You Do Well, We Do Well

Dear Royal Reader,

For my entire coffee trading career my client base has heard my incessant mantra:

If you do well; we do well.

Meaning that if the specific client was successful and in some small part credited my recommendations on quality, quantity, and price points they would return for another transaction content and ready for a repeat experience. This was good for the client, good for Royal, and good for the continued success of both businesses. Yet in this era of disruption it has become evident to me that many green coffee producers are having their inventories marketed by various levels of representation. Agents, brokers, and office branches of commercial trading conglomerates are commonplace in the physical marketplace, but how they comport themselves toward the businesses they service is directly correlated to how their representatives are compensated. Here is a concise look at some of these other market makers:

Agents/Brokers, who are usually independent representatives that act as an intermediary between buyers and sellers for a commission/payment from buyer, seller, and sometimes both. They do not take possession or ownership of the physical coffee.

Dealers, who take physical possession of coffee and re-sell the coffee to their client base either all at once or choose to carry/finance some of the unsold inventory.

Commissioned Sales Reps, who get paid a $/LB commission from the owners of the coffee they represent and usually promote vociferously. Royal is not a commissioned trading house which means that Royal representatives are not acting out of any other position than one of success for you and your business.  After all if you do well; we do well…

From the greenie corner yours truly,

Alex Mason.