Rack Jobber
What is a “rack jobber”?
A rack jobber is a distributor of specialized non-food retail goods. Rack jobbers’ goods are generally displayed and sold on racks provided by the rack jobbers rather than on the normal shelves of the store.
Rack jobbers often deliver, track inventory and finance the goods while sharing the profits with the retailer that provides the physical location for the goods’ display and sale.
Rack jobbers usually work with grocery stores, pharmacies and hardware stores.
What is the origin of the term “rack jobber”?
A “jobber” is a person that acts as a middleman, buying merchandise from manufacturers and selling it to retailers. Thus the term “rack jobber” refers specifically to the fact that these middlemen usually provide their own racks for displaying the merchandise.