They would certainly not want to lose such a big distributor in today's difficult economic climate.
The cheap-and-cheerful manufacturers at the low end don't have a secondary market they're trying to protect, no app store or crucial vendor relationship with a big distributor or publisher.
In recent months, Ballard has shipped a stationary 250-kilowatt fuel cell generator to European utilities for testing; introduced an improved, compact version of its first automotive cell, which Ford Motor is testing; and announced a partnership with the Sunbeam Corporation's Coleman Powermate unit, a big distributor of portable electric generators, to develop a co-branded fuel cell.
Express tried letting a big distributor (which Pham won't identify) manage its component inventory on-site but eventually dropped the service because it figured it could manage on its own.
In June, Red Hat, a big Linux distributor, said that it, too, would contribute to a patent commons.
A volunteer named Gary Maxworthy, a retired executive from a big food distributor, proposed that Northern California's food banks hire a shared roaming solicitor, to look for missed opportunities across county lines.
Hardly anyone in Hollywood has heard of Ilion, but here it comes with a big-time distributor (Sony), a high-profile release date (Thanksgiving) and a kids' meal tie-in (Burger King).
Thompson cites the example of one of his clients, a big Avtovaz distributor in Moscow called Lada Strong.
Mr. Market also seems to be giving a thumbs-up to office products, with two such stocks now appearing on our list: United Stationers, a big-time distributor and Staples, the major big-box retailer in this area.
Even if the decision will mean more and better content for its users, as Wood claims, siding with a big traditional distributor over a large number of independents could scare some developers off.
