR, THE GLASGOW GENTLEMAN AND THE
LADY.

Some years ago, there used to be pointed out, upon the streets of
Glasgow, a man whose intellect had been unsettled upon a very
strange account. When a youth, he had happened to pass a lady on a
crowded throughfare—a lady whose extreme beauty, though dimmed
by the intervention of a veil, and seen but for a moment, made an
indelible impression upon his mind. This lovely vision shot rapidly
past him, and was in an instant lost amidst the commonplace crowd
through which it moved. He was so confounded by the tumult of his
feelings, that he could not pursue, or even attempt to see it again. Yet
he never afterwards forgot it.
With a mind full of distracting thoughts, and a heart filled
alternately with gushes of pleasure and of pain, the man slowly left
the spot where he had remained for some minutes as it were
thunderstruck. He soon after, without being aware of what he
wished, or what he was doing, found himself again at the place. He
came to the very spot where he had stood when the lady passed,
mused for some time about it, went to a little distance, and then
came up as he had come when he met the exquisite subject of his
reverie—unconsciously deluding himself with the idea that this might
recall her to the spot. She came not; he felt disappointed. He tried
again; still she abstained from passing. He continued to traverse the
place till the evening, when the street became deserted. By-and-by,
he was left altogether alone. He then saw that all his fond efforts
were vain, and he left the silent, lonely street at midnight, with a soul
as desolate as that gloomy terrace.
For weeks afterwards he was never off the streets. He wandered
hither and thither throughout the town, like a forlorn ghost. In
particular, he often visited the place where he had first seen the
object of his abstracted thoughts, as if he considered that he had a
better chance of seeing her there than anywhere else. He frequented
every place of public amusement to which he could purchase
admission; and he made the tour of all the churches in the town. All
was in vain. He never again placed his eyes upon that angelic
countenance. She was ever present to his mental optics, but she
never appeared in a tangible form. Without her essential presence,
all the world beside was to him as a blank—a wilderness.
Madness invariably takes possession of the mind which broods
over much or over long upon some engrossing idea. So did it prove
with this singular lover. He grew “innocent,” as the people of this
country tenderly phrase it. His insanity, however, was little more
than mere abstraction. The course of his mind was stopped at a
particular point. After this he made no further progress in any
intellectual attainment. He acquired no new ideas. His whole soul
stood still. He was like a clock stopped at a particular hour, with
some things, too, about him, which, like the motionless indices of
that machine, pointed out the date of the interruption. As, for
instance, he ever after wore a peculiarly long-backed and high-
necked coat, as well as a neckcloth of a particular spot—being the
fashion of the year when he saw the lady. Indeed, he was a sort of
living memorial of the dress, gait, and manners of a former day. It
was evident that he clung with a degree of fondness to every thing
which bore relation to the great incident of his life. Nor could he
endure any thing that tended to cover up or screen from his
recollection that glorious yet melancholy circumstance. He had the
same feeling of veneration for that day, that circumstance, and for
himself, as he then existed, which caused the chivalrous lover of
former times to preserve upon his lips, as long as he could, the
imaginary delight which they had drawn from the touch of his
mistress’s hand.
When I last saw this unfortunate person, he was getting old, and
seemed still more deranged than formerly. Every female whom he
met on the street, especially if at all good looking, he gazed at with an
enquiring, anxious expression; and when she had passed, he usually
stood still a few moments and mused, with his eyes cast upon the
ground. It was remarkable, that he gazed most anxiously upon
women whose age and figures most nearly resembled that of his
unknown mistress at the time he had seen her, and that he did not
appear to make allowance for the years which had passed since his
eyes met that vision. This was part of his madness. Strange power of
love! Incomprehensible mechanism of the human heart!—Edinburgh
Literary Journal, 1829.
NANNY WELSH, THE MINISTER’S MAID.

By Daniel Gorrie.

There are now—so far at least as my experience goes—fewer


specimens of homely, odd, and eccentric characters to be met with in
Scotland than in former years. In solitary nooks of the country, away
from the boom of cities, and the rush of railways, many doubtless
still exist, and contribute largely to the amusement of their rural
acquaintances; but it cannot be denied that the race of originals is
fast disappearing, and threatens ultimately to become altogether
extinct. Into the cause or causes of this I do not intend to enter; it is
sufficient to chronicle the melancholy fact. There may be a beauty in
similarity, but there is a higher beauty in diversity. Men and women
are now so very much alike, that the study of mankind is not such a
difficult task after all. The greater facilities for intercourse which the
present generation enjoys have tended to rub off the angularities of
individual character, and to create a fusion, or confusion, of all
classes in the community. Such being the case, it is pleasant at times
to revert from the present to the past, and to recall the peculiar
aspect, the odd sayings, and eccentric doings of persons with whom
we were familiar in former years.
Among a number of others, Nanny Welsh stands prominent in my
recollection. She was maid-of-all-work in the old home-manse of
Keppel, where I first saw the light of day, and for many years
afterwards. A rare specimen Nanny was of the departed or departing
race of familiar domestics. She had herded the cows of neighbouring
farmers, almost from her childhood, until she entered upon domestic
service, and she had well nigh attained the prime of life before she
became minister’s maid, an honour which she highly esteemed and
long enjoyed. She was big-boned and masculine in the build of her
body. Her face was long and hard, almost grim, and well freckled,
and deeply browned by frequent exposure to the sun and air. A white
“mutch,” with a high horse-shoe shaped crown, surmounted her
head at morning, noon, and night. With her gown tucked up behind
in the old familiar fashion of domestics, and a youngster strapped on
her back with a shawl, and peering with his little “pow” over her
shoulders, she went to work, as if the fate of empires, not to speak of
the honour of the old manse, depended upon her exertions. She used
to boast that she could “pit mair through her hands in an hour than
ony ither woman i’ the parish.” She was, in truth, a capital worker;
and while her hands went her tongue wagged. Nanny could never
endure either to be idle or silent. When engaged in scrubbing pots
and pans, the bairn on her back was not forgotten, but received all
the benefit of her sayings and soliloquies. In the discharge of her
domestic duties she liked to carry everything her own way, and
generally managed to take it, whatever orders might be given to the
contrary.
This good woman had the welfare of the family at heart, and a
great favourite she was amongst us youngsters, although she had a
very summary mode of disposing of us sometimes when we
attempted to teaze her or became unruly. I remember well an advice
she gave us, on more than one occasion, when we were invited out to
juvenile tea-parties in the neighbourhood. “Noo, bairns,” she would
say, after our faces were scrubbed, and our hair was smoothed, “see
an’ eat weel when ye’re at it, an’ no come hame garavishin’ an’
eatin’.” We not unfrequently paid the penalty next day of adhering
too strictly to the letter of this advice; but when children see heaps of
buns, cookies, and shortbread piled up on the table, who can blame
them if they take no thought of the morrow? Nanny used to relate
with great glee a saying of one of us manse bairns. It was the custom
at the communion season in those days (and it may be the custom in
some places still) for the wealthier members of country
congregations to send the minister some substantial present for the
bodily benefit of his officiating friends. One of us, standing at the
garden gate, had seen an expected arrival approaching, and running
with breathless haste to the kitchen, had exclaimed—“Nanny, Nanny!
here’s a salmon comin’—this is the rale sacrament!” Nanny, honest
woman, never forgot the sentiment, and often repeated it to the
discomfiture of its juvenile author.

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